HANCEVILLE — Danny Miller and the Hanceville coaching staff had a very specific script for Friday’s homecoming game against Vinemont.

It called for a decent amount of passing and was dependent on good weather.

Steady showers and lightning off in the distance the majority of the first half made sure Miller and Co. threw it out the first second they got.

B.J. Smalls and Branen Hurst each rushed for triple-digits and two touchdowns, and the Bulldogs built a big lead and held on for dear life to beat the Eagles 26-20 in a county and Class 3A, Region 5 clash.

The win was the first of the fall for Hanceville (1-2, 1-1). Vinemont, riddled by injuries before and during the game, dropped to 0-3 (0-1) in its first season under Matt Norris.

“I told coach Norris I know exactly where they are. We’ve been there before,” Miller said. “Our guys just made a couple more plays than they did, maybe one more play than they did.

“But I’m proud of our guys. They fought. They hung in there at the end enough to win the game.”

Smalls’ 5-yard touchdown run with 3:40 left in the third quarter stretched Hanceville’s lead to a 26-6 advantage that appeared out of reach. Vinemont, however, apparently never received the memo or simply shred it in defiance, putting together one heckuva comeback effort that made even the sopping home fans sweat until the very end.

Colby Nicholas sparked the Eagles’ late charge with a 61-yard kickoff return all the way to the Bulldog 18. Cody Stewart carried the third snap of the series 13 yards to the 1, and Dye quickly cleaned up from there for his second score of the night.

Vinemont proceeded to force a three-and-out, but Hurst popped the return man hard enough to jar the ball loose for Isaac Weissend to fall on. Still, the Eagle D bent but didn’t break and ultimately took back over following a turnover on downs.

That’s when Dye decided to write his final chapter in Vinemont-Hanceville lore.

It was a thrilling read.

Only a few minutes removed from limping off the field with what appeared to be a fairly serious injury — and a year removed from going off for 262 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a rout of the Dawgs — the senior took a handoff, absolutely trucked a defender and sprinted the rest of the 35 yards for six points.

Stewart, who again set up the score with a 13-yard run, just managed to connect with Cameron Carter on the 2-point conversion to pull the Eagles within six points.

Dye had 69 yards on the drive. He finished with 173 and three touchdowns on 30 carries.

Matthew Harrington kept the magic going for Vinemont with a perfect onside kick that bounced off a Hanceville player and into the arms of a pouncing Eagle.

A couple of penalties and carries by Dye helped the Red and White march deep into Bulldog territory, but a fumble at the 19 recovered by Weissend put an immediate wrench in Vinemont’s comeback plans.

The fumble was the Eagles’ sixth of the night. They lost five of them and gave up 14 points off turnovers.

“It’s difficult to turn the ball over as many times as we did and still come out on top,” Norris said. “It’s something we can’t have and we’ve got to work on this week for sure.”

Hanceville’s offense still had a bit of work to do to put away the ballgame. Hurst was more than up for the task.

Facing third-and-10 with less than a minute to go, the junior quarterback broke free for a clutch 13-yard run. Only then were he and the Dawgs able to collectively let out a massive sigh of relief.

“I knew it was over,” Hurst said. “I walked to the huddle and was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got a secret to tell y’all: We just won a football game.’ They all started laughing. It was a great feeling.”

Miller heaped on the postgame praise for Smalls and Hurst. The former grinded for 159 rushing yards on 27 carries, while the latter was good for 100 yards on 13 totes.

Hurst also had 80 passing yards, 58 of which went to Weissend.

“Branen, that guy just gets better and better every week,” Miller said. “He’s been our leader emotionally and on the field.”

Miller pointed to players like Trey Martin, Matthew Campbell and Austin Davis as defensive standouts. Tristian Cornelius, Jose Casimiro, Weissend and many others also made impacts.

Martin was certainly happy during the locker room celebration, but his focus was already on the future. He’s got his sights set on a playoff spot, a realistic expectation that’ll likely come down to Hanceville, Vinemont, Holly Pond and Susan Moore for the region’s fourth seed.

“We’re going to make it,” Martin said. “We’re going to go big.”

Davis, a two-way senior lineman, was ecstatic to see all the Dawgs’ hard work pay off. He reserved a special shoutout to “my line for blocking their heart out.”

Vinemont, reduced to its third-string quarterback by Monday, had nothing to hang its head about. Already without Garrett Boland and Deke Wright, the Eagles lost senior center Jaythan Blanton to an apparent knee injury in the first half and still managed to give Hanceville a run for its money.

Derrick Ransom stepped in at center. Carter, a freshman, did a serviceable job at quarterback.

Stewart finished with 41 rushing yards. Harrington had a couple pass breakups. Mark Osborne and Ransom were among those with tackles for losses.

“We preach resiliency,” Norris said. “The most important play for us is the next one no matter what happens. In the fourth quarter, that hopefully showed.”

The Bulldogs, who now lead the all-time series 17-13, head to Addison next week. Vinemont will host Winfield in another region matchup.