By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

GAYLESVILLE – First-year Cedar Bluff head football coach Cole Murphy knows all about the Tigers’ rivalry with the Gaylesville Trojans.

When he was a quarterback with the Trojans back in 2013, Murphy directed one of Gaylesville’s most memorable wins over the Tigers in a classic one-point shootout.

On Friday night, Murphy was on the other end of a classic battle, but for him, the result was the same.

Jamison Miller’s 15-yard touchdown run and ensuing 2-point conversion with 5:21 remaining in the game provided the winning margin for the Tigers (4-5, 2-4), creating a three-way tie for the final playoff spot from Class 1A, Region 8.

Murphy called the win “big for our program.”

“I was talking to my wife (Sara Beth) about the game, and I was like ‘If it’s got to be this big, let it be for everything.’

“Everybody wants to know about the playoffs, especially when you go on a three-game losing streak against three region teams. The kids start thinking ‘Do we have a chance?’ I just told them we have a chance, but nothing else matters but this game.”

Gaylesville coach Brian Knapp called Friday’s game with Cedar Bluff “just an old fashioned small town high school football game.”

“It was one of those games you hated to see somebody get beat,” Knapp said. “It was back and forth, two different styles. They spread it out, and we play in a phone booth. I’m proud of our kids’ effort. They laid it on the line, but hats off to them. They made the plays when they had to.”

But it was Gaylesville who made the plays early in the game.

The Trojans received the opening kickoff and methodically marched 62 yards in 13 plays, including two fourth-down conversions. Sean Poss capped the drive with his 1-yard touchdown run. The try on the 2-point conversion was fumbled, keeping the score at 6-0 Gaylesville with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.

It remained a 6-0 game until late in the second quarter. Cedar Bluff quarterback Dallas Storey connected with Jamison Miller on a 40-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining before halftime. The Trojans blocked the extra point to keep the game tied at 6-6 as both teams headed into the locker rooms.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Tigers broke the tie on Storey’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Zach Jones. The ensuing 2-point try failed, but Cedar Bluff was in front for the first time at 12-6 with 9:21 remaining in the game.

Storey led the Tigers by completing 7-of-12 pass attempts for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 99 yards on 13 carries.

Jones was Storey’s top receiver with three catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

“Coach Knapp is good at what he does, and he does it against everybody. We knew that going in,” Murphy said. “I knew I couldn’t be as selective on my play calling. We had to be a little more aggressive in the passing game, and it helped us out.”

The Trojans didn’t back down. It took them just three plays to tie the game again – this time on Jack Sentell’s 41-yard touchdown run. Sentell fumbled on the 2-point conversion run, keeping things deadlocked at 12 with 7:50 to go in the game.

That set the stage for what turned out to be Miller’s winning touchdown run and successful 2-point try with 5:21 remaining.

The Tigers had a chance to separate themselves even further from the Trojans when Eythen Ward fumbled a snap which was recovered by Trent Cooper at Gaylesville’s 8-yard line.

However, the Trojan defense stiffened and prevented Cedar Bluff from putting the game away with a stop on fourth down.

Gaylesville had one last chance with 2:50 remaining. Backed up at their own 4-yard line, the Trojans managed a first down, but four incomplete Ward passes turned the ball over to Cedar Bluff.

The Tigers ran out the remaining 1:53 for the final.

“I challenged a few of them at halftime because they weren’t doing what we needed them to the first half,” Murphy said. “I’m proud of them. They stepped up and did what they had to do to win.”

In the closing seconds of the game, the Cedar Bluff players doused Murphy with a water cooler, but the proud moment quickly turned into a scary one.

Tiger running back Jeremiah Miller stumbled to the ground and lost consciousness. He remained motionless for several moments while being tended to. He eventually regained consciousness and was escorted off the field on a stretcher to be examined.

“He’s OK,” Murphy said. “He just plays hard. This is an important game and that’s what happens when you play hard. You give it your all.

“But it does remind you that it’s just a game. It was humbling. I know what this game means, but it brings you down to earth. It reminds you that this (game) is not the most important thing.”

Sentell led the Trojans with 175 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. Poss added 76 yards on 14 totes with a score.

Gaylesville travels to Verbena on Friday to close out the regular season. Cedar Bluff entertains Sand Rock on Thursday.