Ardmore used a touchdown right before halftime and three quick third-quarter scores to turn an 18-7 deficit into an impressive 33-24 win over Arab in the Tigers’ homecoming game Friday night.

Ardmore couldn’t get much offense going for most of the first half, and trailed 18-7 late in the second quarter, but a 45-yard touchdown pass from Noah Barnett to Anthony Taylor with 22 seconds remaining in the first half seemed to wake up Ardmore, and the Tigers dominated the second half.

“Anytime you can close out a half with a score it creates momentum going into halftime and after,” Ardmore coach P.J. Wright said. “That was a huge play for us.”

With Ardmore set to kick off to Arab to start the third quarter, Wright said he told his team in the locker room the biggest two possessions of the game would be the Tigers’ first defensive possession of the second half and their first offensive possession.

As it turned out, Ardmore didn’t even need to have a first defensive possession, as the Tigers executed a short kickoff to perfection, jumping on the loose ball and starting the third quarter on offense.

“We were lucky enough to get the ball back on the kickoff,” Wright said. “The ball hit the ground and we got on it. It was a great special teams play.”

Ardmore wasted no time scoring after recovering the kickoff, as Barnett scored on a 10-yard run less than 2 minutes later to put the Tigers up 20-18. The next kickoff was almost a replica of the previous one, as Ardmore kicked a short kickoff that Arab failed to cover. Ardmore once again recovered the kick to put themselves in scoring position again.

Barnett capped off that drive with a 3-yard scamper to give the Tigers a comfortable lead, and running back Chase Lay put the game away late in the quarter when he broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown run.

Lay finished the game with 146 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, despite being ill with a stomach bug.

“Chase Lay ran the ball well, especially in the second half,” Wright said. “He overcame a stomach bug at halftime, and we were worried about how far he could go, but he fought through it and performed very well.”

Arab got a touchdown in the final 2 minutes of the fourth quarter, as quarterback Ross Reynolds threw a 42-yard scoring pass to Christian Eaton.

Ardmore’s second-half offensive explosion was a sharp contrast to most of the first half, as Arab built an 18-7 lead. The Tigers’ only highlight until the final seconds of the second quarter was Taylor’s 65-yard touchdown return of the game’s opening kickoff.

Arab answered that score with two first-quarter touchdowns. The first came midway through the quarter on a Matthew Turnage 23-yard run, with the second being a 10-yard run from Taylor Alldredge. Neither extra point attempt was successful.

Arab expanded its lead midway through the second quarter, as Reynolds hooked up with Eaton on a 10-yard touchdown pass. That’s how the game stood until the final seconds of the half, when Barnett finally awakened the Ardmore offense with his touchdown pass to Taylor.

“I’m really proud of our kids for overcoming adversity,” Wright said. “We preached to them how they would respond when they get down, and they responded much better this week than they did in the previous game (a 35-7 loss to Scottsboro).”

Taylor finished the game with seven receptions for 101 yards, while Barnett completed 9 of 15 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers.

Ardmore (3-1, 1-1 Class 5A, Region 8) will host Madison Academy next week.

Wright said he hopes the response to being down against Arab will help carry Ardmore through the rest of its season.

“Being able to overcome that adversity was key, and it will be key to our success for the rest of the season,” he said. “There’s ups and downs in a football season and football game. It’s easy to go full speed and be upbeat and happy when you’re winning all the time. It’s how you respond to the adversity that defines you, and I’m hoping we figured it out a little after Friday night.”