Humboldt edges Lake Co. to make playoffs

TIPTONVILLE - It wasn’t often when players from either Humboldt or Lake County made big plays during their regular season finale Thursday night as both defenses worked well to keep the scoring totals low in the first three quarters.

But players from both teams made plays in the fourth quarter for a close finish.

Humboldt came out on top, 21-18. The win puts Humboldt into the Class 1A playoffs traveling to Memphis next week to play the winner of KIPP Academy and Middle College.

The loss ends Lake County’s season with a record of 5-5.

“We thought it would end like this because everything looked even between us going into the game,” said Humboldt head coach Junior Reid. “We’d beaten the same teams and lost to the same teams, so all that was left was for us to play to see who’d win.

“Luckily we came out on top.”

Things didn’t look good for a few minutes for the Vikings. Up 14-12 in the fourth quarter, the Vikings turned it over on downs.

Lake County scored to take the lead four plays later after a long run by Dezmon Johnson flipped the field. He was stopped only by a diving Terrell Champion who made a grab close to the 20-yard line to keep him from scoring on that play.

Zack Dryden connected with James Nobles two plays later to give the Falcons the 18-14 lead.

“After that happened, we just had to tell the guys keep playing,” Reid said. “We only had a few minutes left, so we needed to score on that possession.”

Humboldt marched the field after that to take the lead back. The drive included a fourth-down conversion.

The Vikings did take the lead when quarterback Izaya Brown ran in from two yards out around the left side and dove into the end zone just inside the pylon to give Humboldt the three-point lead with 35 seconds remaining.

Lake County threw four passes after that with none of them being complete to end the game.

Brown scored Humboldt’s first touchdown in the first quarter on a 55-yard run.

Larry Tubbs cut Humboldt’s lead to 7-6 about five minutes later with a one-yard run.

Champion extended Humboldt’s lead in the second quarter with a 35-yard interception return.

Tubbs ran in from a yard out early in the fourth to cut Humboldt’s lead to two before the final series of events.

Humboldt will begin preparations for the playoffs, while Lake County’s offseason begins with most of its team returning and positive prospects for next year with two of the perennial powers in the region moving up to Class 2A.

Brandon Shields, 425-9751