PREP RECAP (Week 1): Davis leads Lee past Jeff Davis; ACA, St. James, Catholic get first win
COMBINED REPORTS
Reginald Davis rushed for 351 yards and three touchdowns but it was the Lee defense that saved the day in a 19-14 win over rival Jeff Davis on Friday at Cramton Bowl.
After starting the night with minus-3 yards in his first two carries, Davis rushed for 208 yards in the first half on 13 carries and he scored on runs of 33 and 54 yards. He added 143 yards and a score on 15 carries in the second half.
But Lee’s offense suffered three turnovers that ended drives, including one that was a “pick 6” by Terrence Reed who raced 75 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the half to pull JD within six points, 13-7.
Davis would extend the lead to 19-7 on a 17-yard scamper with 4:33 to play in the third quarter but JD kept it close with a Chase Ford touchdown pass to Donald Harris for 50 yards. Juan Cordenas kicked both extra points to pull the Vols to within five, 19-14, with 8:37 remaining in the game.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Lee drove inside the JD 40-yard line but Davis fumbled the ball away giving JD a chance with just over six minutes remaining. But the Vols’ drive would end on a Ford interception by Austin Yelder with just over four minutes remaining.
Later, JD had another drive stall in the final minutes and the Generals would run out the clock to preserve the win.
Ford finished 8 of 19 for 111 yards, two TDs and with two interceptions for the Vols. JD had 204 yards of total offense to Lee’s 414 yards.
Lee (1-1) enters region play next week against Eufaula on Thursday at Cramton Bowl. Jeff Davis (0-2) takes the week off before facing Central-Phenix City on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Wetumpka 35, Tallassee 14
WETUMPKA – The Indians jumped out to a 35-0 lead and never looked back in an easy win at Hohenburg Stadium on Friday.
Quarterback Robert Rose passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Indians. His first TD pass came just two minutes into the game, 23 yards to Tavarse Murphy.
Rose added his second scoring pass in the third quarter, 6 yards to Rudarius Anthony.
Stone Minnifield and Jaeden Peterson had rushing touchdowns in the first half for Wetumpka. Rose added a third rushing TD in the third.
Jalyn Daniels had both Tiger touchdowns on runs of 49 and 75 yards, both in the second half. He finished with 133 yards on 12 carries.
The game was the first meeting of the long-time rivals since 2003.
Next week, Wetumpka (1-1) begins Class 6A, Region 3 play against Helena while Tallassee (0-2) has a scheduled bye.
Enterprise 35, G.W. Carver 19
ENTERPRISE – The Wolverines held a 13-7 first-half lead but Enterprise would score 28 unanswered points on the way to a victory in the season opener for both teams.
A Marquarious Moore pass to Ali McMilliam for 21 yards and James Smith’s 5-yard run gave Carver the lead early in the second quarter but the Wolverines would not score again until Josh Maye’s 1-yard run late in the game.
Carver (0-1) stays on the road to open region play next week at Valley.
Prattville 16, Stanhope Elmore 10
MILLBROOK – The Lions scored all 16 points in the first half and held on for their second win of the season Friday at Foshee-Henderson Stadium.
After a Collin Rogers 34-yard field goal, Prattville built the lead on a Keondre Powell 16-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter.
E.J. Ousley added a touchdown pass of 15 yards to Jack Hallman for a 16-0 lead.
The Mustangs scored their first points on a Jacob Bryant field goal of 37 yards with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Stanhope pulled within six with Trey Killingsworth scoring from the 1-yard line with three-plus minutes remaining but the Lions were able to run out the clock to earn the win.
Prattville (2-0) opens region play next Friday at Auburn while Stanhope Elmore (1-1) plays at home against Benjamin Russell.
Alabama Christian 49, Highland Home 28
HIGHLAND HOME – Jalen Clark ran for four touchdowns and threw for two more as the Eagles picked up their first win of the season with an impressive romp over the 2A Flying Squadron.
Clark rushed for 147 yards on 14 carries and completed 8 of 14 passes for 120 yards. Corey Landers added 61 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Hayes Hunt and Garrett Weathers each had touchdown receptions. Hunt had two catches for 39 yards and Weathers had a pair of receptions for 24 yards.
Linebacker Miller McCarthy led the defensive effort with 15 tackles and a sack. Otasowie Dion had seven tackles and a fumble recovery, Sanders Manning had seven tackles and Grant Sutton had seven tackles and a sack.
Alabama Christian (1-1) travels across town to Carlisle Field to play St. James in the region opener next week.
St. James 31, Reeltown 20
REELTOWN – St. James picked up its first win of 2020 with a surprisingly easy victory over 3A Reeltown on Friday night at Nix-Webster-O’Neal Stadium.
Freshman quarterback K.J. Jackson completed 7 of 13 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns and Cosner Harrison ran for 168 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries as the Trojans spotted the Rebels a quick touchdown, then reeled off 31 unanswered points.
Gabe Bryant put the home team on the board first as he spotted two receivers running free behind the Trojan defense, picked out Logan Lee, and Lee completed the 78-yard play for a 6-0 lead.
Taking over on the Reeltown 42 following a punt, the Trojans countered with a similar play as Jackson connected with Ethan Beard on a pass play over the middle and Holt Harrison added the extra point for a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.
An Adam Garnett interception set up the next score two plays later as Zac Russell caught a short slant pass from Jackson and sprinted 50 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 halftime lead.
Harrison added a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter and Beard followed with a 71-yard scoring reception for a 24-6 lead. Harrison closed out the scoring for St. James with an eight-yard touchdown run before the Rebels answered with a pair of meaningless touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Russell had three receptions for 91 yards, including the 50-yard touchdown reception, and Beard scored on both of his receptions, accounting for 113 yards in the process.
The Trojans (1-1) will play host to Alabama Christian next week in the region opener. Reeltown (1-1) will also open region play at home against Childersburg.
Catholic 27, Charles Henderson 13
TROY – Catholic rolled up 463 total yards, scored four touchdowns and had two more called back by penalties in defeating Class 5A Charles Henderson 27-13 at Troy University’s Veteran’s Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
The game was moved from Catholic to the more spacious Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy to accommodate COVID regulations with social distancing and reduced capacity in stadiums, but was delayed for approximately 90 minutes because of heavy rain and lightning.
Jeremiah Cobb rushed for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries and Caleb McCreary completed 10 of 18 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown, along with three interceptions, in the win.
Kylon Griffin had the other touchdown, returning the Trojans’ first kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. He had another return for a touchdown that was wiped out with a block-in-the-back penalty.
Another touchdown, on a 65-yard run by Johnathan Rhoden, was also wiped out by penalty.
Myles Butler had five receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Will Belsterling led the defensive effort for the Knights with two interceptions. Fellow defensive back Jourden Thomas had another to seal the win.
Catholic (1-1) returns home to play Dadeville in the region opener next Friday.
Dadeville 20, Elmore County 19
DADEVILLE – Sean Darnell’s 1-yard plunge with two minutes remaining in the game pulled the Elmore County Panthers to within a point but his two-point try came up short, allowing Dadeville to escape with a one-point victory Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
Payton Stephenson scored on a 3-yard run and threw for another touchdown to Jabari Murphy for 25 yards to give ECHS a lead at halftime.
But the Tigers scored the next 14 points with Javuntae Holley scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 5:47 left in the game.
Stephenson finished with 145 yards in total offense while Darnell had 82 yards rushing on 16 carries. C.J. Wilkes led the Panthers’ defense with seven solo tackles.
The Panthers (1-1) open Class 5A, Region 4 play at home against Holtville next Friday. Dadeville (1-0) opens region play at Montgomery Catholic.
Autaugaville 30, Talladega County Central 0
AUTAUGAVILLE – Jermaine Sanders rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Eagles to the win Friday.
Sanders had touchdown runs of 64 and 45 yards while Jamarcus Rose added a run for 9 yards for a score.
Rodney Deramas had a touchdown pass to Antonio Hardy for a score.
Mackenzie Bristow and Trey Lee led the Eagles’ defense with seven tackles and a fumble recovery each.
The game was the first on-the-field win for Autaguaville who improved to 2-0 for the season. The Eagles open Class 1A Region 4 play at Notasulga next week.
Pike Road 1, Calhoun 0
PIKE ROAD – The Patriots’ home opener with Calhoun was canceled by the Tigers, resulting in a 1-0 forfeit victory that improved Pike Road to 2-0.
Pike Road will host Carroll next week in a region matchup.
AISA Roundup
Edgewood Academy 27, Hooper Academy 0
HOPE HULL – Alex Johnson passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as Edgewood Academy defeated the Colts at Davis-Henry Field on Friday night.
Johnson ran 21 yards for a touchdown and passed 14 yards to Connor Bailey to give the Wildcats a 13-0 lead in the first quarter. Mitchell Boyd added a 12-yard touchdown run midway through the quarter and Johnson connected with Boyd on a 53-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds remaining for a 27-0 halftime lead.
Edgewood rolled up 329 total yards in the win, but first-year coach Chad Michael, who was the head coach at Hooper in 2015 and 2016, was through scoring points.
Johnson was 7 of 13 for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the air and added 77 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Blane Guthrie followed with 69 yards on six carries.
Guthrie led the defensive effort with eight tackles, followed by Joseph Benton with six tackles, including two for loss, and JT Brazell with five tackles.
Paul Menefee led Hooper Academy with 84 yards on 22 carries. Will Reed had 33 receiving yards, while Preston Knepper added 27.
Defensively, Will Reed led the Colts with eight tackles, followed by Dawson Hooper with seven tackles and a sack and Riley Wood with seven tackles.
Edgewood (2-0) plays host to Banks Academy in the AA Region 1 opener next Friday at home, while Hooper (1-1) travels to Pike Liberal Arts on Friday for its AAA Region 1 opener.
Chambers Academy 38, Abbeville Christian Academy 0
LaFAYETTE -- Payton Allen was 9 of 16 for 260 yards and three touchdowns as Chambers Academy cruised to a 38-0 shutout of the Generals on Friday night.
Allen also had 54 rushing yards on eight carries and six tackles on defense.
Jordan Benbrook rushed for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just eight carries, while TY Trammel had 91 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches, Josh Holliday had 60 receiving yards and a touchdown on two receptions and Jeremy Conway added a 66-yard touchdown on his only reception of the night. John White added a 36-yard reception.
Hunter Knox led the Chambers defense with 10 tackles, followed by Kross Colley with nine, Jacob Oliver with eight tackles and a sack, Dean Sheffield with eight tackles and Hayden Hurst with six.
Chambers (2-0) opens AA Region 1 play next week at Springwood School. Abbeville Christian (1-1) returns home to play Lowndes Academy next Friday.
Autauga Academy 15, Tuscaloosa Academy 7
TUSCALOOSA – Will Traywick completed 11 of 19 passes for 229 yards to help defending AA state champion Autauga hold off the Class AAA Knights 15-7 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Anden Hilyer had five carries for 18 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while also pulling in five receptions for 142 yards.
Lake Barber, who alternated at quarterback and receiver, added 44 rushing yards on five carries and was 1 of 2 for 24 yards.
Defensively for the Generals, Donte Henry had eight tackles, a fumble recovery and four pass breakups, Josh Palmer had seven tackles and forced a pair of fumbles, Deilmalik Livingston had five tackles, Joaquin Cohen had four solo tackles and eight pass breakups and Caden Henry had six solo tackles, four pass breakups and an interception.
Autauga (1-0) has an open date next week and returns to action on Sept. 11 in the region opener with Patrician Academy at home. Tuscaloosa (0-1) remains home to play Fort Dale in the region opener next Friday.
Lowndes Academy 1, Meadowview Christian 0 (forfeit)
HAYNEVILLE – Lowndes Academy picked up its first win of the season on Thursday after Meadowview Christian was forced to self-quarantine for the next two weeks when one of its players tested positive for coronavirus.
Lowndes (1-1) will travel to Abbeville to play the Generals next week. Meadowview Christian (0-2) will be forced to forfeit next week’s game with South Choctaw as well and is scheduled to return to action on Sept. 11 at home against Sparta Academy.