Even though last week’s game against Calera ended in a loss, Chilton County High School football coach Donnie Hand and the Tigers walked away from the game encouraged.

CCHS was a failed 2-point conversion away from defeating one of the top Class 4A teams in the state, thanks in large part to an offense that used all the tools at its disposal to move the football and score against the Eagles.

Cade Hatch scored Chilton’s first touchdown of the game on a 46-yard touchdown run off a reverse. The Tigers also successfully ran a reverse pass for a 21-yard touchdown from Hatch to Braylen Parker.

A double pass from Hatch to Keandre Binion set up the Tigers at Calera’s 1-yard line, but CCHS ended up having to settle for a field goal.

Then there was a halfback pass from Keishun White to Davre Williams called on a 2-point conversion play with 1:18 remaining in the game that would have given Chilton County a late lead. Instead, the pass was called incomplete, and Calera was able to recover an onside kick and escape Tiger Stadium with a victory.

“We pulled out everything that we could pull out,” Hand said. “Everything that we ran was successful.”

Hand said such plays were not added to the game plan specifically for Calera, and instead had been practiced all season long, just waiting for the right opportunities.

“Everybody has film on everybody, so you can only run it about one time a year,” Hand said.

Hand also said Chilton’s standard offense was effective, especially when the quarterback and fullback ran the ball on option plays. And the offensive line blocked well.

The coach called the performance the offense’s best of the season.

Such a showing was needed to give the Tigers a chance against a Calera attack that features quarterback Ronnie Clark, a highly regarded player who has committed to play college football at the University of Alabama.

“We had trouble with him,” Hand said. “He’s a good athlete. You put him back there, he puts a lot of pressure on you.”

Hand said Clark rushed for about 170 yards, but the CCHS defense was able to hold the Calera passing attack to about 70 yards.

“The kids were encouraged,” Hand said. “They knew we played about as well as we could play.”