Very hard fought game for three quarters. Essex led throughout but didn't put it away until the 4th although with the way their defense played I never felt they were in to much trouble. The first Haysi score was setup by a long int return inside the Essex 10. But a backbreaker for Haysi had to of been when they got the ball to begin the third quarter and had it for nearly 7 minutes and didn't have anything to show for it. After that the Essex ground game took over and the defense forced a couple more ints. I said early in the week I thought the Essex speed would be the difference and it was a huge factor indeed. Now comes the big one. The rematch with Altavista. The last two years Essex has entered as the favorites and didn't fare so well. I think this team is better equipped as this teams defense is the strong point along with a great running game. Nobody is picking Essex to win but maybe that's not a bad thing. This Essex team is very focused and play as one. Should be a great game next week.