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Sweet Water and Maplesville had split their previous 14 meetings with each side winning exactly seven times.

The two teams would go toe-to-toe once again for a birth in the state quarterfinals on the line. This time, Maplesville edged Sweet Water 21-20 in a thrilling game that came down to the final seconds.

The Bulldogs got on the board first. The defense stepped up as Deion Blanks forced a fumble on a quarterback sack. Teammate Dareon Mason caught the ball mid air and raced 45 yards for the touchdown. The extra point failed, but Sweet Water led 6-0.

Maplesville answered with a 20-yard touchdown run of its own. They made the extra point to take a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Both teams also played to a scoreless draw in the second quarter.

The third quarter saw some action. The Bulldogs would take the lead on yet another fumble return. This time, Delvontae Lucy forced the fumble on the fourth-down play, and teammate Timothy Kelley raced 75 yards for the touchdown. The try for two failed, but Sweet Water led 12-7.

Maplesville put together another long drive, scoring on a three-yard touchdown. The extra point gave them a 14-12 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Sweet Water converted a long third-down conversion thanks to a Kelley pass to Elliott Lucy putting the ball inside the 10 yard line. Lucy finished up the drive with a  short touchdown run and converted the two-point conversion to take a 20-14 lead.

That lead would stand until the final Maplesville drive of the game, as they punched it in with the extra point to take a 21-20 lead with less than a minute to play.

Sweet Water tried to take the lead on the last drive, but they didn’t have enough time to answer.