FRIDAY NIGHT PREPS: JAG gets second-straight win; St. James takes over first in region with win
COMBINED REPORTS
JAG 28, Smiths Station 14
Donovan Caldwell scored on a 2-yard run with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half to give JAG a lead it would never relinquish in a 28-14 over Smiths Station at Cramton Bowl on Friday.
The win was the second in a row and first in Class 7A, Region 2 play.
Caldwell finished with 97 yards rushing to lead the Jaguars (2-4, 1-3).
JAG quarterback JaMichael Harris passed for a score and ran for another. He opened the scoring with a 2-yard run with 6:53 left in the first quarter and later threw a 26-yard strike to Tyanthony Elmore for the final points of the game.
Elmore also added a 58-yard fumble return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter that gave JAG a 20-7 lead.
Adien Tilley had a 70-yard kickoff return for Smiths Station, which is still looking for its first win of the season.
JAG will face Dothan next Friday while Smiths Station (0-7, 0-4) will travel to Auburn.
Pike Road 54, Park Crossing 28
PIKE ROAD -- Ja’Michael Jones scored four touchdowns to help the Patriots defeat Park Crossing 54-28 on Friday night.
Pike Road opened the contest with a seven-play, 63-yard drive capped by Jones’ 7-yard scoring run. He added a 3-yard touchdown run after Pike Road’s Omari Smith intercepted a Marcus Smith pass and returned it 59 yards to the Park Crossing 8-yard line. A Jordan Holmes’ interception set up his 6-yard scoring run several plays later to give the Patriots a quick 21-0 lead.
Park Crossing got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter on a 3-yard run by JaDavian Pierce, but the two-point conversion failed.
A 49-yard kickoff return by Levi Kelly set up a short scoring drive by the Patriots as Patrick Carter scored on a 6-yard run to make it 27-6. Park Crossing’s Jadyen Hollis pulled in a 33-yard tipped pass in the end zone for another Thunderbird touchdown, but the Patriots responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jones to cap a 70-yard drive late in the first half for a 33-12 halftime lead.
Carter and Pierce traded touchdown runs in the third quarter before the Patriots put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter on touchdown runs of 5 and 59 yards by Jones and Smith, respectively.
Park Crossing’s Marcus Smith closed out the scoring with a 1-yard run and two-point conversion run with 4:45 remaining.
Pike Road (4-3) improved to 4-0 in Class 6A Region 2 play with a trip to Millbrook to play Stanhope Elmore next week before returning home in two weeks for a region game with Russell County.
Park Crossing (0-5) dropped to 0-3 in 6A Region 2 play and will play host to Rehobeth in a region game next Thursday at Cramton Bowl.
St. James 32, BT Washington 28
Quarterback Chase Perry passed for three touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown to lead the Trojans to an important Class 4A, Region 3 victory Friday at Carlisle Field.
Braylen Corley had three catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns. He also had an interception for the STJ defense.
Tabor Offord added four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown while Grant Phillips rushed for 56 yards on 16 carries. He added an interception for the Trojans’ defense.
Quarterback Brandon Smith passed for two touchdowns and 215 yards while Javis Floyd had 109 yards rushing and two scores for BTW.
With the win, St. James (4-3, 4-0) took sole possession of first place in the region while BTW (4-2, 3-1) fell into a three-way tie with Handley and Tallassee for second place.
STJ face Cleburne County next week. BTW travels to Munford.
Catholic 65, Carroll 0
Freshman quarterback Kingston Preyear threw for a career-high 302 yards and a career-high five touchdowns as the Knights rolled to a 65-0 win over Carroll on Friday night.
It was the largest margin of victory for a Catholic squad since defeating Birmingham University 72-0 in 1957 and marked only the second time in school history the Knights have scored more than 60 points in consecutive games.
Preyear, seeing his first substantial playing time since suffering a preseason injury, completed 13 of 22 passes, throwing three touchdown passes to BJ Bedgood, one to JJ Williams and another to Michael Sheffield.
Gio Hayner rushed for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries, while Williams rushed for 42 yards and two touchdowns on four carries and caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Bedgood had seven receptions for 170 yards and Sheffield had two receptions for 59 yards.
Linebackers Charles Chappelle and Myles Khatri each had eight tackles, including two tackles for loss, to lead the Catholic defense. Lineman Harrison Rogers had seven tackles, including four for loss and a sack.
Catholic extended its winning streak to 21 consecutive games, including 40 straight regular season wins dating back to 2020. The Knights also won their 37th consecutive region game dating back to a loss to Headland in the 2018 regular season finale.
Catholic (6-0) faces Headland next Friday at home.
Billingsley 50, Ellwood Christian 8
BILLINGSLEY -- The Bears kept alive their playoff hopes with a 50-8 rout of winless Ellwood Christian in a Class 1A Region 4 game at Mims Field on Friday.
Billingsley (3-4) evened its region record at 2-2 and is tied with Keith for fourth place in the region behind Maplesville, Verbena and Autauga Academy.
The top four teams in the region advance to the state playoffs.
Billingsley piled up 461 total yards as Landon Jones completed 8 of 9 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. The senior added a touchdown on his only carry of the night, scoring on an 11-yard run.
Jones threw touchdown passes to Kyle Boice and Colton Butler, with Boice pulling in four receptions for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Butler’s only catch was a 15-yard touchdown reception for the tight end.
Tailback Kaden Cotton had 244 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, while also returning a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
Defensively, linebacker Caleb Massey led the Bears with 13 tackles and a sack. Defensive end Gabe Cardenas added 10 tackles, while Jones had nine tackles, Boice had six tackles and an interception and Jake Rawlinson had six tackles.
Billingsley will play host to Maplesville in a region game next Friday before closing out the region schedule with road games at Notasulga and Keith the following two weeks.
Central-Clay Co 29, Elmore County 7
ECLECTIC -- Central scored 29 unanswered points to rally from an early deficit and defeat the Panthers 29-7 on Friday.
Elmore County scored on a 7-yard pass from Caleb Spivey to Tate McNeely and McNeely added the extra point for a 7-0 lead, but the rest of the night belonged to Central.
DeShaun Gibbons threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Damauri Whetstone and Tyler Bond added the extra point to tie the game, then the Volunteers added two more touchdowns, the last coming on a 45-yard touchdown run by Bond, to stake Central to a 22-7 halftime lead.
Spivey finished the night with 107 yards and a touchdown after completing 8 of 11 passes. The Panthers struggled to maintain any rushing attack as Parker Hobbs rushed for 27 yards on seven carries to lead the ground game. McNeely had three receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.
Elmore County (3-2) dropped to 1-2 in 5A Region 4 play and will play a crucial region game at Valley next week. Central (7-0) remains atop the region in a tie with Beauregard and returns home to play Holtville next week.
Beauregard 21, Holtville 0
HOLTVILLE -- The Bulldogs held Beauregard to their lowest scoring total in five weeks but couldn’t find the offensive punch to beat the Hornets in a 21-0 loss on Friday.
Holtville was shut out at home for the first time since a 2017 loss to Munford, a span of 39 home games.
Jacob Burgess led the Bulldogs with 87 passing yards, with Elijah Headley accounting for 52 of those receiving yards. Hunter Chavis led Holtville’s rushing attack with 83 yards.
Defensively, Connor Aplin led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Beauregard (5-2) kept pace with Central-Clay County atop the region at 4-0. Holtville is tied with Elmore County for fourth place in the region at 1-2, with the top four teams in each region advancing to the state playoffs.
Holtville (2-4) will travel to Central-Clay County next week.
Macon East Academy 60, North River Christian 0
CECIL -- The Knights celebrated homecoming with their third shutout of the season, defeating North River Christian 60-0 in an 8-man game on Friday.
Thad McKinney had two carries for 82 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run, to get the Knights rolling early. He also had a 65-yard kickoff return.
Sam Wallace completed 2 of 4 passes for 89 yards, with both passes resulting in touchdowns. He added a 30-yard touchdown run and a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Carter Hopson had a 45-yard touchdown run and caught one of Wallace’s passes for a 51-yard touchdown. Micah Andrews added two touchdown receptions, catching one from Wallace and another from backup Brandon Fitch, who completed 2 of 2 passes.
Hopson had nine tackles, including a sack for a 6-yard loss. McKinney had four tackles, including a sack for a 5-yard loss. Mathew Pugh had five tackles and a fumble recovery. Fitch had six tackles and pass breakup. Wallace also had an interception.
Macon East Academy (5-0) will travel to Harpersville for a Class A game with Coosa Valley Academy next Thursday before closing out the regular season with two of the best teams in Class A, 2023 finalists Springwood and Cornerstone.
Morgan Academy 38, Hooper Academy 12
SELMA -- The Senators won their first game since the tragic passing of quarterback Caden Tellier with a 38-12 win over the Colts on Friday night.
Morgan (2-3) canceled a game with Wilcox in the wake of Tellier’s passing after the season opening win over Southern, then lost games to Monroe, Fort Dale and Chambers before bouncing back with Friday’s win over Hooper.
The Colts got touchdowns from Christ McCoy and Ellis Fleming in Friday’s game. McCoy had 68 yards receiving, including a 53-yard touchdown reception from Hunter Bowman. McCoy also had 94 yards rushing.
Fleming rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Mason McGinty led the Colts with 11 tackles. Javeon Thomas added eight.
Hooper (0-6) is idle next week before closing out region play with a game at Abbeville Christian on Oct. 11. Morgan travels to Escambia Academy next week.