Red Level battled back in the second half of the homecoming game, but came up short against Samson 54-32. The team finished the season on Friday night.
RLS The Head Coach Kenny Skipper said this was the youngest team he has had since he assumed the reins of his school of choice in.
“We performed as badly as you could play in the opening half, but did our best in the second period. There were certain calls that didn’t be our way and I’m sorry for the players because it affected their performance for the remainder part of the match. I’m very proud of how we performed in the second period. There are youngsters who are going to develop into great footballers however, they’re just a group of ninth graders in the present. I’m extremely proud of my team and we’ll keep working and getting better in the coming season,” Skipper said.
Red Level (2-8) began the game with offense and scored a first down when Koltin Barlow completed a 15-yard passing for Javen Poindexter. The drive went into a halt when the play ended however, as Samson (3-7) began to take over at the 33-yard line in front of home. Brodey Mixon ended an eight-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown sprint. The kickoff was blocked, which made it 6-0 at 7:35 in the first half. Devan Parker followed that with the big kickoff return at the 38-yard mark. Barlow was able to connect with Poindexter once more for a huge gain at midfield prior to an intercept.
From the 46-yard line on its own, Samson was rewarded with a 32-yard run by Kelin Hornsby. Mixon added a touchdown in the following play from 22 yards, and then added a two-point conversion to give Samson an 14-0 lead. Malique Copeland kicked off the return team with a massive kickoff return towards the line of 45 yards. Defense forced a three-and-out however Red Level held serve and returned possession at the close of the third quarter.
Barlow scored two first downs from the air. He completed an 13-yard touchdown pass to Poindexter and a 15-yard passes to Copeland. Samson ended the threat and extended up the score to 20-0 after a one-yard touchdown run by Mixon. The PAT was stopped after 7:06 minutes until halftime. Red Level then went on a nine-play drive of 76 yards at the feet of Poindexter, who accumulated 64 yards, including 26 yards of running into the goal zone. Ben Carroll added the PAT and reduced the deficit to 20-7 at 2:25 during the opening half.
Mixon returned the kickoff for a touchdown after only 14 seconds. The two-point attempt was successful and increased the lead to 28-7. Shambrian Mayes was able to make a good return across the midfield towards the 41-yard line that was occupied by the visitors. However, RLS fell victim to backwards passes, which resulted in a mishap, which gave Samson his ball. Chase Ray threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Lamb, and the PAT gave the team an advantage of 35-7 at the halftime.
Samson was able to move the chains twice during its first second-half drive but the team punted and was put Red Level deep. Poindexter only needed one play to score a 93-yard touchdown within 15 seconds and brought the score up to 35-13 following a blocked kick. Mixon completed the following drive for Samson by scoring a touchdown of 2 yards run just three minutes later, and raised the score to 42-13. Again, Red Level responded in three games when Barlow made a touchdown pass of 48 yards passing to the Poindexter. Carroll’s goal following made the score 42-20 at 4:02 into the third.
Following a defensive stop Red Level set up shop at its 1-yard line. Poindexter sprinted the second play from the scrimmage, which was 55 yards, while the other team took 40. The third quarter came to an end with a tally, and Barlow made contact with Copeland for a gain of 8 yards and the first down to begin the fourth. Poindexter then followed with a one-yard run to the line of goal. The penalty was rescinded and the score was kept at 42-26 with 11:37 left to the end of. Samson began in the opposing territory and made it to the home 33 before making a punt. Red Level got another touchdown run from Poindexter, and cut the deficit to 42-32 at the 5:58 mark.
Red Level was then awarded the ball after an onside kick, but the ruling was changed and led to Samson being awarded possession. Three minutes later a touchdown of one yard by Mixon increased the score to 48-32. Red Level was unable to take advantage of an interception that stopped a brief drive. John Yarbrough capped the scoring by running 31 yards for a touchdown and ended the game.
The article Red Level ends season by losing a tough homecoming game to Samson 54-32 was originally published at The Andalusia Star-News.
