PREP RECAP (Week 7): Central-Clay handles Holtville; ACA moves step closer to region title; AISA Recap; Lee falls
COMBINED REPORTS
HOLTVILLE – Central-Clay County limited the Holtville Bulldogs to just 225 yards in total offense in its 38-20 victory Friday at Boykin-Champman Field, clinching the Class 5A, Region 4 title.
Holtville quarterback Braxton Buck passed for 121 yards and a touchdown. Drew Pickett rushed for 96 yards and a score. Brady White was the leading receiver with 39 yards.
John Williamson had an interception return of 70 yards for a touchdown while Michael Forney led the Holtville defense with 13 tackles.
Holtville (5-2, 2-2) was scheduled to face Tallassee next Friday but due to COVID-19, the Tigers have forfeited the game. Holtville’s next on-the-field contest will be Oct. 23 at home against Sylacauga.
Alabama Christian 49, Geneva 20
GENEVA - Jalen Clark accounted for six touchdowns on Friday to help the Eagles remain unbeaten in 4A Region 2 play with a 49-20 win over Geneva at Hugh Owen Stadium.
The win clinched a playoff berth for ACA (6-1, 5-0), which owns the tiebreaker with second-place St. James. ACA needs a win against either Straughn or Bullock County to close out the region championship,
Clark completed 10 of 14 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the first half while rushing for 144 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries.
Clark scored the game’s first touchdown on a 2-yard run and broke a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter with an 18-yard scoring run.
It was the first of four touchdowns in the quarter for the Eagles, who broke open a tight game with a 2-yard pass from Clark to tailback Corey Landers midway through the quarter; added a 33-yard touchdown pass from Clark to Garrett Weathers with 3:52 left; and capped the burst with a 33-yard touchdown run by Clark with one second remaining for a 35-7 halftime lead.
The Panthers scored a touchdown midway through the quarter, but Otasowie Dion took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and a 42-14 lead.
Clark capped the scoring with a 2-yard run with 7:36 remaining in the game.
Landers had 81 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Defensively, Miller McCarthy had 14 tackles for the Eagles, followed by Jack Thomas with eight tackles, Otasowie Dion with seven tackles, Khalil Jackson with five tackles and a sack and DeAndre Sneed with an interception.
Trinity 1, Dadeville 0 (Forfeit)
The Trinity Wildcats were scheduled to face Dadeville on Friday but just before game time, the Dadeville administration called off the game and accepted the forfeit.
The win clinches a playoff berth for the Wildcats (6-1 5-1 Class 4A, Region 4). They play host to Catholic next Friday to determine the region champion.
Opelika 19, R.E. Lee 0 (Saturday)
The Opelika Bulldogs clinched the Class 6A, Region 2 title with a convincing win over the Generals in a rain-soaked game at Cramton Bowl on Saturday.
The Bulldogs held Lee running back Reginald Davis to his lowest output of the season, 125 yards on 29 carries, while their own running attack produced more than 200 yards on a rain-soaked field.
Running back Eric Watts led Opelika with 162 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Malik Finley threw two touchdown passes in the win.
Lee suffered 11 fumbles, including three on the first three plays of the game, losing four.
The Generals (4-3, 3-2) fell into a four-way tie for second place in the region with Carver, Park Crossing and Eufaula. They face Park Crossing next week.
AISA From Thursday
Edgewood Academy 40, Chambers Academy 36
ELMORE – Edgewood Academy pulled off the upset of the season in AISA as Austin Champion threw a touchdown pass to Mitchell Boyd with 68 seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a 40-36 win over Chambers Academy on Thursday night.
Edgewood fought back from four deficits in the back-and-forth game, the final one coming after Jordan Benbrook’s 21-yard touchdown run and Payton Allen’s two-point conversion run with 9:02 remaining gave the Rebels a 36-33 lead.
But in a game that featured 850 yards of offense and a veteran Chambers’ offense that had already handed Abbeville Christian and Pike Liberal Arts their only losses of the season, it was Champion, the backup pressed into a starting role last week, that led his team to victory.
Champion completed 17 of 31 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns, but none were bigger than the one grabbed by Boyd, who had already turned in a monster game with 197 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Champion threw a short touchdown pass to Carson Peevy for the game’s first points, but Chambers answered a minute later with a 17-yard scoring run by T.Y. Trammell and a two-point conversion run by Allen for an 8-7 lead.
The Wildcats answered with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Champion to Bradley Boone, but Chambers came right back with a 12-yard pass from Allen to John White – and another conversion run by Allen – for a 16-13 lead a minute into the second quarter.
The key to Edgewood’s victory was scoring on a Champion quarterback sneak with 23 seconds remaining in the first half, then taking the opening kickoff of the second half and driving down to a Boyd touchdown run 83 seconds into the second half for a 26-16 lead.
Chambers would score the game’s next two touchdowns in a 27-second span on a Benbrook run and a 20-yard pass from Allen to White for a 28-26 lead and the two teams traded touchdowns before Edgewood went on its final game-winning march.
Peevy had five receptions for 58 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Boone had four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Blane Guthrie led the Wildcats with six tackles, followed by Boone with five.
Allen completed 10 of 23 passes for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding another 77 rushing yards on nine carries.
White led the Chambers receivers with 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five catches, while Benbrook rushed for 87 yards on nine carries.
Chambers (6-1, 1-1 in region play) returns home to host a pair of region games with Macon East on Oct. 16 and Banks Academy on Oct. 23, while Edgewood (5-2, 2-1) travels to Lanett next week to play Springwood.
Escambia Academy 33, Autauga Academy 0
CANOE – Christian Crook scored a pair of touchdowns and the Cougars’ defense became only the second team to shut out a Bobby Carr-coached AISA team with a 33-0 victory over the Generals on Thursday night.
The win gave the Cougars (6-1) the AA Region 2 championship and the top seed in the playoffs that begin on Nov. 6.
After a scoreless first quarter, Escambia got touchdowns from Bubba Nettles, Daughtry McGhee and Crook for a 20-0 halftime lead. Landon Sims added a touchdown run in the third quarter before Crook scored again in the fourth.
Autauga’s Will Traywick was 7 of 21 for 45 yards with an interception. Anden Hilyer led the receiving corps with a 41-yard reception, while Donte Henry led the ground game with 54 yards on 10 carries.
Defensively, Lee Davis had seven tackles, including six solo stops, to lead Autauga. Josh Palmer added six tackles and Caden Henry had three tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Thursday’s loss marked the first time Autauga was shut out since a Carr-coached Edgewood team beat the Generals 46-0 in 2012. Carr, who has been coaching in the AISA ranks since 2000, has only been shut out one other time when his Edgewood team lost to Bessemer 33-0 in 2006.
Autauga (1-5) dropped to 0-2 in AA Region 2 play with the loss and needs to win next week at Southern to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Bessemer Academy 56, Morgan Academy 28
BESSEMER – Jarvis Dancy broke open a tight game with a pair of long runs as the Rebels pulled away with three touchdowns late in the first quarter of their AAA Region 2 matchup with Morgan on Thursday.
Morgan tailback Holt Utsey scored on a 2-yard run to tie the game at 7-7, only to see Bessemer’s Will Ferrell return the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Morgan quarterback Andrew Thomas came back with a 50-yard touchdown run to make it 14-14 before the Rebels scored 35 unanswered points.
P.J. McDonald threw the first of three touchdown passes, hitting Jacob Barry with a 25-yard pass to put the Rebels ahead for good. Dancy followed with a 69-yard touchdown run and Samad Muhammad scored on a 3-yard run to give Bessemer a 35-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
McDonald came back with another long touchdown pass, this one covering 51 yards, to give the Rebels a 42-14 halftime lead before Dancy broke free on a 55-yard run in the third quarter.
Morgan finally got back on the scoreboard again as Cink Minter picked up a fumble and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown but Bessemer quickly answered as McDonald fired a 62-yard pass to Ferrell for a 56-21 lead late in the third quarter.
Morgan scored the game’s final points in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Allen Michael Creech. Wade Mason added the fourth extra point of the night for the Senators.
Bessemer (5-1) remains atop AAA Region 2 with region games remaining in Greenville against Fort Dale next Friday and at home against Clarke Prep on Oct. 23.
Morgan (5-2) dropped into a second-place tie with Clarke Prep with region games remaining at home next week with Tuscaloosa and Fort Dale on Oct. 23.
Glenwood School 56, Hooper Academy 13
PHENIX CITY – Paul Menefee rushed for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Colts in their AAA Region 1 matchup with the Gators on Thursday night.
Porter Henry was 5 for 12 for 70 yards, but it wasn’t nearly enough in a battle with one of the best teams in AAA Region 1.
Glenwood improved to 7-0 overall, including wins over AAA power Bessemer and AA power Escambia. The Gators (3-0 in region play) are open next week before closing out the season with road games at Pike Liberal Arts and Autauga.
Hooper (4-3) dropped to 0-2 in region play but will determine its playoff bid in the next two weeks with region games at home next Friday with Lee-Scott and in Cramton Bowl on Oct. 24 against Valiant Cross.
Lee-Scott Academy 31, Valiant Cross Academy 30
AUBURN – Valiant Cross battled evenly with Lee-Scott as the two programs fought for their first region victory on Thursday night. In the end, the Warriors pulled out the victory after blocking an extra point.
Valiant Cross played its best offensive game of the season as Corey Brown returned a kickoff for a touchdown and caught a pass from Savion German for another, German had a touchdown run of his own and Issac Harris ran for a touchdown to put the first-year program in position for a win that likely would have determined its playoff fate.
Kelby Stout added a field goal for the Knights (1-7), which lost their seventh consecutive game after opening its inaugural season with a win at Lakeside.
Lee-Scott (2-5) can sew up a playoff berth with a win at Hooper Academy next week.
Valiant Cross (0-2 in region play) can still make the playoffs with region games remaining at home against Pike Liberal Arts and Hooper Academy the next two Saturdays in Cramton Bowl.
Snook Academy 22, Meadowview Christian 18
FOLEY – Meadowview Christian’s 11-man squad equaled its point total with the season and fought evenly all night with Snook Christian before finally falling 22-18 on Thursday night.
Javion Rudolph rushed for 58 yards on 10 carries, scoring on runs of 5 and 4 yards, and completed 6 of 7 passes for 106 yards, all to Alan Holt, as the Trojans posted their highest point total of the season.
Amari Rucker finished with 37 yards on six carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run.
Defensively, Cole Smith led the Trojans with eight tackles and Holt had an interception.
Snook (1-3) closes out the season with road games at Sparta next week and South Choctaw on Oct. 23.
Meadowview (0-8) returns to Selma to play Jackson next week before closing out the season on Oct. 23 at Pickens.
Lowndes Academy 30, Lakeside School 20
HAYNEVILLE – Colby Briggs passed for 132 yards and ran for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to help the Rebels snap a five-game losing streak with a huge Class A Region 1 win on Thursday night.
With region games remaining at Coosa Valley (0-8) next week and at home against Cornerstone (1-5), a pair of wins would give the Rebels the third seed in the region and avoid a first-round playoff game at Class A power Jackson Academy.
Lowndes (2-6) improved to 1-2 in region play, a half-game behind Lakeside (3-4), which plays Abbeville Christian in two weeks.
Briggs was 12 of 16 for 132 yards in the win and also rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, along with a two-point conversion.
Jackson Self rushed for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries, while Parker Lee added 87 yards on eight carries. Jackson Floyd, who had a pair of carries for 14 yards, had three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, along with a pair of two-point conversion receptions.
Patrician Academy 50, Southern Academy 20
BUTLER – Eight different runners scored for Patrician Academy as the Saints cruised out to a 38-0 lead early in the third quarter and coasted to their fifth consecutive win while hitting the 50-point plateau for the third consecutive week.
Cecil Perry rushed for 110 yards on six carries, including a 62-yard scoring run that followed a quarterback sneak by Tyler Lewis earlier in the second quarter to help Patrician grab a 12-0 halftime lead.
Bryce Mason, who finished with 96 yards on seven carries, added a 32-yard scoring run in the third quarter, followed by touchdowns from Garrett Lewis and Sammy Lewis as the Saints opened up a 32-0 lead. Hardy Moody added a 6-yard run early in the fourth quarter to make it 38-0 before Southern finally got on the scoreboard.
Augustus Lewis (9) and Carson Coody (63) added touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.
Patrician (6-1) improved to 2-1 in AA Region 2 play and can wrap up home-field advantage in the first round of the state playoffs with a win at Wilcox next Friday.