PREP RECAP (Week 6): Pike Road shuts out T'Birds; Elmore County breaks losing streak to Tallassee

COMBINED REPORTS

Pike Road 27, Park Crossing 0

The Patriots defense held Park Crossing to 43 yards in total offense and forced four turnovers to earn a Class 6A, Region 2 win over the Thunderbirds at Cramton Bowl on Friday.

The Patriots scored three times in the first quarter including a touchdown pass from Cason Myers to Jordan Holmes just moments after a touchdown run  by Kaleb Foster for a quick 14-0 lead.

JaMichael Jones added a 1-yard score after Park Crossing turnover to give the Patriots a 21-0 advantage with 4:42 left in the first period.

Shane Ikerman’s two field goals added to the lead in the second and third quarters. The kicks were from 26 and 27 yards out.

The Thunderbirds managed just 28 yards passing and were held to 15 yards on the ground. Their biggest play of the night was a 40-yard run from Justin Billups in the first quarter. They suffered two interceptions plus the Patriots’ Holmes recovered a fumble on a kickoff and later picking off a pass in the second half. Trey Caver also had an interception.

Malik Blocton added a fumble recovery. Jones finished with 63 yards on 14 carries and added three receptions for 11 yards. Myers completed 21 of 30  passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. 

Park Crossing (3-4, 0-4) suffered its third shut out of the season and its second in the last three games.

Pike Road (4-2, 3-0) visits Russell County while Park Crossing travels to Mobile to face Davidson next Friday. 

St. James 42, ACA 20

Pruitt Conner had three touchdowns and the Trojans overcame an early deficit to earn a Class 4A, Region 3 win over rival ACA Friday at John Mark Stallings field on the campus of Faulkner University.

KJ Jackson finished with 225 yards passing and three touchdowns. Tabor Offord had all three touchdowns receptions. Jackson added 113 yards rushing.

AC Walters had the opening touchdown for the Eagles but later left the game due to an injury. He finished with 92 yards rushing and two scores.

St. James (5-2, 4-0) plays host to rival Trinity next week while ACA (3-3, 1-2) goes to Prattville Christian.

Trinity 41, Sumter Central 0

Thompson McNees threw three touchdown passes and Ross Sanders scored three times as the Wildcats tuned up for next week’s region showdown with St. James by shutting out Sumter Central, 41-0, at Ragsdale-Boykin Field on Friday night.

McNees started for the Wildcats and hit Xavier Boswell with a 12-yard pass for the game’s first points, then connected with John Morris on a 12-yard touchdown pass a few minutes later to help Trinity to a 27-0 lead in the first quarter.

McNees completed 8 of 10 passes for 105 yards. His backup, John Michael Cox, completed 5 of 10 passes for 53 yards.

Sanders scored both of his team’s touchdowns in the second quarter to extend the Trinity lead to 41-0 at the half. Sanders rushed for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns on eight carries and caught two passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.

Chase Parker added a 2-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.

Boswell had three receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown and Morris had two catches for 20 yards and a touchdown. Webber McClinton had three receptions for 34 yards.

Boswell and Walter McKee each had three tackles to lead the Trinity defense. McClinton and Bo Stewart had interceptions for the Wildcats.

Friday’s win marks the second time in three years Trinity has started the season with a 7-0 record, the Wildcats’ best showing since a Randy Ragsdale-coached team went 11-1, losing in the 3A semifinals to Luverne in 2009.

The Wildcats will travel to St. James next week in a battle of region unbeatens at Carlisle Field on Friday.

Wetumpka 56, Stanhope Elmore 42

WETUMPKA - Nate Rogers was responsible for five touchdowns in the Indians’ win over arch-rival Stanhope Elmore Friday at the Wetumpka Municipal Stadium.

Rogers had touchdown runs of 81, 6 and 52 yards. He added passes of 75 and 80 yards for scores.

Wetumpka had as much as a 20-point lead before the Mustangs fought back to within six points at 48-42.

Dee Barnes and Arthur McQueen scored rushing touchdowns to cut the lead to six midway through the fourth quarter. But Rogers’ touchdown pass to Ty Player minutes later ended the threat.

Wetumpka (4-2, 3-1 Class 6A, Region 2) has won four straight and will travel to Montgomery to face G.W. Carver next Thursday. Stanhope Elmore (2-4, 1-2) returns home to face Sidney Lanier on Friday.

Elmore County 34, Tallassee 20

TALLASSEE -- C.J. Wilkes scored three touchdowns, including one midway through the fourth quarter to break a 20-20 tie, as the Panthers spoiled Tallassee’s homecoming with a 34-20 win at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium on Friday night.

The Panthers snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series dating back to 2015 and won for the first time at Hot O’Brien Stadium since 2004.

Wilkes rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, including a 65-yard run on the first series to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead.Caleb Spivey added a short rushing touchdown before Wilkes scored again for a 20-6 lead.

Trent Morris completed 11 of 24 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, giving the Tigers their first score after Elmore County had taken a 13-0 lead. Two more third-quarter touchdowns after Wilkes’ second scoring run tied the game at 20-20 entering the fourth quarter.

The Panthers put together a 14-play, 88-yard drive capped by Wilkes’ 7-yard run to put Elmore County back on top midway through the quarter. On the Panthers’ next possession. Cade Everson scored on a 9-yard run with less than two minutes remaining to secure the victory.

Everson added 106 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

After tying the game at 20-20, Tallassee’s final three possessions included two punts and an interception.

Elmore County (5-1) improved to 2-1 in 5A Region 4 play and will travel to Beauregard for a region game next Friday.

The loss all but killed the playoff aspirations of Tallassee (1-6), which dropped to 0-3 in region play heading into next week’s region matchup at Valley.

Holtville 28, Jemison 6

JEMISON - Keilend Baker had a rushing touchdown and passed for another to lead the Bulldogs to a key Class 5A, Region 3 win on Friday.

Chaz Melton had a touchdown run while the Holtville defense held Jemison to just 55 total yards. Chasen Webster had an interception for the Bulldogs, who improved to 5-1 and 3-0 in region play.

The Bulldogs will face Marbury next week.

Lowndes Academy 22, Patrician Academy 14

BUTLER -- Carson Coody became the first offensive player to score on the Lowndes Academy defense this season, but the Rebels still won 22-14 in a battle of defending state champions on Thursday night.

Lowndes, which had allowed only a kickoff return for a touchdown this season, gave up scoring runs of 10 and 56 yards to Coody, who finished with 172 yards on 25 carries for the defending AA state champions.

The Rebels scored twice in the first quarter to take a 15-0 lead, using a 54-yard pass from Clayton Hussey to Cooper Dansby and a Hussey 5-yard run for the early lead.

Coody’s 10-yard run cut the halftime lead to 15-7, but Hussey struck again, this time with a 68-yard pass to Scott Stinson for a 22-7 lead.

Hussey was 10 of 18 for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rushing for 69 yards and another score on 10 carries.

Kasen Dismukes added 101 rushing yards on 13 carries. Stinson had five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown and Dansby had 64 yards and a touchdown on three catches.

Defensively, Dansby and Dismukes had 12 tackles each, with Hussey making eight stops and Stinson seven.

Lowndes (7-0) returns home for a three-game homestand that includes region games with Lakeside next week and Crenshaw in two weeks, followed by Hooper Academy on Oct. 27.

Patrician (4-3), which had a three-game winning streak snapped, resumes region play with a pair of home games against Escambia next week and Clarke Prep in two weeks.