DANVILLE – Caleb Hill ran for two scores and passed for another as Danville defeated Elkmont 21-20 in overtime last Friday night at Smith-Owens Stadium.
A missed extra point by Elkmont in overtime sent the Hawks to the Class 3A, Region 8 win.
Following a trade of turnovers to open the game, the Danville Hawks got on the board with 6:07 left in the opening period when Hill scored on a 13-yard run. The extra point failed but the Hawks led 6-0.
Key plays in the drive included a 5-yard run by Hill to convert a third down and a 21-yard Hill scramble to give the Hawks a first down at the Elkmont 22.
Hill would score two plays later.
Danville had the ball three more times in the half and each time the Hawks drove deep into Elkmont territory, only to come away empty handed.
The Red Devils took a 7-6 lead into halftime with the touchdown coming on a controversial 40-yard pass from Hayden Huseth to Howard Petty.
The controversy came over whether or not the screen pass was actually caught by Petty.
The officials decided that Petty did indeed catch the ball and the touchdown stood.
Jose Hernandez added the extra point to give the Red Devils a one-point lead.
Elkmont got the ball to start the second half and looked like they were going to take control of the game as Huseth ran 58 yards down to the Hawk 2-yard line on the first play from scrimmage.
The Red Devils would get down to the 1 but the Danville defense stiffened and the next two plays saw the Hawks get deep into Elkmont’s backfield forcing the Red Devils to attempt a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 10.
Hernandez’s attempt was no good and Danville took over at its own 20.
The rest of the quarter was dominated by each team’s defense, setting the stage for a very exciting fourth quarter.
Danville opened the final period facing second-and-long at the Hawk 42.
Hill dropped back to pass and, despite being pressured, found senior running back Jessie Posey open in the right flat.
Posey then ran for a gain of 20 yards to give Danville a first down at the Red Devil 38.
Three plays later the Hawks faced a fourth-and-2 at the Elkmont 30.
Hill took the snap and ran 5 yards to keep the drive alive. Three plays later, Hill hit Clint McAbee for 22 yards and a Danville touchdown.
Hill and McAbee then connected for the two-point conversion and with 7:50 left in the game, the Hawks were up 14-7.
Hill was 4-of-4 passing for 51 yards on the drive.
The Danville defense forced an Elkmont punt and the Hawks took over at their own 25.
Danville drove to the Red Devil 34 before turning the ball over on downs.
Elkmont then went 65 yards in 12 plays with Huseth hitting Logan Murphy for a 4-yard touchdown with just 11 seconds left in the game.
Hernandez added the extra point to send the game into overtime.
Danville got the ball first in overtime and the Hawks wasted little time getting into the end zone.
On first down, Hill threw a screen pass to Russell who ran the ball down to the 1.
Hill scored on the next play and Lawrence Jacko added the extra point to give Danville a 21-14 lead. Elkmont would score on a 5-yard run by Huseth but the extra point failed.
With the win, Danville moves to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the region.
The Hawks will attempt to even their record Friday when they travel to Rogersville to play the Lauderdale County Tigers. Game time is set for 7 p.m.