Hippos win 38-33 in stunning comeback
COPPERAS COVE — The Hutto High School varsity football team needed a road victory Friday night and the Hippos had to scratch and claw every minute in order to get a thrilling 38-33 triumph at Copperas Cove High School in a pivotal 6A-District 12 matchup. After the Bulldawgs took a 33-24 lead with just 2:47 left in regulation, Hutto senior quarterback Will Hammond engineered a scoring drive to get Hutto to within 33-31 with only one minute left in the fourth quarter. The Hippos would go on to recover the onside kick, get the ball back on offense, drive downfield and cap it off with a Hammond rushing touchdown to take a 38-33 lead.
However, Copperas Cove was not done yet as they still had 16 seconds left to try to win the game. The Hippos did not budge as senior safety Steven Galindo intercepted a pass thrown by the Bulldawgs to secure a victory on the road.
Although Hutto led 17-14 at halftime, Copperas Cove went on a 10-0 run to take a 27-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Hippos simply refused to quit under head coach Will Compton and got to travel back home to Hutto with their first road victory of the 2023 season.
Hutto (3-5 overall, 2-2 in district) controls its own destiny in terms of getting into the playoffs. With a very important game next week, Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m., hosting Bryan High School at Hutto Memorial Stadium, the Hippos can essentially secure a playoff berth with a victory over the Vikings on senior night.
