Down three points needing to go 59 yards in a minute and a half without a timeout, things looked pretty bleak for Hall-Putnam County, not only for the game but potentially the season.

“The mentality was we needed to score,” Hall senior Aiden Redcliff said. “It was now or never. Personally, I thought if we didn’t win this game, the season was done. We had to win this game.”

On second-and-10 from the Hall 41-yard line, Red Devil quarterback Dylan Glynn took the snap and dropped back.

Several Sherrard defenders came rushing at him and Glynn hit Redcliff on a screen pass.

Redcliff turned and raced 59 yards to the end zone with 1:16 left to lift the Red Devils to an 18-15 victory in a Three Rivers Conference Mississippi Division game on homecoming in Spring Valley.

“I turned around and saw the hole,” Redcliff said. “I saw my line was blocking great and I knew I was gone.

“It felt great. We still had a minute left. The job wasn’t finished, but we obviously got it done. I knew we had to take care of it on defense, but our offense got it done. I knew it was pretty much wrapped, we were going to win.”

On Sherrard’s ensuing drive, which began with 1:09 left, Redcliff sacked quarterback Quinn Zimmerman on first down before Zimmerman threw three consecutive incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs.

“I read the fullback coming out,” Redcliff said. “I just shot it and made the play.”

The Red Devils into victory formation for a pair of kneels before the final buzzer sounded to set off a homecoming fireworks show and a field rushing by the student section.

“Whether you’re coaching, you’re a fan or you’re an alumni, it’s always fun,” Hall coach Nick Sterling said about the last minute win. “It’s not exactly the way it was anticipated, but a win’s a win. It’s frustrating in a way, but it’s exciting.”

The situation looked pretty dire for the Red Devils with two minutes left.

Hall drove down to the Sherrard 5 and had first and goal, but three negative plays and an incompletion ended the scoring chance.

The Tigers then ran for 8 yards on first down of the ensuing drive.

However, a false start penalty backed Sherrard up and the Red Devils forced a punt with back-to-back tackles for loss, giving the Red Devils their last chance.

Hall, which managed just 115 yards to that point, capitalized with its first screen pass of the game.

“We were talking and Fil (offensive coordinator Mike Filippini) said it and I was in agreement 100%,” Sterling said. “You could tell the were starting to bring the house a little bit because they were getting through our line. It was a perfect call when you have people coming at you hard and over pursuing.”

The second half was scoreless before Redcliffs TD.

The Tigers, whose starting quarterback, Carter Brown, was ejected for throwing a punch on the second half kickoff, put together a 13-play drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock to start the third.

Sherrard advanced to the Hall 11, but a sack by Braden Curran for a 6-yard loss and a dropped snap that resulted in an 8-yard sack by Redcliff stalled the drive.

“I think we played great (defensively),” Redcliff said. “The second half, we gave up zero scores. They were right near the end zone at the start (of the third) and we stopped them from scoring. We couldn’t ask for more.”

In the first half, Hall struck first on a 12-yard run by Glynn with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. The Tigers responded with a 49-yard TD run by Landon Clark with 9.7 seconds left in the first.

Hall seemed poised to take the momentum into halftime when Braden Curran pushed into the end zone from a yard out for a 12-7 lead.

But the Tigers immediately regained momentum and the lead when Brown returned the kickoff 85 yards for a TD.

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Hall football players (from left) Chace Sterling, Braden Curran and Cameron Allison react with super fans after defeating Sherrard during Homecoming night on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 at Richard Nesti Stadium. (Scott Anderson)