After a long night at Russellville Stadium, the Mars Hill Panthers escaped with a 31-30 victory, as a potential game winning field goal by Manny Martinez went wide right with :03 left.
Mars Hill improved to 5-1, with the Panthers' only loss coming to Cullman. Russellville is now 3-3, but still in control of 5A Region 8 with a 3-0 record.
This Friday, the Golden Tigers will face off against the Brewer Patriots, who are 3-3 overall and 2-1 in Region 8 play. The Patriots' three losses are to Ardmore, Arab and Sardis.
Although the Golden Tigers lost , they had several standout performance on offense. Wide receiver Randall Johnson had a great game, as he hauled in five receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
TJ King was close behind with seven receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Harrison Burch finished the night with 322 yards passing, going 12-19 with three touchdowns.
Russellville's Conner Warhurst scored the first touchdown of the night on a 4th and goal run with two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Panthers then returned the kick off for a 95 yard touchdown and the quarter ended 7-7.
The Golden Tigers pulled ahead with seven minutes left in the second quarter with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Burch to Johnson, to bring the score to 14-7.
Near the end of the half the Panthers added a 23-yard field goal to bring the score to 14-10 at the break.
The third quarter started slow, but with five minutes left, the Panthers scored on a 5-yard run to take their first lead, 17-14.
On the Golden Tigers' next offensive play, King caught a 70-yard pass from Burch for a touchdown, and Russellville regained the lead at 20-17 after a failed PAT.
The Panthers quickly responded with a 61 yard touchdown pass. With the PAT, Mars Hill led 24-20, but the lead would not last long, as Russellville scored to go ahead 27-24.
A Martinez field goal late in the fourth quarter gave the Golden Tigers a 30-24 lead.
With two minutes left in the game, the Panthers began their game-winning drive that saw Mars Hill convert three third downs and ended with a nine-yard pass for the win.
The Golden Tigers host Brewer as their Homecoming Week in Russellville. Kickoff Friday will be 7 p.m.
Commenting on this story has been disabled.
