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By SCOTT MIMS | Special to the Reporter

COLUMBIANA — The Shelby County Wildcats could not overcome a 0-28 deficit in the second half versus Holtville on Friday night, resulting in their first loss of the season, 34-13.

Shelby County coach Zeb Ellison said the young team made some early mistakes, but he called the second half a “bright spot.”

“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” Ellison said. “We did not play very good football in the first half; in the second half we came out and played hard. I was proud of our kids the way they fought and cleaned up some of our mistakes.”

The Holtville Bulldogs led by a touchdown at the end of the first quarter, but by halftime they had quadrupled their lead to 28.

It was Shelby County’s Carter Sheehan who scored a 14-yard touchdown run with about 8 minutes left in the third quarter to put the Wildcats on the board.

In the fourth, Dominic Woods recovered a Bulldog fumble in the end zone to give the Wildcats another touchdown. Following a missed PAT, the score was 13-28.

But the Bulldogs would stack on another score before ending the night with a decisive victory.

In all, Shelby County tallied 70 passing yards and 42 rushing yards. Defense leaders were Bradley Horton with 8 tackles and Cooper Pennington with 7 tackles.

Holtville’s Shawn Brackett totaled 129 yards rushing, and Tanner Potts passed for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Keiland Baker passed for 47 yards and two touchdowns; Baker also reportedly rushed for 61 yards.

Erik Adkins led the Bulldogs receiving for 93 yards and three touchdowns, while defense leaders included Conner Hackett with 11 tackles and Kaige Ferguson with two interceptions.

Both teams have a 2-1 record going into their fourth week, as Shelby County is scheduled to play Jemison at home and Holtville prepares to face Selma on the road.