A feverish comeback attempt by the Valwood Valiants fell short as the Autauga Generals held on for a 38-29 victory on Saturday in Montgomery, Ala.

A 75-yard drive by the Generals culminated with a 38-yard touchdown run by Jordan Epkins, putting the Generals ahead 26-3 with 2:08 to go in the second quarter.

The Valiants came out of the locker room looking to find momentum and quickly discovered it as quarterback Caleb Burns found J.D. Scurry for a 33-yard gain. On the next possession, Burns found reigning GISA Region 3-3A Player of the Year Cam Walker for a touchdown. The 80-yard drive made the score 26-10 in favor of the Generals.

On the next Autauga possession, quarterback Tripp Carr broke for what looked to be a big gain. A Valwood defender was able to dislodge the ball as Carr went down, leading to a recovery by the Valiants.

Burns, who the Valiants stuck with at quarterback in the second half, took over the game with three big runs downfield before finding Walker with a feathery throw to the corner of the end zone to pull the Valiants within a 26-17 deficit of the Generals with 5:47 to go in the third quarter.

The Generals responded behind Carr as he hit on a touchdown pass to push the Autauga lead to 15 with 8:52 to go in the game.

The Valiants turned the ball over on downs to give possession back to Autauga. After stopping the Generals on two consecutive snaps, the Valiants put the Generals in a third-and-long situation. With momentum hanging in the balance, Carr snatched it in the Generals favor –– finding receiver Kendrick Rogers for a 29-yard gain.

Though the Valiants forced the Generals to punt later in the drive, they still had time to inch closer. Burns found Sam Martin near the goal line on fourth-and-4 to put the Valiants in scoring position. Martin fumbled on the play but was able to retain possession and set up first-and-goal for the Valiants.

Martin made good on his next opportunity as he punched in a 2-yard run to make it a 32-23 game with 5:20 to go in the game.

The Generals got a critical 10-yard gain on a run from Epkins on their next possession followed by a 15-yard penalty on the Valiants that sweetened the field position for the Generals. On the next play, Carr found Rogers again for a long touchdown throw with 2:23 left to put the Generals ahead 38-23.

The game virtually out of reach, the Valiants got one more touchdown connection from Burns to Martin with 1:09 left in the game. The Valiants went for a two-point conversion but Burns’ throw to Scurry in the corner of the end zone sailed too high for Scurry to make the catch.

The Generals ran the clock out to seal the victory.

QB FOUND?

Despite the loss, the Valiants may finally have their answer at quarterback.

After using Will Clifton, Zach Paulk and Burns in the first half, Valwood head coach Ashley Henderson found the spark he was looking for with Burns under center in the second half. Given Burns’ command and productivity, he surely made his case to supplant Clifton as the starter moving forward.

UP NEXT

Valwood remains on the road, traveling to Savannah for a showdown with Memorial Day next Friday.