The Alcoa Tornadoes secured a thrilling 43–42 double-overtime victory on the road against their crosstown rival, the Maryville Rebels, in another historic installment of the Battle of Pistol Creek, one of 100 games featured in the Great American Rivalry Series. The Rebels fought hard to protect their home turf after Alcoa struck first with a rushing touchdown to make it 7-0 early. Alcoa led for the majority of the first half until Maryville quarterback Will Jones threw a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Reese Gardner with just 15 seconds remaining, tying the game 14-14 going into halftime. Late in the second half, Alcoa took a 28-21 lead, but the Rebels answered again with a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive to tie the game at 28 and push it into overtime. At this point, Alcoa was playing without star quarterback Thomas Manu, who had been forced to leave the game due to an injury. Despite the setback, the Tornadoes’ backup quarterback came in and matched Maryville score-for-score through the end of regulation and the first overtime period. In the second overtime, Maryville found the end zone first, but Manu returned to the field and, under heavy defensive pressure, scrambled out of the pocket and launched a game-winning two-point conversion pass to Haynes Hawkins in the back of the end zone. The decision to bypass a tying extra-point kick paid off, securing Alcoa’s third consecutive victory in this storied crosstown rivalry, 43-42.

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