SUPER 7: Catholic falls in OT to Wenonah; Central-Phenix City wins 7A title
Action from Wednesday’s AHSAA Class 1A-5A Flag Football championship game between Catholic and Wenonah at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (Tim Gayle)
BY TIM GAYLE
TUSCALOOSA -- Samar Franklin scored on a 1-yard run on fourth down in overtime to give Wenonah an 18-12 win over Catholic and the Class 1A-5A flag football state championship at the University of Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
“We had four chances to get 10 yards,” Wenonah coach Cedric Lane said. “What I told Sam was we had run the first play and gotten five yards and I told her, ‘Look to run, look to run.’ It’s hard to stop her from getting five yards in two tries. She likes to run anyway, so she did what she does best.”
Franklin was the difference for the Dragons, but it was Jakeria Ringstaff who provided the big plays, pulling in a fourth-down pass from Franklin at the goal line for the game’s first points, then returning a punt 66 yards in the final seconds of the first half for a 12-6 lead.
Catholic answered the Dragons’ first big play with an impressive drive just before the half to tie the game, only to have the punt return give Wenonah the halftime lead. Catholic responded with a scoring drive to tie the game, but gave up another big play in the final seconds before forcing overtime.
“We’re proud of them,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said. “Obviously, it didn’t end our way but I couldn’t be prouder of them. They didn’t quit, they didn’t give up, we just had a couple of things that didn’t fall in our favor.”
In overtime, Catholic quarterback Jehle Dickson threw a quick pass to Anna Russo for two yards, but the next three passes were incomplete, turning the ball over to Wenonah.
“We had seen throughout the game that we weren’t getting very much on our runs,” Toole said, “so obviously we were focusing on the passing and they just didn’t fall. We had a couple that were injured and kept going. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Russo was injured late but remained in the game and finished as the game’s leading receiver with 73 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions.
Wenonah scored first as Ciara Clark intercepted a Dickson pass on the third play of the game, triggering a nine-play, 42-yard drive capped by Franklin’s lob to Ringstaff at the goal line on a fourth-down pass.
Catholic answered late in the first half with an eight-play, 51-yard drive, all through the air as Dickson completed 6 of 8 passes, including a 3-yarder to Russo that tied the game. With time running out, Russo punted to Makyla Williams who started left, then handed the ball on a reverse to Ringstaff, who covered 66 yards to the end zone with five seconds left for a stunning 12-6 halftime lead.
“We had just worked on that in the locker room,” Ringstaff said. “It was amazing to execute the play on the ballfield. I just kept running and running until they said touchdown.”
The Knights held on Wenonah’s first possession of the second half and scored on their second play from scrimmage as Dickson threw down the sideline 32 yards to Kate Roberson to tie the game. But Catholic would manage just one first down and 41 total yards on their final four possessions, failing to come up with any big plays to sustain drives.
Wenonah was turned back twice on their final two possessions of overtime, once on a Haley Ishman interception at the goal line, the second time when Ringstaff got free on the final seconds of regulation but Ishman grabbed Ringstaff’s flag at the 1-yard line.
Lane reached into his bag of tricks and came up with a direct snap to tailback Makyla Williams, but Ann Cobb was there to pull the flag short of the goal as time expired.
“We knew that Montgomery Catholic had a real solid coaching staff and had done their homework and watched film,” Lane said, “so the past two weeks we had worked on some new plays. We did a walk-through in the locker room on the reverse on special teams. We also worked on a quick pitch, a snap play (to the tailback) that we ran at the end of regulation that we thought we could have gotten in.”
It didn’t work, but four running plays in overtime did. Franklin picked up five yards, then one, then Measia Clark got three yards to the 1 to set up Franklin’s scramble to the end zone.
“During the game I had (thrown) two interception picks,” Franklin said, “so I had gotten it in my head when my coach said to get it right, do what we came to do and that last play he said ‘Go.’”
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak by Catholic (17-4), which suffered all four losses this season in overtime.
“Obviously, it hurts,” Dickson said. “We really all wanted it and to fall short when we were right there is hard, but we all gave it everything we had. I don’t think one person walked off that field regretting that they didn’t do something they should have.”
Dickson, along with Cobb and Carsyn Hawkins, are the only seniors on the team, laying the foundation for a return to the Super 7 Championships next year in Catholic’s third year as a flag football program.
“We preached ‘you’re the start of that,’” Toole said. “We didn’t play it the first year but we’ve been in it the last two years. How many boys’ teams that have been playing for how many years have never gotten the chance to play somewhere like this, never been given the opportunity to do this? In two years, we’re here. We’re going to enjoy every moment of it.”
Central quarterback Andrew Alford launches a pass as Thompson’s Tyler Hicks supplies pressure in the Red Devils’ win in the Super 7 7A championship game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (Photo courtesy AHSAA/Michael Wade)
Central turns back Thompson in quest for six straight titles
The Red Devils (13-0) overcame two muffed punts, a blocked punt and four turnovers, and held off a late Thompson rally, to earn a 21-19 victory in Wednesday’s Class 7A championship game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The victory ended Thompson’s run of four straight 7A championships.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Central-Phenix City coach Patrick Nix said. “We made too many mistakes in the kicking game. We just found a way to win.”
Central-Phenix City (13-0) was the last Class 7A team to defeat Thompson (11-2) in the playoffs, but that was way back in the 2018 championship game. Back then, Nix was winning his second straight 6A title at Pinson Valley.
Central now has three AHSAA state football titles – 1993, 2018 and 2023.
Thompson (11-2) has played in the championship game for six straight seasons, but Central denied the Warriors’ bid to become only the second team in AHSAA history – joining Hazlewood from 1988-92 – to win five straight AHSAA state football championships.
“We made a game of it and had a chance to maybe take the lead there late in the game,” Thompson coach Mark Freeman said.
Central built a 14-3 halftime lead with Tristan Williams scoring on runs of 2 and 9 yards. The Red Devils muffed a punt in the opening minute of the second half to set up Trent Seaborn’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Colben Landrew with 10:27 to go in the third quarter.
Thompson drove inside the Central 10 early in the fourth quarter, but settled for John McGuire’s 29-yard field goal with nine minutes go.
Three plays later, Central answered as senior receiver and Auburn commit Cam Coleman caught a short pass, broke a tackle and raced for a 73-yard touchdown and a 21-13 lead with 9 minutes to go. He finished with five catches for 143 yards and his one TD to earn MVP honors.
“We just happened to catch them in one of the only times they played man (coverage) all night,” Nix said. “Special players make big plays, and he made a big play.”
The Warriors drove 70 yards in five plays, and Seaborn connected with Landrew on perfectly placed pass between three defenders for a 36-yard touchdown. The 2-point pass failed, and Central had a 21-19 lead with 7:02 to go.
Thompson would have one more chance with a drive starting at the Central 44-yard line with 4:51 to play. The Warriors drove to the 26, but Seaborn threw two incompletions and McGuire came on to try a 43-yard field goal. It sailed wide left with 2:46 remaining.
Coleman caught five passes for 143. Yards, and Williams ran 18 times for 125 yards. Zack Simmons Brown added 87 yards for the Red Devils, and Andrew Alford completed 10-of-17 passes for 203 yards. Alford threw a touchdown and an interception.
Seaborn completed 21-of-34 passes for 205 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. AJ Green logged 22 carries for 69 yards and caught seven passes for 26 yards.
Vini Pires led the Thompson defense with eight tackles, and Tyler Hicks had six. Brennan Core and Monterrius Echols had eight tackles apiece for Thompson.