BIRMINGHAM – Mars Hill Bible School entered the fourth quarter of today’s Class 3A championship game against Bayside Academy at Protective Stadium in an unfamiliar position – locked in a tight game.
The Panthers (15-0) entered the game having scored at least 41 points in its 14 wins and won them all by at least 24 points.
When Bayside Academy’s Davis Barnett threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Walker Collins in the final minute of the third quarter, it cut Mars Hill’s lead to 17-14 and put the Panthers in a situation they hadn’t faced this season.
“That’s why you put in all that work (in the offseason),” Mars Hill coach Darrell Higgins said. “When it happened, we were ready for it.”
Mars Hill responded with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives and pulled away for a 38-21 victory. The win pushed the Panthers’ winning streak to a 20 in a row and secured a second straight Class 3A championship.
“Proud of our team,” Higgins said. “Unbelievable season with the efforts on both sides of the ball, special teams had amazing leadership.”
Higgins has now led Mars Hill to four state titles, winning Class 1A in 2018, Class 2A in 2020 and Class 3A in 2024 and 2025. The Panthers won all four title games by double digits. The loss ended a 13-game winning streak for Bayside (13-2).
“It’s amazing we never talked about it a lot during the season, we just wanted to continue getting better,” he said about the Panthers winning back-to-back titles. “This team had a chance to be really good and we learned a lot of lessons along the way.”
Mars Hill rolled up 398 yards rushing against Bayside. Jaxon Penn, who missed most of last season with an injury, ran 25 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
“Jaxon didn’t get to play last year and he came back this year and helped lead the team to a win,” Higgins said. “It was exciting to get to see him play today.”
The game MVP, Penn broke loose on an 89-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that essentially ended Bayside’s comeback bid. He also had TD runs of 2 and 3 yards.
“I was running while looking at the Jumbotron, making sure no one was catching me,” Penn said of his run. “It’s really fun running 89 yards for a touchdown. I didn’t even realize it was that far.”
Hudson Higgins – the head coach’s son – added 22 carries for 195 yards and touchdown runs of 34 yards in the first half and 4 yards in the game’s final minute.
“Won the game on the field,” he said about what it took to repeat. “Our work ethic off season: we do our practices full speed and we went back to work from last year motivated.”
Mars Hill jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, using an 11-play, 99-yard drive to score the game’s first TD on Penn’s 2-yard run. Higgins then delivered his 34-yard TD run with 2:49 to go before halftime. Bayside answered with a quick six-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Noah Cain’s 1-yard run with 48 seconds to go before halftime.
Mars Hill led 14-6 at halftime, and kicker Carson Longshore kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 17-6 with 3:55 to go in the third quarter. Bayside then drove 62 yards in eight plays, and Barnett’s TD pass to Collins and 2-point run by Billy Neill made it 17-14.
Mars Hill then took control. Penn capped a six-play 65-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring run to make it 24-14. After a Bayside punt rolled dead at the Panthers 9, Penn raced 89 yards for the game-clinching TD.
“It’s a blessing to get to come out here and play with brothers and an amazing coach,” he said. “My goal was to get back to the state championships and here we are.”
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