No. 1 Leroy overcame a mistake prone third quarter and the running of Elba’s Alvin Henderson to make with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Huebner to Josh Reed with 56.4 seconds left in the game stand up for a 27-24 win in the Class 1A semifinals at Joe Palmer Stadium on Friday night.

Huebner’s pass to Reed — which capped a 13-for-26 performance for 269 yards and four touchdowns — helped propel the Bears (13-0) back to the Super 7, where they will face Coosa Christian in the Class 1A championship game on next Thursday.

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Three of Huebner’s touchdown passes went to Taylor Crumedy, who finished the night with seven receptions for 194 yards. Crumedy was injured earlier in the season and was slightly injured during Friday night’s game before returning to the game.

“I came back and played again, and I was looking forward to this moment,” he said. “I was cramping at the moment, but it went away.”

Leroy fumbled three times in the third quarter, with two of them leading to Elba scores. But the Bears somehow found a way to win.

“We jumped out early and then made some mistakes in the second half, but these kids never quit and kept fighting,” said Leroy head coach Chan Lowe. “I can’t be any prouder. You won’t find a better community than this. These folks are going to show up week in and week out and supporting these kids and this team.

Huebner and Crumedy’s performances, plus an untimely turnover on Elba’s final possession, overcame an outstanding performance by Henderson, who rushed 31 times for 302 yards and three touchdowns.

For Elba head coach Marc Sieving, it was a tough end to an otherwise fine season.

“It was a great football game,” he said. “I’m really proud of how we responded in the second half after being down at halftime and putting up a fight, but (give) credit to Leroy— they’ve got a good football team and you can’t make mistakes and stall your drives.”

After Elba (13-1) drove down the field on its opening drive and came up empty after Alexander Wisecup missed a 31-yard field goal attempt, Huebner hit a wide-open Crumedy on a 61-yard bomb. The extra point was no good.

Elba came back strong two possessions later and went on a 90-yard drive, capped by Henderson’s 2-yard touchdown run. Wisecup’s PAT gave the Tigers the lead, 7-6. The Bears jumped back on top when Huebner found a diving Crumedy on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Mosley’s PAT made it 13-7.

After Jason Byrd intercepted Brayden Johnson’s pass in the end zone with time running out in the first half, Leroy overcame a holding penalty and the Huebner-Crumedy connection struck again, this time for 88 yards and a score. Mosely’s PAT made it 20-7.

Henderson’s 45-yard kickoff return gave Elba a chance to cut into the lead. The Tigers got to the 27 as a result of the big return, but the Bear defense held firm and forced Elba to throw. Huebner intercepted Johnson’s pass in the end zone, ending the half.

The Bears appeared ready to coast to the win, but disaster struck when they fumbled the second-half kickoff and Elba recovered. Henderson’s 31-yard touchdown run on the next play trimmed the score to 20-14.

Leroy fumbled again on its next possession after driving to the Tigers’ 11. Henderson scored on an 84-yard run two plays later, and Wisecup’s PAT gave Elba a 21-20 lead. The Tigers stretched the lead to four when Wisecup kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:52 left in the game.

Elba’s short kickoff gave the Bears good field position at the Tigers’ 48, and Huebner’s 24-yard run on second-and-10 put Leroy in business, After two pass incompletions and facing a third-and-10, Huebner scrambled and found Reed in the corner of the end zone with 56.4 seconds left in the game. Rob Mosley’s PAT made it 27-24.

Elba still had one more chance and resorted with some trickery. Blocking back Jacob Watkins took the ball on a “fumblerooski” to keep Leroy off balance and gained 11 yards. But he fumbled and Leroy recovered the ball. The Bears then ran out the clock, prompting a celebration in the home stands.

“We snapped it to our blocking back and he had good yards, but the ball got away from him,” said Sieving. “But you can’t make that many mistakes.”

Star of the game: Take your pick, Huebner and Crumedy. Their first-half heroics basically set the tone for the game.

Play of the game: Obviously, Huebner’s game-winning pass to Reed. Huebner showed extreme poise and patience in the pocket, waiting for Reed to get open. The Bears were facing a third-and-10 at that point after two incompletions, and Elba had been in man-to-man coverage for most of the night. Without a deep safety, Elba was defenseless against Huebner’s arm.

By the numbers: 4, total number of penalties for Leroy; 7, total number of first downs for Leroy in the first half; 10, total number of penalties for Elba; 80, total penalty yards for Elba; 110, rushing yards by Henderson in the first half; 213, total passing yards for Huebner in the first half; 381, total rushing yardage for Elba,

Stats: For Leroy, Jason Byrd had two catches for seven yards in addition to his interception, while Huebner rushed six times for 43 yards and Ja’kavien Collins rushed 10 times for 53 yards. For Elba, Cayden Adkins rushed nine times for 58 yards.

Coachspeak: “There wasn’t really a sense of panic. Our kids just responded. They never got down. We always talk about facing adversity, and those three turnovers were adversity and we overcame it.” — Lowe.

They said it: “I was feeling good. They (the Elba defenders) were telling me I was sorry, but it didn’t do nothing but boost my confidence.” — Crumedy.