Falkville came up short Friday night against Decatur Heritage, falling 21-14.

The Blue Devils came into the game with a chance to win the region championship with a win over the undefeated Eagles.

Falkville started the game with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped off by a Christian Angulo three-yard touchdown run. The highlight of the drive was a 38-yard completion from Peyton Sallee to Mikell Philyaw. The score put the Blue Devils up 7-0.

Decatur Heritage would answer the Falkville scoring drive with a five-play, 65-yard scoring drive. The Eagles’ Stratton Orr connected with Alex Malone on a 39-yard touchdown pass with 6:20 to go in the first quarter. 

Following the missed extra point, Falkville led 7-6.

The Eagles would take the lead with a two-play, 38-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter. Colton Keith scored on a 12-yard run to give Decatur Heritage a 14-7 lead.

Decatur Heritage extended that lead early in the second half. Orr connected on his second touchdown pass of the game, this one to Baker Wilson for 30 yards. Following the extra point, the Eagles led 21-7.

Falkville would cut the lead to 21-14 following a 10-play, 56-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter. Angulo punched it in from two yards out for the Blue Devil score.

The Falkville defense came up with a third-down sack for a loss of 10 yards that would force an Eagles’ punt. The Blue Devils got excellent field position when the punt bounced into the helmet of a Decatur Heritage player at the 50-yard line.

Unfortunately for Falkville, the Blue Devils could not take advantage of the field position and turned the ball over on downs after gaining three yards – giving the ball back to the Eagles with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Falkville got one final chance when Decatur Heritage missed a 38-yard field goal attempt with about a minute left on the clock.

The Blue Devils needed to drive 80 yards in less than a minute for the game-tying score. They gained 42 yards in a matter of a few seconds, but it was the Eagles’ defense that got a game-winning stop, forcing Falkville to turn the ball over on downs with 23 seconds to go.

Falkville (4-4, 3-2) will be off this week before hosting Gaylesville Oct. 25. Decatur Heritage (8-0, 4-0) will travel to Gaylesville this Friday night.