In Florence, Class 3A No. 1-ranked Mars Hill overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off 5A Russellville 27-24 and hand the Golden Tigers their first loss of the season.

Panthers senior quarterback Griffin Hanson threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Isaiah Owens and 52 yards to Tanner Caudle in a three-minute span as Mars Hill (6-0) rallied from down 24-13 to regain the lead for good with 4:31 remaining.

Hanson earlier got Mars Hill on the scoreboard with his legs in the first quarter, racing 68 yards on a quarterback keeper after the Golden Tigers (5-1) jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

Russellville sophomore back Cam Phinizee grounded out 157 yards and helped Russellville carry a 17-13 lead to the locker room at halftime with touchdown runs of 42 and 6 yards. Emmanuel Martinez also kicked a 21-yard field goal for the Golden Tigers’ initial points.

William Owens ran 41 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter as Mars Hill took its first lead at 13-10.

Russellville appeared in control after recovering a fumble at the Panthers 6 late in the third quarter. Quarterback Harrison Burch finished off the short drive by running untouched for the final three yards to the end zone with 45 seconds remaining in the third. Martinez kicked the PAT for a 24-13 advantage.

Mars Hill’s defense took control in the final period. It allowed just five total yards until time expired on the Golden Tigers’ last desperation drive that ended in Mars Hill territory against the Panthers’ prevent defense.

Star of the game: Hanson, Mars Hill’s multi-talented two-way player, completed 7-of-10 passes for 113 yards, his last two throws resulting in TDs. He also ran eight times for 88 yards. “Griffin Hanson is just a ball player. He’s a winner. Offense, defense, it doesn’t matter. I’m thankful he’s on our team,” said Mars Hill coach Darrell Higgins.

Plays of the game: With the defense doing its part, Hanson and Mars Hill’s offense struck quickly to regain the lead in the fourth. He first found Owens in the back of the end zone with a perfectly thrown pass to draw the Panthers to within 24-19 with just under eight minutes to go, then tossed the go-ahead, 52-yard touchdown pass to Caudle – who out-ran double coverage – with 4½ minutes left.

Stat sheet: Russellville – Phinizee’s 157 rushing yards gives him 1,209 (201.5 ypg) this season, but he managed only 36 yards in the second half. Burch completed 14-of-23 passes for 168 yards with a rushing touchdown, but he was sacked five times. Mars Hill – The Panthers had one penalty for 10 yards. Caudle had three catches for 69 yards. Mars Hill was limited to 32 points below its season scoring average entering the contest (59.0 ppg).

By the numbers: 27, total points allowed by the Panthers’ defense over the last four games. Mars Hill has outscored its opponents 322-79 this year … 22, Friday’s game marked the 22nd time since 2017 that Mars Hill has faced an opponent from a higher AHSAA classification. The Panthers are 2-0 in that span vs. 2A teams (while in 1A), 2-0 vs. 3A (while in 2A), 5-3 vs. 4A, 5-0 vs. 5A and 1-4 against 6A opponents … 132, points scored by Phinizee through six games this season on 22 rushing touchdowns. He entered the game as the AHSAA’s scoring leader across all classifications.

Coachspeak: “This is a huge win for our program. I’m really proud of our defense and the way they fought in the second half. This is something we can build on.” – Mars Hill’s Higgins

“I didn’t do a good job of making adjustments. I didn’t get our guys ready at the half to come out and finish the deal. We went toe-to-toe with the No. 1-ranked team in 3A and we did some goods things and some bad things. We’ve got to fix the bad.” – Russellville coach John Ritter

What’s next? Mars Hill visits venerable C.T. Manley Stadium for a 3A, Region 8 game against Colbert County. The Golden Tigers are on the road to face Brewer in a 5A, Region 8 matchup.