Hewitt-Trussville, James Clemens set to meet again in playoff showdown

Every playoff run is unique, but Hewitt-Trussville and James Clemens find themselves in familiar surroundings and circumstances. The Class 7A squads have played four times – with No. 5 coming Friday night at Madison City Schools Stadium at 7 – half the time in first-round playoff matchups. Hewitt holds a 3-1 overall advantage, but the Huskies are 1-1 in the playoffs with a 43-41 win in 2018 and a 22-0 loss the first time the teams met in 2015. “We seem to always match up with James Clemens,” Hewitt head coach Josh Floyd said. “We always have really good battles with them.” The Jets' head coach, former Chelsea coach Wade Waldrop, said the playoff bracket that pits the Huntsville-area Region 4 and Birmingham-metro Region 3 is a tough matchup. “It’s a little frustrating to always play Birmingham teams, but we have to beat one of those teams to win it all. I think we’re 3-5 in our eight years here.” In the playoffs, the Jets – who started play in 2012 and first made the postseason in Waldrop’s second season in 2014 – are 1-0 vs. Vestavia Hills, 0-2 vs. Hoover, 1-1 vs. Spain Park and 0-1 vs. Oak Mountain, along with the 1-1 mark against Hewitt. “Everything we’ve done since we’ve been here has been to try to build a team that looks and plays like teams in Region 3,” Waldrop said. “Our coaching staff has tried to ingrain in the kids they need to live to a standard. To get to the championship game, you have to get on I-65 and roll through Birmingham and beat those teams. I think our kids understand that and they get excited about playing those games.” RELATED: Week 1 playoff picks Clemens is 8-2 overall and finished region play at 6-1, losing only to region champion Austin (42-28 on Sept. 11). Hewitt-Trussville finished third in Region 3, falling to the top two teams – Thompson (35-21) and Hoover (29-28) over a three-game midseason span. Hewitt (8-2, 5-2) is ranked third in the Alabama Sports Writers Association final regular season poll, behind No. 1 Thompson and No. 2 Hoover. Clemens is ranked 10th. “We were in some really good battles in the region,” Floyd said. “That gets you playoff-ready, being in those situations and in those moments. We had three or four weeks in a row where it pretty much came down to the last few plays of the game.” In nine on-field games – Hewitt has a 1-0 forfeit win over Saraland on its record – the Huskies outscored their opponents 33.3 to 18.2. Floyd’s squad is averaging 251.6 yards rushing per game with 146.3 yards through the air. Auburn commitment Armoni Goodwin bounced back from a season-ending knee injury last year to rush for 1,184 yards and 17 touchdowns on 128 carries for the Huskies. Backfield mate Sean Jackson has 953 yards on 90 attempts with 10 TDs. Jackson also caught 22 passes for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Cade Ott Carruth has completed 103-of-168 passes for 1,628 yards, 15 TDs with five interceptions. His No. 1 target is Omari Kelly, who has caught 32 passes for 634 yards and six scores. “I obviously feel that our backfield has been our strength all year,” Floyd said. “Sean Jackson has played really well all year, doing so many things for us. Armoni and Omari have made so many plays for us, as well.” RELATED: Top Mr. Football candidates Senior linebacker Landen Berguson leads the defense with 114 tackles, 76 solo, with 7 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups and 3 quarterback hurries. Junior defensive end Justice Finkley racked up 8 tackles for loss in his 74 total stops, 42 solo. “Justice is difficult to block,” Floyd said. “He gets double- and triple-teamed. I’ve been proud of him trying to do his job every week. People make it difficult. They know who he is and he’s still played really well. Landen is our senior leader and Bam White has been really consistent at linebacker, too.” Waldrop said that Hewitt’s defense is the major difference he has seen compared to the other meetings between the teams. “I think they are better defensively than they have been in years past,” he said. "Coach (Sean) Talsma does a good job with their defense and you can see them grow on that side of the ball. “Since Coach Floyd has been there, they’ve been very talented on offense. The biggest thing we have to do is tackling. To be in the ballgame, we have to be able to tackle them. They are, without a doubt, the best team we’ve seen all year.” Floyd said he also expects a rugged matchup. “They play hard and are a physical football team,” he said. “I always think first about how physical they are, not just on defense, either. It’s hard to stop them running the football. They also score a lot of touchdowns on defense. They make you pay if you turn the ball over.” The Jets employ a two-quarterback system, Waldrop said, with senior Connor Cantrell and sophomore Giovanni Lopez. "Connor started for us as a freshman when we lost Jamil Muhammad. He’s been really outstanding. Gio has played and produced for us. He’s a dynamic athlete. He’s big (6-foot, 185 pounds), physical and can run. He’s got great arm strength, too. "Defensively, our linebackers have been a bright spot on the team. We moved Jaylin Grigsby from safety to middle linebacker and he’s played really well. Chance Starling is a senior linebacker who plays really hard and has great toughness. “Jamal Mayers is a sophomore at free safety and he’s been a ball magnet,” Waldrop said. “This is just his second year playing. He was a quarterback in his first year and we went to him and told him we thought he was a talented kid and asked if he’d like an opportunity to start at another position. He said he just wanted to play and I think he has seven interceptions this year. He’s found the football every game. For a 10th-grader to step in and play 7A football, he’s had a phenomenal year.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
James Clemens High School Athletics

HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE, JAMES CLEMENS SET TO MEET AGAIN IN PLAYOFF SHOWDOWN

MIKE PERRIN

www.al.com | 11/6/2020