Billingsley secures first place in region with win at Isabella
Published 1:18 am Saturday, October 4, 2014
Stretch out: Billingsley’s Derrick Dunigan, who led the Bears with 64 rushing yards, stretches for yardage Friday.
Billingsley claimed the top spot in Class 1A, Region 3 with a gritty 20-16 win at Isabella on Friday.
The two teams came into the game unbeaten in area play.
Billingsley (4-2 overall, 3-0 region) struck first with a 78-yard pass from Thomas Nichols to Jaytarius Steele.
Isabella (4-1, 2-1) cut into the lead with a 21-yard field goal by C.J. LeCroy, but BHS made the score 8-3 when an Isabella fumble slipped out of the back of the Mustangs’ end zone for a safety.
Isabella Homecoming: Isabella’s Homecoming representatives included Alexis Durham, seventh grade; Alyssa Wyatt, eighth grade; Savannah Ellison, freshman; Kayla McNeil, sophomore; Alexis Burnett, junior and Queen Andrea Powell, senior.
Isabella’s Homecoming Queen, court and representatives were recognized at halftime of the game.
The queen was Andrea Powell, while first alternate was Chelsea Cox and second alternate was Kaylee Cleckler.
Isabella drove 60 yards for a touchdown on its first possession of the second half, with the drive culminating with Tyler Smith’s six-yard run on third-and-goal with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter. Smith stretched out to reach the pylon and took a devastating shot from a defender in the process.
An IHS miscue—touching a punt and allowing Billingsley to recover—resulted in the Bears taking a 14-10 lead on a 12-yard run by Nichols.
Steele ended any hopes of an Isabella comeback when he intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown.
Still, the Mustangs wouldn’t go down without a fight, as Smith led the offense down the field for the game’s last score, a quarterback keeper, with less than a minute left in the game.
The ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, and BHS ran out the clock.
