AISA SEMIS: Championships set after Friday action

By TIM GAYLE

Chambers Academy 51, Edgewood Academy 20

LAFAYETTE  -- Payton Allen threw for 219 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns to help the Rebels avenge their only loss of the 2020 season with a 51-20 rout of Edgewood Academy on Friday night.

With the win, Chambers Academy (11-1) will be making its seventh consecutive trip to the state championship game but its first in that span as a Class AA team after previously competing at the A level. Chambers will face Escambia at 3:30 p.m. next Friday in Cramton Bowl.

The Wildcats (7-4) were making their third consecutive trip to the AA semifinals after losing to Escambia in both 2018 and 2019.

Edgewood had defeated Chambers 40-36 in Elmore on Oct. 9, but the rematch would hold little drama as Chambers scored the game’s first two touchdowns and held a 30-7 advantage midway through the second quarter.

Allen ran 20 yards for the game’s first score and added the two-point conversion 57 seconds into the contest and the Rebels quickly made it 16-0 as T.Y. Trammell ran 17 yards for a touchdown and Allen passed to John White for the two-point conversion.

Bradley Boone had a 20-yard touchdown run for the Wildcats, but Chambers answered with a 3-yard run by Allen and a 4-yard run by Trammell to make it 30-7.

Allen completed 11 of 17 passes for 219 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown pass to Trammell early in the second half, and rushed for 183 yards on 23 carries, scoring on runs of 20, 3 and 36 yards. Trammell added 99 rushing yards and three touchdowns on six carries and caught three passes for 115 yards and a touchdown as the Rebels amassed 600 total yards – 219 in the air and 381 on the ground.

Edgewood’s Alex Johnson completed 8 of 21 passes for 256 yards, including touchdown passes of 32 yards to Dawson Owens and 76 yards to Trevor Rodie. 

Carson Peevy led the Edgewood defense with 13 tackles, followed by Blane Guthrie with 12 and Joseph Benton with six.

For Chambers, Jacob Oliver and Kross Colley each had 10 tackles, followed by Ashton Chambers with six and Cade Tarver with five.

Escambia Academy 54, Macon East Academy 13

CANOE – Without its leading rusher, Macon East Academy was no match for Escambia, dropping to 0-6 in the series with a 54-13 loss in the AA semifinals on Friday night.

Macon East (8-5) was making its third trip to the semifinals in the last four years, but was no match for the Cougars without leading rusher Carlos Carter, who was out with an undetermined injury.

In his absence, Gabe Spencer rushed for 90 yards on 21 carries, while Stone Yarnell had 77 yards and a touchdown on four receptions and Eric Lawson had 47 yards on four receptions. 

Quarterback Kirkland Pugh completed 9 of 15 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times.

Yarnell led the Knights’ defense with five tackles, followed by Wade Desmarais with four tackles ad a sack and Teron Wright with four tackles.

Escambia (10-1) will be making its fifth consecutive trip to the AA championship game, but for the first time will not be facing Autauga. Instead, the Cougars will be playing Chambers for the AA title on Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Cramton Bowl.

Crenshaw Christian Academy 53, Sparta Academy 29

LUVERNE – Demetric Toney ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more to lead Crenshaw Christian to its seventh appearance in the Class A finals with an easy win over Sparta Academy on Friday.

Toney rushed for 155 yards on 10 carries, while completing 5 of 10 passes for 102 yards. The senior quarterback was one of three rushers who hit the century mark, along with Christian Holloway, who had 149 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, and John David Taylor, who had 106 yards on 15 carries along with 10 tackles on defense.

Gage Messick led the Crenshaw receivers with 85 yards on three receptions, scoring on a pair of 39-yard passes from Toney.

Defensively, Reid Compton had 11 tackles and an assist to lead the Crenshaw defense, followed by Austin Archie and Taylor with 10 tackles each and Alex Cooper with nine tackles.

Crenshaw Christian (9-3) will face Abbeville Christian Academy (10-2) in a rematch of Region 1 rivals in the championship game next Friday at Cramton Bowl at noon. Abbeville Christian’s only two losses are to AA finalist Chambers and a 36-20 setback to Crenshaw on Oct. 16.

Crenshaw will be seeking its first state championship since beating Sparta in the 1997 finals. 

Pike Liberal Arts 35, Bessemer Academy 15

BESSEMER – The Patriots rallied from a 15-14 deficit with three unanswered touchdowns to beat the Rebels 35-15 in the AAA semifinals on Friday night.

Bessemer Academy, which was playing without a handful of players and head coach Josh Wright, all of whom tested positive for coronavirus. Still, the Rebels battled back with a touchdown pass to grab a one-point lead late in the third quarter when Pike Liberal rallied with a Mayes White touchdown pass to Jay Taylor, a Kam Baker touchdown run and another White touchdown pass for the victory.

Pike Liberal Arts (9-2) will play Glenwood School (10-0) for the AAA state title next Friday at Cramton Bowl at 7 p.m. The two Region 1 rivals met late in the regular season with the Gators taking a 26-7 win on Oct. 23 in Troy.

AISA Tripleheader Championships

Friday at Cramton Bowl

CLASS A Championship

12 p.m.: Crenshaw Christian (9-3) vs Abbeville Christian (10-2)

CLASS AA Championship

3:30 p.m.: Chambers Academy (10-1) vs. Escambia Academy (10-1)

CLASS AAA Championship

7 p.m.: Pike Liberal Arts (9-2) vs. Glenwood (10-0)