AISA RECAP: Edgewood rolls; Macon East holds off SW Georgia

COMBINED REPORTS

Edgewood Academy 49. Banks Academy 8

ELMORE – Edgewood Academy rolled up 406 total yards in jumping out to a quick 21-0 lead and cruising past first-year Banks Academy 49-8 in the Class AA Region 1 opener for both teams on Friday night.

Bradley Boone ran 9 yards for a touchdown, Alex Johnson threw 59 yards to Blane Guthrie for another score and Guthrie ran 14 yards for a third score eight seconds into the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 21-0 lead.

After the Jets countered with a long touchdown pass, Edgewood scored three more touchdowns to take a 42-8 lead into the locker room at the half. Guthrie ran 28 yards for a touchdown and Mitchell Boyd scored on runs of 12 and 5 yards.

Boone added an 18-yard touchdown run for the game’s final points as Sam Williams completed a 7 for 7 night with the extra point.

Johnson completed 4 of 10 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, while Boyd led the rushing attack with 149 yards on nine carries. Guthrie added 73 yards on seven carries and Boone had 71 yards on seven carries. 

Joseph Benton and Sam Williams each had four tackles to lead the Wildcat defense.

Edgewood Academy (3-0) travels to Macon East Academy for a huge region contest next Friday. Banks Academy (1-2) plays host to Springwood next Friday.

Macon East Academy 42, SW Georgia Academy 38

CECIL – Carlos Carter rushed for 129 yards on 17 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown with eight minutes left to rally Macon East past Southwest Georgia Academy 42-38 on Friday night in the season opener for the Georgia visitors.

The Knights led for virtually the entire game until SW Georgia rallied to take the lead. Carter helped the Knights regain the lead, then run out the clock in the final minutes.

Gabe Spencer added 88 rushing yards on 12 carries for Macon East. Kirkland Pugh completed 13 of 17 passes for 268 yards, including touchdown passes of 5, 65 and 55 yards. The senior added 26 yards on 11 carries.

Tyler Daniels led the Knight receivers with 93 yards on three receptions, including a 65-yard touchdown. Eric Lawson had 72 yards on three receptions, including a 55-yard touchdown, while Lane Goree added 56 yards on three receptions, including a 5-yard touchdown catch from Pugh. Stone Yarnell had 47 yards on four receptions, including a two-point conversion catch.

Garrison Miller also got in on the scoring with a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Defensively, Luke Noffsinger had eight tackles, Parker Strickland had seven tackles and a fumble recovery, Tanner Moore had five tackles and Jordan Hicks and Lawson each had four tackles. 

Macon East (3-0) will play host to Edgewood Academy in a big region contest next Friday. 

Morgan Academy 37, Clarke Prep School 34

GROVE HILL – Holt Utsey rushed for three touchdowns and Andrew Thomas added two more as Morgan Academy held off Clarke Prep in the AAA Region 2 opener for both teams.

Morgan Academy (2-0) returns to Selma to play Monroe Academy in the 2020 home opener next week. Clarke Prep (0-3) is scheduled to play Fort Dale in Greenville next week.

Chambers Academy 53, Springwood School 0

LANETT – Payton Allen completed 12 of 16 passes for 347 yards and four touchdowns as Chambers Academy rolled to an easy win in their AA Region 1 opener at Springwood. 

TY Trammell had four of the receptions for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with John White adding 60 yards and a touchdown on three catches and Jeremy Conway accounting for 82 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. 

Jordan Benbrook led the rushing effort with 134 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. 

Jacob Oliver had 10 tackles and a sack to lead the Chambers’ defense. Hayden Hurst added nine tackles, Nic Ford had six tackles and a sack, and Kross Colley had six tackles.

Chambers (3-0) will take a break from region play for the next few weeks, traveling to Hayneville next Friday to play Lowndes Academy before returning home to play Valiant Cross Academy. Springwood (1-2) will travel to Birmingham to play Banks Academy in a region game next Friday.

Tuscaloosa Academy 48, Valiant Cross Academy 21

TUSCALOOSA – Tuscaloosa Academy cruised to an early lead then held off the Warriors 48-21 on Friday night.

TA (1-1) was scheduled to play Fort Dale in the region opener but Fort Dale is under a self-quarantine for coronavirus concerns. The Knights rescheduled Valiant Cross, a first-year program from Montgomery that had an open date after their scheduled game with a Florida private school was pushed back by the virus. 

Tuscaloosa led 35-0 before Valiant Cross closed out the first half with a 61-yard pass from Antavious Jackson to Corey Brown. After the Knights extended the lead to 48-7 in the second half, the Warriors countered with a 2-yard run by Jackson and a touchdown pass from Savion German to Quintavius Tyus with a little more than three minutes remaining.

Tuscaloosa Academy will play host to Bessemer Academy in a huge region contest next Thursday, while Valiant Cross (1-2) will return to Montgomery to play Glenwood School in a region game next Saturday at Cramton Bowl at 7 p.m.

Abbeville Christian Academy 31, Lowndes Academy 8

ABBEVILLE – The Generals rebounded from last week’s shutout to Chambers by winning their Class A Region 1 opener at home with a 31-8 victory over the Rebels.

Jackson Floyd scored the Rebels’ touchdown. Thomas Franklin led the defensive effort for the Lowndes (1-2), which plays host to Chambers next week in Hayneville.

Abbeville (2-1) is idle next week before traveling to Pickens on Sept. 18.