On a great night for football, Pinecrest Academy, a three touch-down underdog, took on Trion High School and came out with a hard fought win. The scoring began with a 40 yard field goal by Chris Birozes early in the first quarter to make the score 3-0.  Then the Paladins had four goal line stances in the first half to keep Trion off the scoreboard.

In the second half, on a long snap over Trion's kicker's head, Adam Maresco ran down the kicker and tackled him on the 15 yard line. Three plays later, John Paul Metz ran it into the end zone for the only Pinecrest touchdown, making the score 10-0.

In the fourth quarter, Pinecrest was punting, and the snap went over Zach Guard's head and into the end zone, where Guard stepped on the boundary and gave Trion a safety with six minutes to go in the game. On the pursuing kickoff, Trion ran the ball back 45 yards to the Pinecrest 25. 

On fourth and goal with 1:56 seconds left, the quarterback threw a pass, and the defensive secondary was called for pass interference, which gave them a first and goal.

Three plays later, Trion was in the end zone with the score Pinecrest 10-8. Trion attempted a two-point conversion and was stopped by Adam Maresco on the half yard line to give the Paladins a victory.

The Paladins are 2-1 and start region play at Mt. Pisgah on Friday, Sept. 16  at 7:30 p.m.