Phil Campbell earns 26-10 Homecoming win over Hackleburg

The Phil Campbell High School varsity football team (2-3) grabbed a big Homecoming win over rival Hackleburg (3-2) on Friday night, beating the Panthers 26-10 at Parrish Stadium.

It was a complete team effort for Phil Campbell, who scored on offense and special teams and held the No. 9 team in Class 1A to one touchdown.

Third-year PCHS head coach Jacob Hamilton said he was proud of his team for staying focused throughout the week of preparation, despite all week-long Homecoming festivities, and for performing at a high level on Friday night.

“I thought we had a really great week of practice. Our kids were locked in and focused. They want to beat Hackleburg and they want to win on Homecoming,” Hamilton told the Franklin Free Press. “Our school spirit has been fantastic this year. I can’t brag enough on our students and staff and administrators and everybody at the school implementing that. Our students wanted a big win on Homecoming, and obviously it’s a rivalry game—they want to beat Hackleburg. So, even with all the distractions and letting the kids have a lot of fun, we had a great week of practice and preparation and worked really hard toward our goal of winning the game, and we accomplished that. It was a great night in Phil Campbell.”

The Bobcats started off the game with a special teams score, a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by junior Chandler Benford to put the hosts up early.

“That was a huge momentum setter,” Hamilton said of the play.

Senior Hagen Raper, catching a pass from junior quarterback Hayston Scott, scored the next PCHS touchdown to make it 14-0 in the first quarter before Hackleburg got on the scoreboard with a safety—a “bad play call” by Hamilton, the coach admitted—cut Phil Campbell’s lead to 14-2.

Scott, who finished with 12 completions for 133 yards and 117 rushing yards on 18 carries, used his legs to give the Bobcats a 20-2 lead before halftime, an advantage they would take into the intermission.

“We ran the ball well—I wish we ran it a little better—but our passing game has really evolved and I’m very proud of that,” Hamilton told the Franklin Free Press. “

In the second half, Hackleburg got back in the game with a touchdown right after halftime to make it 20-10. It would prove to be the only offensive score for the Panthers, who came into the contest averaging over 31 points per game.

“It was a great defensive effort tonight,” Hamilton said after the game. “We had three interceptions on the night. We made some big hits. I was very, very, very proud of our defensive effort tonight in a huge win.”

Phil Campbell would cap the scoring in the fourth quarter on a rushing touchdown by Logan Cooper to make it 26-10 and seal the win for the Bobcats.

The win over Hackleburg, Hamilton believes, will serve as a momentum and confidence booster for Phil Campbell as it heads into the back half of its 2025 regular season schedule. The Bobcats will play at home in four of their final five regular season games, including the October 17 contest against No. 5 Gordo. Hamilton is confident the home-field advantage will be massive for his team.

“Our schedule is really front-loaded and last year we were riddled with injuries very early; fortunately, we’ve only had one go down to injury this year which is good,” Hamilton said. “We also have a lot of home games this year. We only have to go on the road one more time. We’ve gotten our travel out of the way, so the second half of our season we get to play at home and play in our environment. We get to play in front of our fans, and that’s huge for our momentum.

“We’ve got a good stretch of winnable games, especially at home. And when we play a defensive effort like we did tonight, and our offense is clicking and balanced—tonight we had 200 yards rushing and 133 passing. That’s very balanced, and I love that and our kids love that and it’s hard to prepare for,” he added. “So if we’re clicking like that, playing at home, getting the momentum going, we’ve got every chance of accomplishing our goal of making the playoffs and having a winning season. We’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully stay healthy.”

Phil Campbell hosts the Midfield Patriots in its next game, a region contest at Parrish Stadium on Friday, October 3.