Sep. 12—HATTON — It was a Saturday night nearly a year ago, and Zairiyon Long was in his car getting ready for the trip back to Hatton after a late shift at his job in Moulton.
He’d had a big night the day before. Hatton had won 28-21 over region opponent West Limestone, and the defensive back had a fourth quarter interception that helped the Hornets stifle a late comeback.
“(After the interception) you turn and look, you see everybody in the stands cheering and looking at the sideline, all the coaches jumping up and down,” Long said. “It’s great.”
The then-junior had only started playing football in ninth grade but quickly fell in love with playing in the Hornet secondary. In his sophomore season, he made the All-State team with six interceptions before his year was cut short by an ACL tear in Week 8.
“When I’m not at home, this is a family to me,” he said of his teammates. “If I go home, I’ve got my own family, but I knew this was something bigger than just football.”
When Long pulled out onto Alabama 24 toward Hatton, he thought briefly about that family before he noticed his gas light on.
“So, I was going to go ahead and go to the nearest gas station. When I left, I hit a big pothole in the road and the car dipped in and jumped,” he said. “It just curved and went off the road and went into a tree, hit my head on the windshield.”
Long said he was fortunate and walked away with only a small scar on his forehead.
“They said I was lucky to be alive because I should have gone through the windshield,” he said. “I didn’t have my seat belt on at the time.”
After a hospital visit and some stitches to the top of his head, Long was released but still had to miss the next two games while the Hornets were fighting for a playoff spot.
“Especially when it’s playoff time and your team needs you, it’s a crucial moment,” he said. “It really does hurt (to miss).”
When he came back for the game against Central-Florence, his scar hadn’t fully healed but he still played.
“ We bandaged it up before games because when I came back it was still bleeding some,” Long said. “So I just had to be wary of going into contact with my head.”
The defensive back went on to help the Hornets beat Wilson and secure a playoff spot in their first year in Class 4A.
That crash could’ve ended his season, or worse. But almost a year later, Long is not just back to full form, he’s helping lead a defense that’s starting to show its teeth.
Not only was last Friday’s 34-6 win over region opponent Brooks the first Hatton win over the Lions since 1978, Hatton held the traditional powerhouse to just two field goals.
“We’re definitely focusing on stopping people. We feel that we can hold people under a certain number, that our offense can score points and help us win those types of games,” said Hatton head coach Nikita Stover. “Defense has definitely been a strong point.”
Stover said the team is starting to buy in to a physical and fast style of play, and seniors like Long are helping lead the way.
“He asks questions. He wants the challenge. He wants to guard the other team’s best receivers,” Stover said. “He wishes he could travel with the receivers, but we keep him on one side of the field. But he wants the challenge to guard those great receivers.”
Stover said he didn’t know Long before he moved to Hatton, but as soon as he saw Long play in their first seven-on-seven tournament, he knew the senior would be a lockdown corner.
“When I saw him at the first seven-on-seven, he dove and picked the ball on a hitch,” Stover said. “The range that he showed let me know that this kid is a great corner. The only thing bad about it is, he’s a senior. Him and (Keydric) Bibbs, I wish I had another year with because they got talent.”
Stover even saw some offensive potential for Long and has started to give him reps at receiver. In the game against Deshler last month, Long had 70 receiving yards on four catches.
“That’s why I’m really trying to get involved with the offense this year, so I can do as much as I can for the team so we can go as far as we can,” Long said.
In the senior’s time with the Hornets, they made the playoffs each year but never got past the second round. He said the seniors have made doing that one of their goals this year.
A second-round appearance would break a 23-year drought that dates back to 2002, before any of the players were even born.
But before they can think about the playoffs, the Hornets have a big matchup Friday at East Lawrence (2-0). Not only is it a game between county rivals, it could have playoff implications in a stacked nine — team region.
“I think when we play them, we try to play our best game and when they play us, they try to play their best game, too,” Long said. “So it’s always going to be a game to watch every season.”
Last year the Hornets came back 22-20 on a last-minute touchdown from quarterback Tasean Love at home.
Now facing an improved East Lawrence team on the road, Stover said he knows it won’t be an easy fight but the Hornets stand to gain a lot of momentum ahead of next week’s game against last year’s region champion and semifinal team West Morgan (3-0).
“Winning a rivalry game definitely gives you confidence. Just knowing that you’re one of the top dogs in your county because whoever wins this will have beat the other. So that’ll give them confidence going forward that they can really do this,” Stover said. “I’m starting to feel it at practice or walking around even in the school; these guys are starting to believe that they really can do something special this year.”
