FRIDAY NIGHT PREPS (WEEK 1): UPDATED: Carver continues offensive resurgence over Julian; Game between Tallassee-ECHS ended prematurely
COMBINED REPORTS
Carver 44, Julian 12
TJ Russell threw for a pair of touchdowns and Tre Berry rushed for two more as the Wolverines routed Percy Julian 44-12 at Cramton Bowl on Friday night.
Russell completed 12 of 19 passes for 232 yards, including touchdown passes to Zion Crumpton and TK Norman, and added another touchdown rushing.
Crumpton finished with 75 yards and a touchdown on three receptions, while Norman had 96 yards and a touchdown on two catches. Anthony Rogers added four receptions for 33 yards.
Berry led the rushing attack with 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries, followed by Rogers with 30 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
The Wolverines rolled up 408 total yards on the Phoenix.
Defensively, Stephon Andrews had four tackles, including a tackle for loss, Rashad Walker had three tackles and a blocked kick, Noah Maye had four tackles, including a tackle for loss, Camarre Jackson had three tackles, including a tackle for loss, Fitzgerald Stinson added a tackle for loss and DJ Mossop had a sack.
Carver (2-0) opens Class 7A Region 2 play next Friday at Cramton Bowl against JAG. Julian (1-1) opens Class 6A Region 2 play against Stanhope Elmore at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
Enterprise 24, Pike Road 6
ENTERPRISE -- The Wildcats clamped down on Pike Road and held the Patriots’ offense in check for a 24-6 victory on Friday night.
Conner Hall kicked a 22-yard field goal at the end of the first half and a 35-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for the Patriots’ only points as Pike Road was held to 182 total yards.
Midway through the second quarter, Enterprise’s Mason Burkhardt scored on a five-yard run to break a scoreless tie. Enterprise had the ball again with less than three minutes remaining in the half when Pike Road’s Ethan Holloway caused a fumble that was recovered by Jhaylon Smith, giving the Patriots the ball inside the Enterprise 30-yard line. Pike Road ended that drive, and the first half, with Hall’s field goal to make it 7-3.
The defensive battle continued into the third quarter, but Enterprise eventually scored on a 15-yard run from Eric Winters. Hall’s second field goal made it 14-6, but Enterprise countered with a 37-yard field goal by Costin Lloyd for a 17-6 lead. With three minutes left, Enterprise scored the final points of the game on a 10-yard run by Dylan Smith.
Offensively, the Patriots struggled to get anything going as quarterback Cason Myers was 8 of 21 for 69 yards and three interceptions, while Ja’Michael Jones was held to 65 yards on 21 carries and Myers managed just 18 yards on seven carries. Omari Smith led the receiving corps with 27 yards on three receptions.
Defensively, Braylon Outlaw had nine tackles, a pair of quarterback pressures and a pass defensed, Akeem Blackmon had seven tackles and four quarterback pressures, Jordan Holmes had six solo tackles and a pass defensed, Corey Tims had three solo tackles, six assisted tackles and a sack, Rufus Boone had three solo tackles, four assists, a sack and a pass defensed and Ben Shelton had four solo tackles and three assists. Julius Lane added three solo tackles.
Pike Road (0-2) returns to the Wiregrass next week, traveling to Rehobeth on Friday for the 6A Region 2 opener. Enterprise (2-0) opens 7A Region 2 play at Dothan.
Tallassee 14, Elmore County 14
ECLECTIC -- Tallassee and Elmore County battled evenly for three quarters before play was stopped with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. At the time, the was game tied at 14-14.
The remainder of the game will not be made up.
The game apparently ended prematurely due to a cyber threat. Fans and players were asked to clear out of the stadium. Officials decided not to continue the game.
Elmore County had taken a 14-0 lead with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns as Tyler Payton scored on runs of 3 and 8 yards, followed by Tate McNeely extra points. Payton finished with 73 yards on 10 carries.
The Tigers rallied to tie the game in the second quarter with Trent Morris throwing 39 yards and 6 yards for a pair of Jordan King touchdown receptions. After King’s first scoring reception, the Tigers went for two but Jackson Mann broke up the conversion pass. After the second touchdown, King threw the conversion pass to tie the game.
Morris completed 7 of 13 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. King rushed for 37 yards on three carries and caught four passes for 87 yards.
Tallassee marched to a first down at the Elmore County 16-yard line in the third quarter, but the drive stalled and the Tigers missed a field goal attempt.
After an Elmore County possession ended with a punt, the Tigers marched to the Elmore County 26 when the game was halted.
Elmore County (1-0-1) will play host to Carroll next week. Tallassee (0-1-1) will open 5A Region 3 play next week at Munford.
Catholic 51, St. Clair County 14
J.J. Williams, filling in for the second consecutive week at quarterback, rushed for three touchdowns and passed for two more as the Knights rolled to a 51-14 win over the Saints on Friday night at Catholic in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Williams rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries, while completing 8 of 12 passes for 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to B.J. Bedgood. Williams, an all-purpose athlete who can play receiver and running back as well as quarterback, was the starter for the second consecutive week as projected starter Kingston Preyear continues to recover from a broken thumb suffered two weeks ago.
Josh Harriell rushed for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries to take some of the pressure off of Williams. Michael Sheffield had two receptions for 65 yards while Bedgood had 67 yards on both of his receptions which went for touchdowns.
Catholic extended its winning streak in regular-season games to 36, dating back to a loss to Montgomery Academy in 2020.
Defensively, linebacker Miles Khatri led the Knights with nine tackles, including four for loss. Defensive end Garrett Sanford had eight tackles, including three for loss, and a pair of sacks, while fellow defensive lineman KJ Washington had five tackles, including two for loss, and a sack. Safety Jo Pierce had six tackles, an interception and a pass breakup.
Catholic (2-0) opens 5A Region 2 play on the road next Friday at Eufaula. St. Clair County (1-1) has a week off before playing Moody in its region opener.
Goshen 40, Alabama Christian 7
GOSHEN -- Goshen outscored Alabama Christian 23-0 in the second half to pull out a surprisingly easy 40-7 victory over the Eagles in the first-ever regular season meeting between the two teams.
Alabama Christian gave up a pair of big plays to fall behind 14-0 but cut into the lead late in the first half on a 16-yard pass from Christian Snipes to AC Walters with 2:10 remaining.
Goshen promptly drove the length of the field to kick a field goal with 5.4 seconds remaining for a 17-7 halftime lead, then shut out the Eagles in the second half.
Snipes rushed for 52 yards on 10 carries and completed 3 of 6 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Walters had two receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown and David Ortiz-Ramirez added one catch for 50 yards.
Defensively, Micah Merritt had nine tackles to lead ACA, while Mekhi Gardner, TJ Merritt and Bryson Dabney all had seven tackles each.
Alabama Christian (1-1) opens 3A Region 2 play on Thursday in Dothan against Northside Methodist, while Goshen (1-0) opens 2A Region 3 play at Zion Chapel next Friday.
Shelby County 31, Holtville 14
COLUMBIANA -- For the second consecutive week, the Bulldogs put together a good defensive effort but it wasn’t enough to lead them to victory.
Holtville held Shelby County to just 154 total yards, but struggled for any offensive consistency.
Jacob Burgess led the Bulldogs with 82 passing yards and a touchdown. Elijah Headley led the receivers with 37 yards, while Daishawn Zeigler led the ground game with 46 rushing yards.
Defensively, Anthony Chunn led Holtville with nine tackles.
Holtville (0-2) returns home to play Sylacauga in the 5A Region 4 opener next Friday, while Shelby County (2-0) plays at Sipsey Valley in the 5A Region 3 opener.
Autauga Academy 24, Thorsby 21
THORSBY -- Cam Wright scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Generals to their first-ever win as an Alabama High School Athletic Association member with a 24-21 win over Thorsby on Friday.
Damien Dickerson and Cody Tornow each scored a touchdown for Autauga Academy.
The Generals (1-0) open region play next Friday at home against Billingsley. Thorsby (0-2) will open 3A Region 3 play next week against Sumter Central.
Fayetteville 44, Billingsley 18
BILLINGSLEY -- Landon Jones threw for 144 yards and rushed for 92 more, but the Bears couldn’t keep up with Fayetteville in a 44-18 loss at Mims Field on Friday night.
Jones rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while completing 9 of 14 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted twice.
Kaden Cotton rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, adding another 34 yards on a pair of receptions.
Kyle Boice had 89 yards and a touchdown on five receptions as the Bears rolled up 339 total yards but couldn’t stop Fayetteville.
Defensively, end Caleb Massey had 10 tackles, followed by safety Mitch Richards with eight tackles and Jones with seven tackles.
Billingsley (1-1) travels to Prattville to play Autauga Academy for the first time in a 1A Region 4 game next Friday. Fayetteville (2-0) returns home to host Wadley in a 1A Region 6 game.
Bullock County 7, Park Crossing 0 (Thursday)
Jer’Markis Parker scored the only points of the game with 7:31 left in the third quarter to lift the Hornets the to an upset win over Class 6A Park Crossing on Thursday at Cramton Bowl.
Although both teams had success offensively, neither could finish drives with points. Park Crossing had a chance to get on the scoreboard in the final seconds of the first half but a fumble at the Bullock County 1-yard line ended the drive.
The Thunderbirds (0-2) manged just 128 yards in total offense and suffered three costly turnovers. They have seven penalties for 75 yards.
Quarterback Tye’Kelis Wallace led the Hornets (1-1) with 136 yards rushing.
Park Crossing has an open week before facing Stanhpe Elmore on Sept. 13.
AISA
Edgewood Academy 27, Hooper Academy 14
ELMORE -- Brock Whitt rushed for a touchdown and passed for another as the Wildcats defeated Hooper Academy 27-14 in their season opener on Friday night.
Whitt rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The Edgewood quarterback also completed 3 of 9 passes for 53 yards, including a touchdown pass to Landon Smith.
Parker Shaw rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Will Smith added 20 yards and a touchdown on three carries, while Smith had two receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Hunter Bowman threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Colts as Luke Mosley had 72 receiving yards and a touchdown and Christ McCoy had 49 receiving yards and a touchdown along with a two-point conversion. McCoy led the Colts in rushing with 24 yards.
Cooper Freeman led the Edgewood defense with 10 tackles. Colton Lashley and Grayson Jones each had an interception for the Wildcats.
Grayson White led the Hooper defense with eight tackles, followed by Moseley with six tackles and a pair of sacks and Ellis Fleming with six tackles.
Edgewood (1-0) is idle next week, returning to action on Sept 13 in the Class AAA Region 1 opener at Chambers Academy. Hooper (0-2) will travel to Evergreen next week to play Sparta Academy in the Colts’ Class AA Region 1 opener.
Lowndes Academy 40, Southern Academy 0
HAYNEVILLE -- The Rebels won their 20th consecutive game with an impressive 40-0 shutout of Southern in the 2024 season opener at Mac Champion Field.
Lowndes scored in just about every way imaginable, running in a pair of touchdowns, getting a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bradyn Stokes, a 42-yard fumble return for a score by Cooper Carver, a 100-yard punt return for a touchdown by Huston Hampton and a pair of field goals by Watters Box.
The three-time defending state champion extended their winning streak to 20 games, dating back to a 2022 loss to Patrician Academy.
Stokes completed 5 of 13 passes for 60 yards with one interception, while Cooper Dansby rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Dansby led the defensive effort with 11 tackles, followed by Carver with 10 and Hampton with seven.
Lowndes Academy (1-0) was scheduled to play Macon East Academy next week, but now has an open date before returning to action on Sept. 13 in the Class AA Region 1 opener at Hooper.
Southern Academy (0-2) travels to South Choctaw next week for the Class AA Region 2 opener.
Macon East Academy 36, Lakeside School 0
CECIL -- Thad McKinney rushed for two touchdowns and caught a pass for another as the Knights made a successful debut in 8-man football with a 36-0 win over the Chiefs on Friday night.
McKinney had 101 yards rushing on 14 carries and added another 29 receiving yards to finish with 130 all-purpose yards.
Sam Wallace completed 13 of 20 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another 46 yards on eight carries. Wallace threw touchdown passes for 47 yards to Micah Andrews, 27 yards to Jackson Todd and 4 yards to McKinney.
Defensively, Carter Hopson had eight tackles and a fumble recovery, Todd had six tackles and a sack and Will Hasson had six tackles, including one for loss, a 10-yard sack and a caused fumble.
Macon East (1-0) will play host to Evangel Christian in a Class A region contest next week. Lakeside (0-1) is idle next week before playing host to North River Christian in the Chiefs’ home opener on Sept. 13.