BATESVILLE -- Stuttgart's Tymre Coppins scored on a 3-yard run with 3:09 left to lift the Stuttgart Ricebirds to a come-from-behind 21-18 victory over the Southside Southerners on Friday night.
"We knew this was a game we had to win," Stuttgart Coach Josh Price said."That was probably the best game that our receivers had blocking so far this year. Our backs and quarterback did a great job running the ball, but we knew Southside would be tough on their home field."
Southside defensive back Savion Hall intercepted a Coppins' pass to stop the Ricebirds opening drive of the game. Southside put together a 14-play drive that ended with Stuttgart's Cameron Harper blocking a punt.
Cedric Hawkins took the next handoff from Coppins and scored on a 31-yard run for Stuttgart with 2:13 to play in the first quarter. Quarterback Landen Haas directed a drive that looked to be stalling at the Southerners own 40, but a 58-yard completion from Haas to tight end Alex Cooper set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Haas. The extra point was fumbled and Stuttgart (3-1, 1-0 4A-2) held a slim 7-6 advantage.
On the Ricebirds' next drive, Hawkins broke free for a 41-yard touchdown that was called back by a holding penalty. Stuttgart eventually turned the ball over on downs.
The Southerners converted another fourth-down play inside Stuttgart territory, but a fumbled snap for a 13-yard loss took Southside out of scoring position. Harper blocked his second punt for Stuttgart, but he fumbled the ball back to Southside at the Southerners 8 with 19 seconds to play in the first half.
On the second play of the third quarter, Haas found Tyler Jones open for a 73-yard touchdown strike to put Southside in front 12-7 after the two-point conversion attempt failed.
After Stuttgart turned the ball over on downs, the running of Southside's Jacob Dunne and Seth Case set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Haas with three minutes to play in the third quarter. Again, the two-point conversion failed, leaving the Southerners in front 18-7.
Bryson Duncan recovered a pooch kickoff for Southside at the Stuttgart 27, but turned the ball over on downs with two incomplete passes. It took Stuttgart seven plays to reach the end zone, with Coppins passing to Hawkins on a screen for a 29-yard touchdown to close the Southside lead to 18-13 with 10:51 to play in the game.
Southside (2-2, 0-1) punted successfully for the first time after three plays for minimal yardage. Stuttgart survived three major penalties on a 17-play drive that saw an 18-yard completion and lateral to Hawkins for a first down and another 18-yard gain on a pass from Coppins to Kyndrick Hawkins. Four plays later, Coppins scored the game-winning touchdown.
"I am very proud of our guys when it was 18-7 to overcome a lot of adversity on the road," Price said. "Getting those two touchdowns was huge. We said all along about coming up here, that we would take a one-point win. There were lots of things we can work on, but it huge for us to start 1-0 in the conference. It is the most important game of the year."