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It took a miracle in Cordova for the Hazlewood Golden Bears to win and reach the 1988 state championship game against New Brockton. When most teams would have given up any hope of winning, Hazlewood simply found a way to accomplish the impossible.            In the semi-finals of the state playoffs, Cordova pushed Hazlewood to the limit. After a first quarter 86-yard punt return touchdown by future Alabama star Antonio Langham, the Golden Bears were clinging to a 6-0 lead when Alan Pate of Cordova scored on a three yard run to take a 7-6 lead.            Minutes later a 10-yard interception return for a touchdown by Joe Willisled gave Cordova a 14-6 lead with just 3:15 remaining in the game. Another interception by the Blue Devils with 1:52 remaining seemed to seal the win for the home team. Hazlewood had but one timeout left.            After failing to move the ball, Cordova lined up to punt from deep in their own territory. The Red Devils attempted to take a safety but were flagged for delay of game. Cordova decided to punt the football away with just ten seconds remaining. Hazlewood blocked the punt falling on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.            The two-point conversion pass from quarterback Tim Smith to Curtis Fitch tied the game at 14-14 and the game was headed for overtime. Cordova got the football first but after failing to move the ball, Chris Mullinax missed a short field goal.            Antonio Langham, who had scored the Golden Bears' first touchdown on a spectacular 86-yard punt return, lined up to attempt a 28-yard field goal on fourth down to give Hazlewood the win. His kick was good and the Golden Bears had pulled off the almost impossible.            One week later, Hazlewood throttled New Brockton 28-0 to claim their sixth state championship. The title was the first of five consecutive championships the Golden Bears won between 1988-1992. And it almost never happened except for one miraculous blocked punt in Cordova.      Hazlewood ..............................   6   0   0    8   3 - 17 Cordova ..................................   0   0   0   14   0 - 14   Hazlewood - Langham 86-yard punt return (kick failed) Cordova - Pate 3-yard run (Mullinax kick) Hazlewood - Willisled 10-yard interception return (Mullinax kick) Hazlewood - Blocked punt recovered in end zone (Smith to Fitch) Hazlewood - Langham 28-yard field goal
Hazlewood 1988 8/26 25 Courtland . . . . . . . . . 12 9/1 19 Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . 13 9/9 35 West Limestone . . . . . 21 9/16 7 Colbert County . . . . . 22 9/23 40 Dickens County TN . . . 12 9/30 49 Falkville . . . . . . . . . 6 10/7 24 Lamar County . . . . . . 21 10/14 34 Hatton . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/21 40 West Morgan . . . . . . . 6 10/28 36 Lawrence County . . . . 17 11/5 49 North Sand Mountain * . 0 11/11 31 Gaston * . . . . . . . . . . 7 11/18 27 West Morgan * . . . . . 0 11/25 17 Cordova * . . . . . . . . . 14 12/2 28 New Brockton # . . . . . 0 461 14-1 151 * Playoff game # State championship game	Cordova 1988 8/27 35 Curry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9/2 35 Carbon Hill . . . . . . . 15 9/9 48 Parrish . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/16 40 Cold Springs . . . . . . 6 9/23 0 Addison . . . . . . . . . . . 13 9/30 46 Vinemont . . . . . . . . . . 15 10/7 34 Repton . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/14 20 Dora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 10/21 7 Courtland . . . . . . . . . 13 10/28 39 Winfield . . . . . . . . . . 8 11/4 25 Ohatchee * . . . . . . . . 0 11/11 42 Berry Fayette * . . . . 13 11/18 7 Addison * . . . . . . . . . 0 11/25 14 Hazlewood * . . . . . . . 17 392 11-3 121 * Playoff game

  The Memorable Games, a series on the important and memorable games in high school football history

David Parker
  AHSFHS.org
  dparker@ahsfhs.org

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