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By Stephen Dawkins | Special to the Reporter

Isabella High School came up just short on the road at Vincent High School, falling 49-41 in shootout of a game on Oct. 18.

Playing a scrappy team that was fighting for a playoff berth, VHS scored 23 fourth-quarter points to lock up homefield advantage in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs.

“Our kids played great, and for the most part the offense was clicking,” Isabella head coach Tate Leonard said. “Proud of our guys, Vincent has a great football team. It is a shame that Tuscaloosa Academy and Vincent will finish first and second (in the region) and we lost to both of them by a touchdown. That is tough to swallow.”

A trick play on the first possession of the game advanced the ball into the red zone for Isabella, but the Yellow Jackets (7-1 overall, 4-1 in Region 5 play) stopped their visitors on fourth down and goal to go.

The Jackets then embarked on a 14-play, 96-yard drive for the game’s first points. Aiden Gasaway was the workhorse on the drive, and Grayson Gulde punched it in.

Daniel Campos’ point-after made it 7-0.

Another stop by the Vincent defense got the ball back for the hosts, but an interception by Isabella’s Kaden Tuttle turned it over to the Mustangs (3-6, 1-4), who drove to tie the game at 7-all.

Vincent was then forced to punt, and Tuttle returned it all the way—about 65 yards—for a touchdown and the lead. The score was 13-7 after a blocked extra point. Tuttle was also the leading tackler on Isabella’s defense with 20 stops, followed by Lane Mims with 17 and Colten Leonard with 11.

It took only three plays for the Yellow Jackets to answer: a 26-yard run by Jayden Roberts, a 24-yard pass from Lane Mims to Landon Archer, and the seven-yard touchdown run by Gasaway. Vincent led 14-13 after the Campos kick.

Isabella managed to score as time expired in the first half and took a 21-14 lead into intermission with a 2-point conversion.

VHS fumbled the opening kickoff of the third quarter, and the Mustangs turned the miscue into points and a 28-14 lead. Jedaiah Works was the leading rusher for Isabella with 109 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns, and grabbed another touchdown through the air from quarterback Lexi Wilkins. Wilkins threw his second touchdown pass to Jordan Hines later in the game.

Vincent responded quickly with a 53-yard touchdown strike from Mims to Phoenix Maxwell. The point-after was good, but the Yellow Jackets had cut the deficit to 28-20.

Archer gave the ball back to the hosts with an interception and return inside the 10-yard line, and Gasaway took it from there. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, but Vincent now trailed by just two points at 28-26.

The Jackets defense forced a three-and-out, but a fumbled punt gave the ball back to Isabella, who once again capitalized and took a 35-26 lead.

Mims was on fire to start the fourth quarter, completing passes of 10 yards and 30 yards to Archer, and connecting with Deontaye Robertson from four yards out for a touchdown. The Campos extra point made it 35-33 in favor of Isabella.

After a defensive stop, Mims kept the chains moving again on an eight-play drive that included a 31-yard pass to Archer and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Camari Keller.

Gasaway ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 41-35 Vincent.

Then it was Isabella’s turn to fumble a kick, as the guests dropped the kickoff, leading to a series of Gasaway runs that eventually found the end zone.

Archer passed to Kade Goza for the two-point conversion to make it 49-35.

The Mustangs scored once more on a long pass play and attempted an onside kick, but Vincent recovered and ran out the clock.

Mims completed nine passes in 13 attempts for 195 yards and three touchdowns.

Archer had 85 yards receiving on three catches, and Maxwell added 64 receiving yards.

Gasaway rushed 23 times for 109 yards and three touchdowns.

“Our record does not show how much I love this football team,” Leonard said. “They have done nothing but get better, they show up to work every day and I could not be prouder of them. The way I feel about them is not the way our record shows. There were a lot of games we certainly could have won, and I am looking forward to the future.”

Isabella (3-5) hosts Lamar County High School in its next game on Oct. 25, the Mustangs final game this season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.