Centre, AL – Hopper-to-Horton with 1:16 to play helps Cherokee County beat No. 1 Piedmont for first time since 2009
By Shannon Fagan
Cherokee County quarterback Cade Hopper had a game to forget at Piedmont a year ago. He threw three costly interceptions in the Warriors’ 27-point loss. Warriors coach Jacob Kelley said Hopper took that loss hard. From that point, he committed himself to improving his game. On Friday night at Warrior Stadium, the senior signal caller redeemed himself.
Hopper was pretty much pinpoint on his passes Friday night against the defending Class 3A state champions. He connected on his first six passes and finished 14-of-17 for the game for 176 yards, including the game-winning 50-yard touchdown to senior receiver Malachi Horton with 1:16 remaining, to lift the Warriors to a 21-14 upset victory.
The win halted Piedmont’s 10-game unbeaten streak over the Warriors. The last time the Warriors (2-0) defeated their Highway 9 rivals was 2009, when both teams went on to win their respective class state championships. The win also evened the series at 38-38-3. “There was like two minutes left on the clock, and I’m just trying to look for guys open,” Hopper said. “I’m not trying to force it downfield, force a pick or anything. I just saw Malachi make a little move. He was sitting in the middle of coverage. The linebacker got off of him a little bit and I hit him. The rest, he just made a play. He’s a great ball player, and he took it to the house.”
“How about Cade Hopper coming in and just slipping daggers in?” Kelley said. “This game last year, that kid threw three interceptions. He took it hard. He improved and came out here tonight, just did his job and drove us all the way down the field. He made the plays we needed him to make in the passing game to mix with the run.” Both Hopper and Kelley said they installed the game-winning touchdown play on Thursday. “We’ve always had that play, but Malachi would go the other way,” Hopper said. “We saw some things on film. We told him to come inside.” [*** read more]
Shannon Fagan is Sports Director at WEIS Radio
