PREP RECAP (Week 3): Carver storms back to beat Park Crossing; Catholic races past Reeltown
COMBINED REPORTS
G.W. Carver spotted Park Crossing a 12-0 lead in the first half but the passing combination of Jamar Green and Sidney Franklin went to work to lift the Wolverines to a 27-12 victory in Class 6A, Region 2 action at Cramton Bowl on Friday night.
Green and Franklin had the first pass with 56 second left in the third quarter, a 9-yard strike to pull the Wolverines to within five, 12-7.
The two hooked up again early in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard pass play that gave Carver the lead for good at 14-12.
Green would strike two more times, both for more than 70 yards. He hit Franklin for 78 yards and followed with a 73-yard bomb to Marquan Jamerson for the final points.
Park Crossing had taken the lead on a Chase Ford pass to Lee Beebe from 7 yards out followed by two field goals of 22 and 25 yards from Brayden Howard.
But Ford would be harassed by the Carver defense for most of the second half. He was sacked five times with four coming from Jaqusvious Russaw for a combined loss of 36 yards.
Green finished with 261 yards and three scores on 9-of-16 passes. He also had an interception.
Franklin had four receptions for 119 yards and two scores.
Ford finished with 117 yards and a TD on 11-of-19 attempts.
Carver (2-1, 2-0) plays Thursday against Opelika while Park Crossing (1-3, 0-2) will travel to Eufaula on Friday.
Prattville 37, Smiths Station 8
PRATTVILLE – Collin Rogers kicked three field goals including one from 52 yards out to lead the Lions to their first Class 7A, Region 2 victory of the season.
Rogers added two more kicks, both 42 yards, as Prattville built a 27-8 lead at halftime.
Albert Taggert scored on a 4-yard run while both Mario Parks and DJ Williams each added touchdown runs for the Lions (3-1, 1-1).
Prattville will travel to Dothan next week.
Catholic 45, Reeltown 6
The Knights posted their 21st consecutive home victory in convincing fashion, pounding the Rebels 45-6 on Friday night.
Jeremiah Cobb continued his rushing assault with 179 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries as the Knights have now outscored their opponents 195-13 this season. Backup tailback E.J. Babies added 59 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Luke Harkless added 54 yards on a pair of receptions.
Defensively, TJ Dudley had seven tackles, including three for loss, along with an interception return for a touchdown, while Jourdan Thomas had four tackles and a blocked punt for a touchdown.
Catholic’s win, coupled with Trinity’s win over Beulah, leave the two Capital City Conference foes as the only two remaining unbeaten teams in 3A Region 4. The two meet on Oct. 15 at Catholic.
Catholic (4-0, 2-0 in region play) travels to Beulah next week, while Reeltown (1-3, 1-1) returns home to play Goshen.
Trinity 63, Beulah 0
Chase Letner rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown and Coleman Stanley threw three touchdown passes as the Wildcats celebrated homecoming with an easy 63-0 region victory over Beulah at Ragsdale-Boykin Field on Friday night.
Trinity (4-0) improved to 2-0 in 3A Region 4 play and will travel to Brundidge next week for a region game with Pike County. Beulah (1-3, 1-1) returns home to host Catholic next week.
Letner had 131 yards on just 10 carries, including a 16-yard touchdown run. Mac McClinton added a 15-yard scoring run, A.J. Glover scored on runs of 5 and 8 yards and Fleming Hall scored on runs of 56 and 30 yards.
Stanley completed 9 of 11 passes for 82 yards, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to McClinton (15 and 4 yards) and another (3 yards) to Christopher Bryan.
Defensively, Chapman Pouncey and Walker McClinton each had five tackles to lead the Wildcats. Joe Handey had four tackles and a sack, along with a fumble recovery.
Montgomery Academy 49, Southside-Selma 26
Jashawn Cooper rushed for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Eagles cruised past the Panthers 49-26 at McLemore Field on Friday night.
Quarterback Thomas Woodward had 93 yards passing and a touchdown and added 24 rushing yards in the win, while Jamal Cooper had 61 rushing yards along with 12 receiving yards and a touchdown. Will Hardin added 32 yards and a touchdown receiving and Ruston Bassett had 33 receiving and 24 rushing yards, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the process.
Jashawn Cooper’s touchdown runs came on either end of a Chance Wilson interception return for a touchdown, boosting the Eagles out to a 20-0 lead. After Southside scored twice to trim the lead to 20-14 at the half, MA countered with three touchdowns to extend the lead again, including a 25-yard pass from Woodward to Hardin and a Bassett 12-yard run to make it 42-14.
After a score from Southside, Bassett came back with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Defensively, Nigel Walker had 12 tackles and an interception to lead the Eagles while Wilson had four tackles in addition to his interception return for a touchdown. Arch Lee added nine tackles, Hudson Whitt had eight, Hardin had seven, Jashawn Cooper and Judson Lindsey each had six and Parker Cook had five tackles for the Eagles.
Montgomery Academy (3-1) remains unbeaten in 3A Region 3 at 2-0 and will travel to Prattville to play Prattville Christian Academy next Friday. Southside (2-1) drops to 1-1 in region play and will play host to Hale County.
Alabama Christian 35, Booker T. Washington 12
TUSKEGEE -- Corey Landers rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries as Alabama Christian went on the road and defeated Booker T. Washington 35-12 on Friday night.
Landers scored on runs of 14 and 3 yards in the first half to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead before ACA pulled away in the second half. Otasowie Dion scored on a 23-yard run midway through the third quarter for a 21-0 lead before BTW finally got on the scoreboard. Landers responded less than a minute later with a 7-yard scoring run and added a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for a 35-6 lead.
Dion added 48 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
Hayes Hunt was 19 of 24 for 181 yards, with Preston Hicks catching eight passes for 80 yards, Trey Schlemmer and Garrett Weathers each adding 33 yards on three receptions and Thomas Stovall catching three passes for 35 yards.
Jack Thomas led the ACA defense with five tackles, followed by Schlemmer and Hicks with four each.
ACA (2-2) evened its 4A Region 2 record at 1-1 with a huge region game at home next week against Dale County, while Booker T. Washington (1-3, 0-2) plays host to winless Bullock County.
St. James 40, Bullock County 23
UNION SPRINGS -- Cosner Harrison rushed for 142 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries as the Trojans rolled out to a 40-0 lead to remain unbeaten in 4A Region 2 play.
St. James (3-1) won its third consecutive game and improved to 2-0 in region play with a key region game at home next week against Straughn. Bullock County (0-3) dropped to 0-2 in region play heading into next week’s game at Booker T. Washington.
Harrison scored on runs of 11 and 8 yards and Ethan Beard added two more touchdowns -- one on a 4-yard reception from KJ Jackson and one on a 55-yard punt return -- as the Trojans built a 27-0 lead in the first quarter.
Jackson was 5 of 8 for 82 yards before leaving the game with a comfortable first-half lead.
Harrison added two more touchdown runs of 55 and 6 yards -- the last set up by another Beard punt return -- for a 40-0 lead before Jaymarkis Foster scored the first of three touchdowns to make it 40-8 at the half.
The second half was shortened to six-minute quarters.
Sylacauga 35, Tallassee 33
SYLACAUGA -- Jalyn Daniels rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries but Sylacauga survived the shootout to edge the Tigers 35-33 on Friday.
Daniels’ second and third touchdowns, covering 10 and 90 yards, allowed Tallassee to take a 26-21 lead at the half, but Sylacauga quarterback Brayson Edwards ran 4 yards to put the Aggies back in front for good and Kyran Hughes added another touchdown on a 5-yard run with 4:43 remaining to give the Aggies a nine-point lead.
Tyler Ellis hit Clayton Gough with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 2:46 remaining, but the Tigers ran out of time.
Ellis completed 14 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers.
Edwards completed 6 of 10 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown for Sylacauga, while Maleek Pope rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
Tallassee (1-2) lost its 5A Region 4 opener and will return home to play Elmore County next week, while Sylacauga (2-2) is idle next week after evening its region record at 1-1.
Holtville 21, Beauregard 14
OPELIKA – Weston Tubbs scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard run with 5:35 left in the third quarter and the Bulldogs defense made it hold up in a key Class 5A, Region 4 win on Friday at Hornet Stadium.
The Holtville defense forced four turnovers including an interception by John Williamson that ended a fourth-quarter scoring threat for the Hornets.
Shawn Brackett rushed for 97 yards. Michael Forney led the Holtville defense with 12 tackles while Williamson, Conner Hackett and Tubbs each recorded turnovers.
The Bulldogs (2-2, 2-0) face Talladega next Friday.
Central-Clay County 42, Elmore County 14
ECELECTIC – Payton Stephenson had 199 yards passing and added 32 yards rushing in a losing effort on Friday.
C.J. Wilkes scored on a 2-yard run while Stephenson added a 54-yard pass to Jabari Murphy for a score for the Panthers, who fell to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in Class 5A, Region 4 play.
The Panthers go to Tallassee next Friday.
AISA
Macon East 35, Edgewood Academy 19
ELMORE -- The Macon East Academy Knights defeated the Edgewood Academy Wildcats on Friday night thanks to huge plays by the Knights’ defense and their improving offense.
Macon East quarterback Deonte Powell completed 6 out of 15 passes for 53 yards and added 39 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushing attempts, but was just as effective on defense where he recorded two interceptions, returning one 94 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defense has kept us in the game all year and they’ve been playing very well on that side of the ball,” Macon East coach Glynn Lott said. “We worked on our offense all week, and we’re getting a little better, but I thought tonight was the best we’ve played on offense by far this season.”
Macon East tailback Gabe Spencer had 21 carries for 201 yards and three touchdowns, scoring all three in the first 10 minutes of the game to give his team a shocking 21-0 lead.
“I was really proud of our guys, and they had to come back from 21-0,” Edgewood Academy coach Chad Michael said.“We fought really hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game, but it just didn’t come through.”
The Wildcats received the ball first, but an interception by Parker Strickland -- who had five tackles and a fumble recovery in addition to the interception -- set up Spencer on a 15-yard scoring run.
The Knights scored again off of a huge run by Spencer, who ran in the touchdown from his own 27-yard line. However, the extra-point attempt was missed. Another interception by the Knights, this time by Dalton Nickles, led to Spencer’s third touchdown of the game. Tyler Daniels caught the two-point conversion pass for a 21-0 lead with 1:54 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcats were their own worst enemy with five turnovers in the game. Edgewood quarterback Austin Champion had two passing touchdowns on the night, while senior tight end JT Brazell caught Champion’s first touchdown pass that covered 64 yards.
Senior receiver Trevor Rodie caught a touchdown pass in the third quarter and returned an interception 100 yards for his second touchdown to pull the Wildcats within 28-19 with 6:06 remaining, but Edgewood could get no closer.
The last gasp for the Wildcats came with about a minute left in the fourth quarter, as Edgewood drove into the red zone. Champion threw the ball into the end zone, but Powell intercepted the ball and ran it back 94 yards for a touchdown.
Macon East (2-2), bouncing back from a pair of one-point losses, won its Class AA Region 1 opener on Friday night. The Knights travel to Lee-Scott next week.
“This win is huge, and we didn’t play bad the last two weeks, we just made too many mistakes and had some trouble scoring in the red zone,” said Lott. “Tonight was our region play, and we told everybody that everything we wanted to do was still in front of us.”
Edgewood (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season and dropped to 1-1 in Region 1 play. The Wildcats play host to AAA power Pike Liberal Arts next week.
“We can’t look back and we’ve got to keep moving forward,” said Michael. “We’ve got a really young team, and we have to keep working hard every day for our upcoming games.”
Autauga Academy 42, Patrician 14
BUTLER -- Robert Rose completed 13 of 19 passes for 301 yards, including three touchdown passes in the second quarter, as the Generals erupted with 42 unanswered points in a 42-14 win at Patrician Academy on Friday night.
Autauga (3-0) won its Class AA Region 2 opener in relatively easy fashion, falling behind the Saints 7-0 before responding with 28 first-half points to put the game away.
Tyler Lewis scored on a 16-yard run and added the extra point to give Patrician (1-2, 0-2 in region play) the lead with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter. That seemed to wake up the Generals, who responded with a game-tying scoring drive capped by Karl Ligon’s 2-yard run.
Then Rose went to work, hitting James Wright with a 90-yard pass, Josh Palmer with a 21-yard pass and Wright with a 42-yard pass to give the Generals a 28-7 lead at the half.
Wright finished with five receptions for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jaylen Anderson added 41 yards on a pair of receptions.
Ligon, who had 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries, added a 60-yard touchdown run and Anderson capped the Generals’ scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run.
Landen Henry added 53 yards on four carries.
Patrician’s leading rusher, Augustus Lewis, was held to 58 yards on 15 carries. Cecil Perry led the Saints in Friday’s game, gaining 67 yards on 10 carries.
Defensively for Autauga, Palmer had four tackles and a fumble recovery, Caden Henry had four tackles, a pass defended and a fumble recovery, Pharrell Banks had a pair of tackles, a fumble recovery and two passes defended, Anderson had four solo tackles and Darryl Cook had five solo tackles.
Defensively for Patrician, Clark Ezell had eight tackles and Tate Boykin had six.
The Generals travel to Grove Hill next week to play Clarke Prep, while Patrician travels to Tuscaloosa Academy.