Cullman's Ethan McMinn battles for yardage on a carry during Friday's win over Austin.

There were so many big plays, even Cullman coach Mark Britton lost count.

“Really, you could go back 20, 30 plays that were clutch plays,” Britton said.

One thing is for sure: The last clutch effort came from Tyler Taunton.

The Cullman junior defensive back knocked away a pass on fourth down deep in Bearcat territory to secure a 29-26 home win over Class 6A, Region 8 foe Austin on Friday night.

The win improved Cullman to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in region play. It was especially satisfying for Britton and the Bearcats, as they trailed for much of the game.

“I think we grew up a lot tonight,” said Britton, whose team trailed 20-7 at halftime and 26-21 in the fourth quarter. “I think the biggest thing I’m proud of is our teamwork together. The defense was putting us in great field position, and the offense was doing what they needed to do to get points. I’m just proud to be a part of this game.”

Just one play before Taunton’s pass break up, Chase Landrum and Caleb Lipsey finally got some penetration into the Austin (2-3, 1-2) backfield to slow a last-ditch drive that had covered most of the field to force fourth down.

But that wouldn’t have even mattered had it not been for quarterback Ross Crocker and wide receivers Reese Harbison and Caden Winn, among others.

Trailing 26-21, Winn fielded a kickoff at the 8-yard line. He started up the middle of the field before cutting back to the sideline and returning it to the Austin 39 — the last few yards came after hurdling a defender.

Then, four plays later, Cullman caught Austin in a blitz, and Crocker delivered a screen pass to Harbison, who housed it for a 28-yard touchdown. The Bearcats got the 2-point conversion on a pass from Crocker to Dawson Drake to make what would be the final score.

“It was tooth and nail,” Britton said. “This was probably one of the best high school football games I’ve been a part of in a long time.”

Except for some fireworks on an early Cullman drive, it didn’t look like this would be too memorable of a game at all through the first two quarters.

Cullman went to the bag of tricks for the first touchdown of the game. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 3, Crocker began walking down the line as if to call an audible. The ball was then snapped to Winn, who flipped it to Josh Skinner on an end around. Skinner then delivered a strike to Crocker in the end zone to send the home faithful at Oliver Woodard Stadium into a frenzy.

“They didn’t call it,” Britton said of his players, “but it’s something they work on every week. The kids got an opportunity to step up.”

But it was all Austin from there until halftime, as the Black Bears scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first half to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room. Quarterback Victor Garth, running back Asa Martin and wide receiver Eric Washington gave the Bearcat defense fits.

Martin struck first with a 21-yard touchdown scamper late in the first quarter, and his score was set up by a 51-yard connection from Garth to Washington. Austin struck again on its next possession, this time with Garth sneaking into the end zone from the 1 for a 13-7 lead. Then, after Cullman couldn’t capitalize on fourth down from midfield, the Black Bears went to the arm of Garth, as he found Washington streaking down the visitor’s sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. Austin caught a break on the drive, as a third-down sack of Garth was nullified by a face mask. The touchdown came two plays later.

Both teams missed opportunities in the first half, as Cullman’s Isaac Rodriguez had a 35-yard field goal attempt blocked and Ivan Torres, Austin’s placekicker, missed a 28-yard attempt.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot in the first half and killed some drives,” Britton said.

But in the third quarter, the Bearcats were able to gain some momentum. After forcing Austin to punt, Cullman went on a 47-yard drive that included a 31-yard run by Ethan McMinn on fourth down and culminated with Crocker’s 20-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown.

McMinn made another big play on the ensuing kickoff, as he came away with a clean strip of a returner around the 30-yard line. And while that particular drive ended just short of the end zone on fourth down, it kept the Austin offense off the field for the majority of the third quarter.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that things really heated up. Cullman caught a break on an Austin punt when the Black Bear punter went to a knee at midfield to receive a snap. The Bearcats then went on a 49-yard drive, which was capped off by McMinn’s 3-yard run behind the big bodies of Justin Patterson and Brady Wix in the backfield.

The 21-20 lead didn’t last long, though, as Austin needed just four plays to score again. Garth went in from the 8 for the touchdown, but his keeper on the 2-point conversion came up just short to keep the Black Bear advantage to 26-21.

That led to Winn’s big kickoff return and dramatic final defensive stand.

“So many kids stepped up tonight,” Britton said. “They laid it on the line. … You can’t ask kids to do more than that.”

For the game, Crocker went 8 of 17 for 77 yards, a touchdown and an interception. A balanced rushing attack — led by Dawson Drake’s 66 yards — gained a total of 195 yards.

For Austin, Garth went 6 of 13 for 168 yards and added 73 rushing yards with a pair of scores. Martin ended the night with 70 yards.

Cullman takes a break from region play next week with Fayette County coming to town. Then it’s road trips to Athens and Decatur with a home game against Hartselle between.

“Wins in this region are tough to come by,” Britton said. “You gotta get wins when you can, and we’re going to enjoy this right now.”