Jim Threatt carries the ball against the Cave City Cavemen last Friday night at Parker Field. Also shown are Mohawks Justin Howell and Michael Morgan. (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

The Piggott Mohawks notched their first conference win of the year Friday night, holding off the Cave City Cavemen by a final of 22-18 at Parker Field. The win also extends the Tribe's season record to 3-1 overall.

Friday night's game with the Cavemen marked the first-ever meeting on the football field for the two teams, though they are familiar foes in other sports. So it's fitting that Rob Rice, an all-state honorable mention on last year's Mohawk basketball team, would have the game of his career. Rice had several big kick returns, carried the ball one time for three yards and sealed the deal with an interception with just seconds to play and the Cavemen threatening.

The Tribe also got another big game from "The Workhorse", senior running back Jim Threatt; who led the offensive charge again this week with nearly 150 yards rushing.

The Mohawks won the coin toss prior to kickoff and elected to defer to the second half. Piggott's Alek Samples then kicked-off to get the game underway and the Cavemen set-up with good field position. On the first drive Cave City launched a long pass downfield that glanced off the hands of Rice and into those of Tyler Asberry, who took it in for the first score of the contest. The PAT try by William Boyd was no good and the Cavemen enjoyed a 6-0 with 10:57 to go in the first quarter.

But the Mohawks would respond, and would put up 22 unanswered points behind the running of Threatt, Michael Morgan, Justin Howell, Daniel Baldwin and Corbin Chase. They got some good blocking from the Piggott line and were able to march downfield. The Tribe's first touchdown came on a four yard run by Morgan with 5:23 left in the first quarter, the two point conversion attempt was no good and the game stood tied at 6-6.

Throughout the remainder of the first half the Mohawk defense was able to hold the Cavemen at bay, while putting up two more touchdowns. Threatt scored his first of the game from six yards out with 2:08 to go in the first quarter and Chase tacked-on the two-point conversion to make it a 14-6 score. The Mohawks extended the lead with 8:02 to play in the first half as Baldwin and Rice dropped the Cave City ball carrier in the end zone for a safety..the team's second in as many weeks. With the safety the Tribe extended their lead to 16-6. The Mohawks would score once more before halftime, their final score of the game, as Threatt took it in from six yards out with 4:51 to play in the second quarter. The two-point conversion was no good and the Mohawks went into the locker room with a 22-6 lead.

In the second half of play the Cavemen made some adjustments, and gave up their struggling running game in favor of passing the football. As a result the Cave City squad was able to move the ball more, while the Tribe offense sputtered and fell victim to several penalty flags..two for pass interference.

The Cavemen scored their second touchdown of the night with 2:22 left in the third quarter as Chase Gorman carried it in from four yards out. But, on the two point conversion Piggott's Taylor Woods filled the gap and made a big stop to deny the Cavemen.

The Cave City squad would score one more time in the ballgame, as Tyler Engleman carried it in from one yard out with 7:40 to play. The PAT attempt by Boyd was no-good and the score stood at 22-18 with the Mohawks on top.

Late in the contest the visitors would mount one more drive, but that came to an end in dramatic fashion as Rice picked-off a Caveman pass with just five seconds to play. Baldwin then took a knee and the contest became a part of history.

"You know we didn't play our best in the second half, but you gotta give them credit," Mohawk coach Dave Hendrix noted after the game. "They came out and did just what they've done, and they're big and physical..we finally got a physical ballgame." Hendrix added how pleased he was to see the Tribe shut down the Cave City running attack, "the real thing was that they couldn't run it on us and they were forced to throw it..and that's where our physical advantage showed up."

Hendrix added that he felt the Mohawks could have done even better, but for a couple of plays, " we shot ourselves in the foot some, jumping offsides and such..and I made a couple of bonehead calls, I thought not punting would get my tail beat..it's a gut call but I thought for sure we could pick up that three yards."

Threatt continued to lead the Mohawk ground attack as he had 149 yards on 23 carries, Howell finished with 79 yards on 11 carries, Baldwin had 36 yards on seven, Morgan carried the ball eight times for 32 yards, Chase had 13 yards on five carries, Rice had one carry for three yards and Samples carried the ball one time for one yard. Baldwin was one for two passing for 22 yards, while the Cavemen completed nine of 20 for 153 yards and gave up two interceptions. The Mohawks were flagged for 85 yards in penalties on the night, while the Cavemen gave up 60 yards to the penalty flag.

With the win the Mohawks move to 3-1 and 1-0 in 3A-3 conference play. The Tribe will be back at home this Friday night as they host the Earle Bulldogs in a conference game for homecoming 2008. The annual royalty ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. Friday night followed by kickoff at 7:30.