BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WTVY) – Houston Academy will have to wait a little longer to win its first high school football state championship in program history as the Raiders fell short in a back-and-forth matchup against the Mars Hill Bible Panthers Final score of 50-43.

The Raiders entered Protective Stadium on Thursday preparing for a battle for the ages against the Panthers for the 3A Blue Map, and that’s exactly what fans felt as they filed out of the stadium for the 11 a.m. kickoff.

Houston Academy would get on the scoreboard first in the Magic City, and Andrew Gil hit the ball on the floor to give the Raiders a 6-0 lead with less than 4 minutes left in the first quarter. They would add another score before the end of the quarter on a 69-yard connection between Kadyn Mitchell and Gabe Glover, making it 12-0 HA.

Mars Hill responded in the second quarter with two touchdowns on the ground from Caden Chandler and Hudson Higgins to take the lead with just under five minutes left before halftime, but it would be Houston Academy that would hold the lead until halftime thanks to a 34-yard field Goals from Nathan Selig Pineda made it 15:14 for the Raiders.

Houston Academy extended its lead early in the second half with another long passing connection between Mitchell and Glover, but midway through the third period, Higgins scored his second rushing score of the game while Chandler’s 2-pointer tied the score at 22 both teams before the last 12 minutes of regular time.

The fourth quarter saw explosive offense on both sides. Higgins got his third rushing score of the day to open Mars Hill, with HA responding on the ground with Gil tying the score at the 29. The Panthers created a cushion with an explosive 75-yard rushing touchdown from William Mann, followed shortly afterwards by a 40-yard scoop-and-score from Cam Isbell to make it 43:29 for Mars Hill.

Kadyn Mitchell and Houston Academy would do their best to respond in the final 6 minutes of the game. The quarterback managed two 30-plus passing touchdowns in the final half of the game, one to Riggs Hickey and one to Whit Price, but a 29-yard rushing touchdown between the two by Mars Hill’s Chandler with 1:49 left on the onside kick -Recovery after HA’s final score with 52 seconds left would seal the Panthers’ victory for the state title.

Raiders QB Mitchell finished the day completing 19 of 25 passes for 388 yards and 4 touchdowns along with 12 rushes for 45 yards. Andrew Gill led the ground game’s scoring efforts with two touchdowns to go and his 9 carries for 24 yards.

Mars Hill threw just five passes in the game, with the rushing attack being their primary tool, resulting in them setting a state record for rushing yards in a 3A state title game with 445, a record previously held by Thomasville in 2010 became. Hudson Higgins was the Panthers’ leading man on the ground with 23 carries for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Caden Chandler added 23 carries of his own for 172 yards and 2 scores.

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