PREP RECAP (Week 2): Catholic continues roll; Billingsley wins first; Holtville wins on road
COMBINED REPORTS
Catholic 56, Booker T. Washington 14
TUSKEGEE -- Jeremiah Cobb rushed for 205 yards and five touchdowns on 17 carries as Catholic won its 21th consecutive region game with a 56-14 rout of the Golden Eagles on Friday.
Cobb scored on runs of 60 and 15 yards in the first quarter before BTW cut into the lead with a touchdown early in the second quarter. Cobb set up his 1-yard run with a long run and added an 8-yard touchdown run for a 28-6 run before the Eagles scored again.
Caleb McCreary completed 7 of 12 passes for 156 yards and added 96 rushing yards on seven carries.
Defensively, Zack Underwood had 12 tackles, including three for loss and three sacks, and Jaden Jones had 11 tackles, including two for loss, as Catholic won its 17th consecutive regular season game and its 21st consecutive region game dating back to a 2018 loss at Headland.
The Knights, 3-0 overall and 1-0 in 4A Region 2 play, return home to play Slocomb next Friday, while Booker T. Washington, 0-3 and 0-1, travel to Geneva next week in search of their first win.
Montgomery Academy 34, Bullock County 0
UNION SPRINGS -- Parker Cook threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Eagle defense pitched a shutout as Montgomery Academy opened 4A Region 2 play with an impressive shutout of Bullock County on Friday.
Cook completed 7 of 14 passes for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Eagles (2-1) jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter over the previously unbeaten Hornets (2-1). Greer Armstrong added 83 yards and a touchdown to lead the Eagles’ rushing attack, while Tom Main had 22 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Jashawn Cooper had 58 yards rushing, while Eli Jernigan added 34, Chance Wilson added 20 and Thomas Woodward had 14. Wilson had 29 yards and a touchdown on receptions, while DJ Vinson added 29 receiving yards and Woodward had 26.
Defensively, Will Hardin led the Eagles with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. Graham Martin had six tackles, including three for loss and Cooper had six tackles and forced a fumble. Owen Johnson and Bray Renfroe each had interceptions for the Eagles.
Montgomery Academy returns home to play Dale County for homecoming in a region contest, while Bullock County travels to Andalusia.
Alabama Christian 64, Lynn 26
LYNN -- Hayes Hunt threw four touchdown passes in the first 14 minutes as the Eagles completely overwhelmed the Class 1A Bears 64-26 for ACA’s first victory in 2022.
Hunt completed 6 of 8 passes for 159 yards, throwing 30 yards to Preston Hicks to open the scoring two minutes into the game, adding touchdown passes of 43 and 47 yards to Avery Stuart later in the quarter and hitting tailback Corey Landers with an 18-yard touchdown pass for a 35-0 lead with 10:22 left in the first half.
Otasowie Dion added a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the first quarter and a 25-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to counter the Bears’ first touchdown and give the Eagles a 42-6 lead.
ACA (1-1) got scoring runs of 25 yards by AC Walters and 45 yards by Jordan Frazier for a 56-6 halftime lead before allowing the junior varsity to play in the second half.
Lynn (2-1) scored three consecutive touchdowns at that point before David Ortiz-Ramirez scored on a 64-yard run by ACA with four minutes left.
Walters led the Eagles’ ground game with 76 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Ortiz-Ramirez added 63 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Stuart had two receptions for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Landers had two catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Josh Kreitz and Christian Snipes each had seven tackles to lead ACA. Dion and Hicks both had sacks and Dion, Gerrod Green and Jaylan McCovery all had interceptions.
ACA travels to Trinity next week for the Eagles’ region opener.
Trinity 51, Southside-Selma 30
SELMA -- JaMichael Jones scored a pair of touchdowns and Chayman Wilkins added one on defense with a fumble recovery as the Wildcats defeated Southside in the region opener on Friday.
Southside (0-2) is coming off the best season in school history in 2021 and played the Wildcats tough early as Trinity managed only a safety and a 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes.
Fleming Hall cranked up in the final three quarters, completing 11 of 18 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns, starting with a 7-yard scoring toss to Will Owen for a 9-0 lead.
David Michael Lieux also had a touchdown catch, pulling in four receptions for 96 yards, and Winston Phillips added the third Wildcat touchdown reception, gaining 51 yards on three receptions.
The Wildcats also managed 151 yards rushing, with Jones gaining 78 yards on nine carries while scoring twice and Ross Sanders picking up 64 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Defensively, Harrison Johnston led the Wildcats with 12 tackles, including two for loss. Webber McClinton added five tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Trinity (2-1) improved to 1-0 in region play and will face Alabama Christian in a 3A Region 3 matchup next Friday at Ragsdale-Boykin Field.
Billingsley 42, Calhoun 6
LETOHATCHEE -- Landon Jones completed 18 of 23 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 47 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, to lead the Bears to a 42-6 rout of Calhoun in the 1A Region 4 opener for both teams on Friday.
The win was only the fourth for Billingsley in region openers over the last 11 years.
Z’londre Tyus had six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown and added another score on a 17-yard run. Randriquis McCary led the rushing attack with 105 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries while catching three passes out of the backfield for 83 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears rolled up 511 total yards in the win.
Defensively, Lejohn Laister had three tackles, an interceptions and two passes defensed, while Kyle Boice had three tackles and an interception.
Billingsley (1-1) returns home to face Verbena at Mims Field in a region game next Friday. Calhoun (1-1) has a region game at home next Friday against Autaugaville.
Jemison 14, Marbury 9
MARBURY -- Jaxon Padlo threw 9 yards to Kintre Jackson for a touchdown with nine minutes remaining to help Jemison to a stunning 14-9 win over Marbury on Friday night.
The Bulldogs struggled on offense all night but still led Jemison 9-7 before Padlo’s game-winning touchdown for the Panthers, which had lost 16 of their previous 18 games before Friday’s win.
Baylor Cannon kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Marbury a 3-0 lead a minute into the second quarter, but that was the only points the Bulldogs would score on offense all night.
Coden Cummings scored on an 18-yard run to give Jemison a 7-3 halftime lead before Jerrel O’Neal put the Bulldogs back in front with an interception return for a touchdown three minutes into the second half.
Carsyn Cobb led Marbury with 102 yards on 17 carries. O’Neal led the defense with 10 tackles, followed by Clayton McGalliard with six.
Efrain Villeda had 75 rushing yards on 19 carries to lead Jemison.
Marbury, 1-2 overall and 0-1 in 5A Region 3 play, travels to Demopolis for a region game next Friday, while Jemison, 1-2 and 1-0, travels to Shelby County.
Central-Clay County 20, Tallassee 7
TALLASSEE -- Terry Heflin rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries to lead Central-Clay County to a 20-7 win over the Tigers at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium in the 5A Region 4 opener for both teams on Friday night.
Tallassee was held in check throughout the first three quarters as the Volunteers scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters to build a 21-0 lead. Darren Harris scored on a pair of 2-yard runs and Heflin scored in the second quarter on a 25-yard run.
Tallassee avoided the shutout when Tyler Ellis threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cade Everson with 18 seconds left. Ellis completed 8 of 19 passes for 66 yards while rushing for 41 yards on 11 carries.
DJ Leonard added 40 yards on three carries and Everson had 38 yards on seven carries.
Central-Clay, 1-1 overall and 1-0 in region play, returns home to play unbeaten Elmore County next Friday, while Tallassee, 2-1 and 0-1, travels to Beauregard for a region game.
Holtville 34, Shelby County 13
COLUMBIANA - The Bulldogs opened Class 5A, Area 3 play with a win over Wildcats on Friday.
The combination of Tanner Potts and Keiland Baker passed for four touchdowns to lead Holtville. Shawn Brackett had 129 yards and a touchdown while Eric Davis had 97 yards and three touchdowns in receptions.
Kaige Ferguson had two interceptions for Holtville. Conner Hackett had a fumble recovery. Hackett also led the team with 11 tackles.
Holtville (2-1, 1-0) continues region play next week with a trip to Selma.
Opelika 31, R.E. Lee 7
The Bulldogs got off to a slow start but scored 21 second-half points to pull away from the homestanding Generals in the Class 7A, Region 2 contest at Cramton Bowl on Friday.
Roman Gagliano passed for 166 yards and two touchdowns to lead Opelika.Lee’s only points came late in the game on a Bryson McGrew quarterback sneak and Briton Miller’s extra point.
McGrew passed for 106 yards for Lee, which is still looking for its first win of the season.
The Generals (0-3, 0-1) is open next week before facing Auburn on Sept. 16. Opelika (3-0, 1-0) faces Central-Phenix City next Friday.