THURSDAY PREPS: Pike Road holds off Lanier; Holtville, Tallassee, Elmore County fall

Pike Road’s Kaleb Foster is grabbed by Lanier’s Javontae Thomas during the Patriots’ win over the Poets at Cramton Bowl on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

It might have ended as expected, but Pike Road’s 35-21 win over Sidney Lanier certainly didn’t follow the script on Thursday night at Cramton Bowl.

There was an early 79-yard touchdown run by Patriot running back Anthony Rogers to set the tone, but the rest of the first half was a jumbled mess of penalties, fumbles and offensive mistakes by both teams.

Rogers added two more scores in the second quarter, but just when it seemed as if the Patriots were in control, an improbable 33-yard scramble down the sideline by Lanier quarterback Jacques Thompson ended with Thompson’s dive into the end zone on the final play of the half, trimming the Patriot lead to 21-13.

“Even though we were winning 21-13, we felt personally like the score should have been 50-0,” Pike Road offensive tackle Vysen Lang said. “This team shouldn’t have been able to keep up with us. The ballgame should have been over with, but we kept giving them hope. Even in the second half, we were still giving them hope. We’ve got to come together and play better. Against better teams, we’re not going to win games playing like this.”

Pike Road’s first possession ended in the end zone on a 79-yard sprint through the Poet defense by Rogers, but the next two Patriot possessions ended with fumbles and two of the following three ended with punts.

“We’ve got to do better in a lot of areas,” Pike Road coach Ed Rigby said. “I loved our guys’ effort. But the penalties still haunt us. They’re not as bad as they were, they’re better, but they’re still there. The sky is our limit, you can see it in what we’ve got, but we are shooting ourselves in the foot a lot.”

A 37-yard touchdown run by Lanier running back Tacaris Bozeman and the 33-yard scramble by Thompson epitomized the frustration felt by the Patriots. Lanier had nine fumbles, losing five, or the game might have been closer. Bozeman’s run early in the second quarter tied the game and Thompson’s run followed five losses on the previous six running plays by the Poets, an indication of the Patriots’ dominance at the line of scrimmage.

Even in the second half, as Lanier was held to minus 37 yards rushing, there was an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Bozeman.

“It’s very frustrating,” Rigby said. “We work on kickoff all the time. We’ve got a guy kicking it to the 5 and 10 and people (opposing teams) are running it up to the 40 and 50 or running it back on us. We’ve just got to do better in a lot of areas. But when we do, something special is about to happen with this football program.”  

Rogers had 197 yards on 17 carries, scoring on runs of 79, 5, 37 and 21 yards, and finished with 206 all-purpose yards. Bozeman had 84 of his 93 yards in the first half and finished with 200 all-purpose yards.

And while the Patriots took care of business, a sloppy first half that included four lost fumbles by the Poets and two by the Patriots served notice to Lang and others that Pike Road will have to play better against better teams.  

“We’ve not played four quarters yet,” Rigby observed. “When we do, we’re going to be special.”

Despite the sloppy play, the Patriots (2-2) improved to 2-0 in 6A Region 2 play heading into next week’s game at Class 5A Eufaula.

“When Pike Road gets clicking, it’s going to be scary for everybody,” Lang said. “Right now, with new coaches, I don’t want to make excuses but we only had two months to work on our plays. Once we get clicking on offense and defense, it’s going to be scary.”

Lanier (1-2) dropped to 0-1 in 6A Region 2 play and will face Park Crossing next week. 

Selma 18, Holtville 7

SELMA - The Bulldogs were held to just 148 yards in total offense in the loss to the Saints in a Class 5A, Region 3 game at Ralph “Shug” Jordan Memorial Stadium on Thursday.

Shawn Brackett had the lone touchdown for Holtville. Joshua Jimenez led the defense with six tackles while Conner Hackett added an interception.

The game was marred by rain and a lightning delay in the second half.

Holtville (2-2, 1-1) is open next week and faces West Blocton on Sept. 23.

Central-Clay County 49, Elmore County 21

LINEVILLE - The Panthers were tied 7-7 early but Clay-Central reeled off 42 unanswered points to earn an easy win in Class 5A, Region 4 Thursday at Volunteer Stadium.

After the Vols scored on a fumble recovery by Denzell McNeal, Payton Stephenson hit Ryals McNeely for 6 yards to tie the game at 7-7.

But the Vols would score five consecutive touchdowns before Elmore County would score again in the third quarter on Stephenson’s second touchdown pass, a 9-yard strike to Garrett Allen.

Stephenson had the final score for the Panthers on a 43-yard run late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 223 yards in total offense, including 100 yards rushing.

Allen had 99 yards and a score with eight receptions. Jackson Mann led the ECHS defense with six tackles.

The Panthers (3-1, 1-1) are off next week before traveling to St. Clair County on Sept. 23. Central-Clay improves to 2-1, 2-0 in region play and travels to Handley next week.

Beauregard 14, Tallassee 6

BEAUREGARD - The Tigers were unable to hold on to a 6-0 lead, falling for the second time in Class 5A, Region 4 play on Thursday.

Quarterback Tyler Ellis had given the Tigers a 6-0 lead in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass to Cade Everson. The extra point was missed.

It would be all of the points Tallassee would muster as Beauregard scored the go-ahead points with 8:02 left in the third period on an AJ Wallace pass to Chris Gamble for 62 yards. The Hornets added the clinching score early in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard run by Jacori Tarver.

Ellis had 98 yards passing while Lil’Josh Griffin led with 61 yards on the ground. Tallassee suffered two turnovers in the game.

The Tigers (2-2, 0-2) face Marbury in a non-region game on Friday while Beauregard (4-0, 2-0) plays at Charles Henderson in Troy.

Dothan 14, Prattville 10

PRATTVILLE - Kendrell Brewer returned a fumble return 70 yards with 1:28 remaining to lift Dothan to a Class 7A, Region 2 win over Prattville at Stanley-Jenson Stadium on Thursday.

Reid Montgomery gave Prattville the lead in the first quarter with a 37-yard field goal and Omarion Parks added to the lead with a 5-yard run in the second quarter before Dothan scored 14 unanswered points.

Prattville (1-2, 0-2) faces Opelika next Friday.