If ever there was a rivalry game that lived up to the hype beforehand, this one was it., as defending Class 4A state champion Oneonta held off a late rally by Locust Fork to score a 35-26 win Friday night.

In what was arguably the biggest football game played at Locust Fork in 13 years, a standing-room-only crowd filled the stadium an hour before kickoff, producing an electric atmosphere that the homestanding fans hoped would end a long victory drought against the Redskins.

But the eighth-ranked Oneonta team took advantage of early jitters suffered by the Hornets to race to a 28-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Locust Fork then found their footing and made for some anxious moments for the Redskin fans before the Hornets finally succumbed, as Oneonta scored its 14th straight victory over Locust Fork.

The Hornets actually had the first scoring chance of the game, after returning a short opening kickoff by Oneonta to the Redskins 43-yard line. But a penalty and a bobbled snap denied Locust Fork a first down, forcing the Hornets to punt.

Then Redskins quarterback Zach Dimmock took over, unleashing a passing attack that riddled the Hornet secondary throughout the first half. Dimmock moved the Redskins opening possession 78 yards for a touchdown, with the score coming on a third-and-13 play from their own 41-yard line. Dimmock neatly pump-faked a Hornet defender and hit Luke Wall – who transferred from Hayden in the off-season – all alone behind the defense for a 59-yard scoring play. Cole Adkins added the extra point and Oneonta led 7-0 with 7:57 remaining in the first quarter.

The next five combined possessions by both teams resulted in punts before Oneonta scored again on the combination of Dimmock and Wall. This time it was a 79-yard catch which put the Redskins up 14-0 midway in the second quarter.

Locust Fork then moved to two first downs, reaching the Oneonta 29 before Hornet quarterback Todd Goodwin was sacked. He fumbled the ball over to the Redskins at the Oneonta 44-yard line with 3:42 left in the first half.

The Skins then used all but the last eight seconds of the half to move 56 yards for a score. Facing a fourth down and eight from the Locust Fork 12, Dimmock rolled out to avoid pressure and found Tanner Moye alone in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown.

Adkins point-after attempt was blocked, and the teams went to the dressing room with Oneonta leading 20-0.

The visitors outgained the Hornets 242 yards to 46 in the first half.

Things looked even bleaker for Locust Fork early in the third quarter, as Oneonta took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards in only five plays for another touchdown. Dimmock did the honors himself by racing up the middle from seven yards out for the touchdown. He then added the 2-point conversion on a run at right end to make it a seemingly cozy 28-0 lead with 9:19 left in the third quarter.

But as Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant used to say, look out for “sudden change.”

In this case, that sudden change was provided by junior Micah Stephens as he returned the Oneonta kickoff 78 yards for the first Locust Fork score of the night. Dakota Karluk’s point after attempt was blocked, but the Hornets had narrowed the margin to 28-6.

After forcing an Oneonta punt, the Hornet offense finally got on track. From their own 20 yard line, Stephens raced 27 yards to start the drive. Goodwin picked up two yards on a fourth-and-one from the Skins 44. Goodwin passed to Shiloh Biles for 22 yards to the Redskin 25, followed by another Stephens dash of 19 yards down to the Oneonta 6.

Two plays later, Shiloh Biles crashed into the end zone from a yard out for the touchdown. Stephens then ran for the 2-point conversion to make it a 28-14 game with 3:38 left in the third period.

After the two opposing quarterbacks traded interceptions, Oneonta made another lunge toward paydirt. The tried-and-true passing combination of Dimmock and Wall teamed up once again for a score, this time from 34 yards away. Adkins point after made it a seemingly impossible mountain for the Hornets to climb at 35-14 with only 10:12 remaining in the game.

A kickoff return by David Doran gave Locust Fork good field position at the Hornet 46. The Hornets converted two fourth downs, the second one resulting in a 42-yard scoring pass from reserve quarterback Michael Reid to Stephens. Reid lined up at wide receiver and took a lateral pass from Goodwin before throwing to the wide open Stephens. Reid’s run attempt for the 2-point conversion failed, but the deficit for Locust Fork was down to 15 points at 35-20 with 7:20 remaining in the game.

The Hornets then executed an onside kick, recovering the football at midfield after it touched an Oneonta defender. It only took two minutes for Locust Fork to cover the 50 yards as Goodwin found Hayden Jackson in the middle of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 5:02 left. A successful 2-point conversion would have made it a one-possession ballgame, but Goodwin’s pass attempt was incomplete, leaving the Hornets down by nine.

After forcing an Oneonta punt, Locust Fork had one last chance with just over two minutes remaining. But they could not make a first down, and gave up the ball on downs with 90 seconds left. Oneonta ran out the clock to secure the victory.

The keys to the game were Oneonta’s ability to shut down the powerful Hornet running game, which had been averaging over 400 yards per game this season. Zach Dimmock’s passing was also a big factor as was 15-of-17 in passing for 263 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Dimmock also ran for another touchdown as well as a 2-point conversion.

Stephens gained 86 yards on 12 carries for Locust Fork, which was held to only 130 total rushing yards on 35 attempts. Stephens also had a 78-yard kickoff return touchdown as well as a 42-yard pass reception touchdown to lead the Hornets.

Oneonta (3-1, 3-0 region) takes the lead in Class 4A Region 7. Locust Fork (4-1, 2-1) has a bye week before returning to action on October 3 at home against Good Hope.