FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS: Brew Tech storms back to beat Calhoun to advance
Brew Tech quarterback Taliah July avoids the rush of Calhoun’s Kawanni McPherson for a touchdown pass during the Lady Rams’ win over the Tigers on Thursday at Cramton Bowl. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
It took a half to figure it out, but Brewbaker Tech scored on all three possessions of the second half to rally past Calhoun 20-6 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Class 1A-5A state flag football tournament on Thursday night at Cramton Bowl.
The Rams (9-4) will play host to Satsuma in the 1A-5A quarterfinals at Cramton Bowl on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Flag football, now in its third season as an Alabama High School Athletic Association sanctioned sport, got a huge boost from the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons, who provided grants to programs wishing to start up flag football teams as a girls’ sport.
That, in turn, led to an explosion of teams this season, forcing AHSAA officials to expand the sport into two classifications as well as expand the qualifying tournaments, which take two teams from each area and play until a winner is determined.
That was the scenario facing three first-year programs on Thursday as Carroll, Calhoun and Brew Tech gathered to determine a champion. Calhoun defeated Carroll 9-0, then took a 6-0 lead on area rival Brew Tech at halftime.
Following a punt, Calhoun started its initial possession at the Brew Tech 28 and marched to the end zone in six plays, using a 2-yard quarterback sneak from Layla Gary for a 6-0 lead.
The Rams answered with an impressive 65-yard drive to the Tigers’ goal, but a fourth-down run by quarterback Taliah July was ruled just short by officials, giving the Tigers possession at the 1-yard line.
A 48-yard run by Gary helped to flip field position and the Tigers were able to hold on to the lead the rest of the half.
“I think when we didn’t get the touchdown in the middle of the second quarter, the offense got down a little,” Brew Tech coach Edward Dykes said. “After halftime, we picked it up and were able to make the plays we needed to make.”
The Rams looked like a different team on both sides of the ball after halftime. Gary, who had accounted for 64 of the Tigers’ 84 yards in the first half, had zero yards on eight carries in the second half while Brew Tech built a lead. She finished with 92 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
“We’ve played them before in the area and we kind of knew their game plan,” Dykes said. “They weren’t going to throw the ball a lot. It’s just a matter of not letting them get outside of us. Sometimes they get a reverse or two on us and they’ll gain some yards, but if you can stop her, you can stop them.”
Meanwhile, the Rams took advantage of field position to take control of the game in the second half, primarily with July’s arm. The Brew Tech quarterback found JaQuayla Jarrett behind the Calhoun defense for a 20-yard touchdown pass, used three more completions to set up Kerington Pressley’s 4-yard scoring run and threw 18 yards to Kaymarria Bandy for another touchdown to finish off the Tigers.
“We had to manipulate the defense a little with formations,” Dykes said, “and then we could get where we needed to be and get the right people open.”
Bandy led the receivers with 81 yards and a touchdown on five receptions, including four in the second half.
July completed 9 of 15 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, freshman Joy Taylor led the Rams with eight tackles, including two for loss. Sophomore Mariana Green added seven tackles, including three for loss.
AHSAA FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
The area champion and runner-up participate in a qualifying tournament against the top two teams in another area, with the winner advancing to the AHSAA quarterfinals.
CLASS 1A-5A
Areas 1-2
Monday at Northside Methodist
Satsuma 40, Emmanuel Christian 0
B.C. Rain 16, Northside Methodist 14
Finals, Satsuma 21, B.C. Rain 14
Areas 3-4
Thursday at Cramton Bowl
Calhoun 9, Carroll 0
Finals, Brew Tech 20, Calhoun 6
Areas 5-6
Monday at Valley
Catholic 45, Loachapoka 0
Booker T. Washington defeated Valley
Finals, Catholic 6, Booker T. Washington 0
Areas 7-8
Thursday at Francis Marion
Finals, Selma 19, Francis Marion 0
Areas 9-10
Monday at Northside
Northside 18, Greensboro 12 (2OT)
Hale County 56, Sipsey Valley 6
Finals, Hale County 26, Northside 13
Areas 11-12
Thursday at John Carroll
Wenonah defeated John Carroll
Fairfield 12, Ramsay 7
Finals, Wenonah defeated Fairfield
Areas 13-14
Thursday at Leeds
Finals, Leeds vs. Carver, 5:30 p.m.
Areas 15-16
Wednesday at Westminster Christian
Finals, Westminster Christian 21, J.B. Pennington 6
QUARTERFINALS (Nov. 6-13)
Game 1 -- Area 13-14 winner at Westminster Christian
Game 2 -- Hale County at Wenonah
Game 3 -- Catholic at Selma
Game 4 -- Satsuma at Brew Tech, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
SEMIFINALS (Nov. 14-21)
Game 5 -- Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6 -- Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
FINALS (Dec. 6, University of Alabama, 1 p.m.)
Game 7 -- Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
CLASS 6A-7A
Areas 1-2
Monday at Daphne
Daphne 19, Mary Montgomery 0
Alma Bryant 27, Baldwin County 6
Finals, Daphne 13, Alma Bryant 7
Areas 3-4
Thursday at Auburn
Auburn 14, Dothan 7
Central-Phenix City 32, Smiths Station 6
Finals, Central-Phenix City 34, Auburn 7
Areas 5-6
Wednesday at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa
Prattville 18, Central-Tuscaloosa 0
Hillcrest 1, Sidney Lanier 0, forfeit
Finals, Prattville 38, Hillcrest 0
Areas 7-8
Monday at Hueytown
Northridge 24, Hueytown 0
Tuscaloosa County 27, McAdory 7
Finals, Tuscaloosa County 31, Northridge 0
Areas 9-10
Wednesday at Vestavia Hills
Vestavia Hills 27, Hoover 6
Spain Park 29, Oak Mountain 0
Finals, Vestavia Hills 18, Spain Park 0
Areas 11-12
Tuesday-Wednesday at Huffman
Huffman 14, Jackson-Olin 0
Homewood defeated Gardendale
Finals, Homewood 6, Huffman 0
Areas 13-14
Wednesday at Oxford
Clay-Chalkville 14, Oxford 6
Hewitt-Trussville 13, Gadsden City 7
Finals, Hewitt-Trussville 13, Clay-Chalkville 6
Areas 15-16
Thursday at Sparkman
Sparkman defeated Grissom
Lee defeated Columbia
Finals, Lee 14, Sparkman 13
QUARTERFINALS Nov. 6-13)
Game 1 -- Hewitt-Trussville at Lee
Game 2 -- Vestavia Hills at Homewood
Game 3 -- Prattville at Tuscaloosa County, Monday, 5 p.m.
Game 4 -- Daphne at Central-Phenix City
SEMIFINALS (Nov. 14-21)
Game 5 -- Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6 -- Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
FINALS (Dec. 6, University of Alabama, 3 p.m.)
Game 7 -- Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner