In the third quarter, Piedmont found themselves with a two-touchdown lead over the state’s powerhouse team in Class 5A, Carl Albert.
But the #1-ranked and unbeaten Titans took a late lead, and a pick six with about a minute to go that resulted in a final score of Carl Albert 38 and Piedmont 24.
Carl Albert scored 28 unanswered points.
The Titans took the lead on a 52-yard pass from quarterback Kevin Sperry Jr. to Trystan Haynes. Sperry tied the game 24-24 on a 2-yard touchdown run.
Piedmont had a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter after two Josh Mars touchdown passes.
On Carl Albert’s first play from scrimmage, Piedmont intercepted Sperry to start their upset bid that fell short.
Sperry’s pass was overthrown and landed in the arms of Kyle McGougan. McGougan bobbled the ball, and it was snagged out of the air by Ethan Shelton who advanced to Carl Albert’s 45-yard line.
How it happened
Piedmont punted on their first offensive possession. And after the McGougan interception, Mars completed a pass to Tyson Benford who was tackled at the 18-yard line, and Piedmont challenged the Titan defense early.
Weston Thomas caught a 12-yard pass from Mars for the Wildcats first score, giving Piedmont a 7-0 lead with 8:13 left in the first quarter.
Carl Albert answered on their next possession with a dose of screen passes that picked up chunks of yardage from running backs Trystan Haynes and Xavier Robinson. Robinson scored the Titan’s first TD.
Piedmont’s offense continued to move behind Cannon Wood and keep the Titans off the field.
Tyson Benford took a pitch from Mars and turned the left corner for a 52-yard, breakaway run to the 8-yard line. The run set up the second Mars touchdown pass on a fourth and 2. Mars scrambled and found Seth Shelton in the back of the end zone. The extra point from Noah Ward was good, and Piedmont led 14-7 with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats built a 21-7 lead with positive yards picked up by Jayden Fuston and Cannon Wood. Wood scored on a 1-yard run to push the lead to 21-10 with a minute to go in the half.
Piedmont then recovered the kickoff, a pooch kick that rolled around on the carpet and was recovered. The Wildcats tacked on a field goal from Ward as the second quarter ended for a 24-10 lead.
Penalties plagued Carl Albert throughout the night. In the third quarter, the Titans overcame a first and 40 yards to-go situation following four 15-yard penalties for illegal blocks and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on a coach.
Piedmont dropped to 7-3 on the year as they head into the postseason.
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