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The Parrish Purple Tornados did everything in their power to give the game away early but came back to claim a 33-21 win over American Christian Academy on Oct. 2, 1998. The Tornados fell behind 21-0 just three minutes into the game but scored 33 unanswered points for the victory.            Parrish entered the game ranked No.1 while American Christian came in as the No. 2 team in Class 1A. It was set up to be a matchup between two teams thought to be state championship caliber squads. Both teams were 5-0.            Parrish fumbled the opening kickoff and Jerrod Hastings recovered for the Patriots at the four-yard line. The short drive took just one play as Joel Hastings scored to give the Patriots a quick 7-0 lead with just 16 seconds gone.            The Tornados fielded the ensuing kickoff but fumbled on their first play from scrimmage. This time Josh Hastings scooped up the football and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Following the extra point, American Christian led 14-0 with 35 seconds having been played in the game.            The Tornados once again fumbled on their first play following the kickoff. This time they were able to avoid a disaster by recovering the ball. They were moving the ball down the field before Jerrod Hastings intercepted an errant pass and returned the ball 59 yards for another touchdown.            The Patriots led 21-0 with 8:40 remaining in the first quarter. They had run one play from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns. The problem was that 44 minutes of football were left to be played in the game.            The Tornados settled down and dominated the game from this point forward. They held the Patriots to two first downs and 77 yards rushing the remainder of the game. Parrish put together a 77-yard drive that ended with a Desmond Woodard 6-yard run and 5:10 left in the first.            Desmond Woodard scored on a 9-yard run with 58 seconds left in the first to cut the ACA lead to 21-14. In the second quarter, Kenji Hill followed that up with a 3-yard run to pull Parrish within 21-20 after the extra point attempt failed. The two teams went into halftime with the score the same.            ACA missed out on two third quarter scoring opportunities to expand their lead. They turned the ball over on downs on the Tornados' 12 yard line and missed a 38-yard field goal attempt.            After a scoreless third quarter, Parrish put together a 80-yard, 10-play drive and scored on Desmond Woodard's 4-yard run with 7:43 remaining in the game for a 26-21 lead. A two-point try failed. Don Rush intercepted a Patriot pass to stop a drive before Parrish set off again. They drove 50 yards and scored with 44 seconds left on Woodard's fourth touchdown of the game.            Woodard rushed for 265 yards on 36 carries to pace a Parrish running attack that gained 409 yards rushing in the game. Neither team completed a pass during the game but Parrish did not need to once they settled down after the near collapse early.            Parrish reached the Class 1A state championship game before falling to Brantley 24-21. American Christian lost to Courtland 14-13 in the second round of the playoffs. There would be no rematch of the best 1A game in 1998. Parrish .................................................. 14   6   0 13 -33 American Christian .............................. 21   0   0   0 -21   American Christian - Joel Hastings 4-yard run (kick) 11:44 American Christian - Joel Hastings 23-yard fumble return (kick) 11:25 American Christian - Jerrod Hasting 59-yard interception return (kick) 8:40 Parrish - Desmond Woodard 6-yard run (kick) 5:10 Parrish - Desmond Woodard 9-yard run (kick) 0:58 Parrish - Kenji Hill 3-yard run (kick failed) Parrish - Desmond Woodard 4-yard run (run failed)  7:43 Parrish - Desmond Woodard 2-yard run (kick) 0:44
Parrish 1998 8/28 22 Oakman . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 9/4 46 Warrior . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9/11 39 Glencoe . . . . . . . . . . . 19 9/18 58 T.W. Martin . . . . . . . 0 9/25 33 Sulligent . . . . . . . . . 6 10/2 33 American Christian . . 21 10/9 49 Ragland . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/16 35 Marion County . . . . . 22 10/23 55 West Jefferson . . . . . 0 10/30 60 Cordova . . . . . . . . . . . 6 11/6 50 Hubbertville * . . . . . 19 11/13 47 Ragland * . . . . . . . . . 8 11/20 21 Carrollton * . . . . . . 7 11/27 27 Courtland * . . . . . . . 6 12/5 21 Brantley # . . . . . . . . 24 596 14-1 144 * Playoff game # State championship game	American Christian 1998 8/28 48 Westbrook Christian . . 13 9/4 18 Carrollton . . . . . . . . 7 9/11 20 Hubbertville . . . . . . 19 9/18 45 Brilliant . . . . . . . . . 16 9/25 49 Phillips Bear Creek . . 21 10/2 21 Parrish . . . . . . . . . . . 33 10/9 47 West Jefferson . . . . . 12 10/16 22 Northside . . . . . . . . . 14 10/23 54 Berry Fayette . . . . . 13 10/30 41 Vina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 11/6 54 Cedar Bluff * . . . . . 0 11/13 13 Courtland * . . . . . . . 14 432 10-2 168 * 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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