Sequatchie ahead of Hixson in game called at halftime

Chalk it up to a full moon on Friday the 13th or just some electrical problems, but Hixson and Sequatchie County's nonregion football game was called off at halftime Friday night after some lights on the Wildcats' home side started to spark and failed to turn back on.

Sequatchie County (2-1) had scored with 12 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 20-14 lead on a 1-yard run by Harley Meeks. The short plunge into the end zone capped off a nice drive by the Indians that mixed a couple of big pass plays into a run-heavy attack.

"Offensively, I felt pretty good," Sequatchie coach Mark Wattenbarger said. "We did some nice things, but now we get back to work and focus on getting better. We are just dealing with so many injuries and aren't quite where we need to be."

For Hixson (0-2), the early dismissal squandered any chances of a comeback bid and an opportunity to get in the win column headed into a region game next week. The Wildcats had erased a 14-0 deficit to tie it before Sequatchie regained the lead.

Ryan Johnson scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and added a 90-yard scamper in the second for the Indians. Nyikee Logan's 48-yard run put Hixson on the board, and Richard Hunter's 24-yard pass to Reginald Hunter knotted it up with 2:23 to play in the half.

The Wildcats never got another possession.

"Life isn't fair, and that's true on the football field sometimes," Hixson coach Gary Murray said of the unfortunate stoppage. "Both teams were playing really hard and competing, and that's a great thing. When you have that, it's good football - it's pure. We'll pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get ready for next week."

As Hixson's band wrapped up its halftime performance, some lights started sparking and power to them was shut off for safety reasons. After attempts to remedy the situation and a lengthy discussion on the field, the game was called. The teams were unable to agree on a date to resume play.

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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