THURSDAY RECAP: ECHS breaks streak, gives new coach first win; Tallassee tames Reeltown

Elmore County’s Jabari Murphy shakes off the tackle of Marbury’s Darwin Rosario in the Panthers’ opening season win at Burt-Haynie Field. (Dylan Hurst)

ECLECTIC -- The Elmore County High Panthers ended its year-long winless streak with a 35-17 victory over the Marbury Bulldogs on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams at Burt-Haynie Field. 

“It’s a great feeling and the kids are super excited,” said first-year Elmore County coach Kyle Caldwell. “But they aren’t satisfied with just 1-0, they want to be 2-0 next week and they want to compete.”

The Panthers haven’t been the victors in a game since the final game of the 2020 season, snapping a 10-game losing streak that included 18 losses in the last 19 games. It’s been a long time coming and it was weighing on this year’s seniors and juniors as they fought to find a way to win.

“They didn’t need much motivation, because if you’ve ever gone winless in any sport before, that’s all the motivation you need,” said Caldwell. “Just seeing that record on the wall, every day, knowing that you will do whatever it takes to not have that feeling again.”

Panthers senior quarterback Payton Stephenson completed 9 of 17 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 138 yards on 10 carries. Junior wide receiver Jabari Murphy caught five passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 25 yards on four carries. Senior wide receiver Garrett Allen caught three passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back CJ Wilkes ran for 109 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

The Bulldogs (0-1) held the lead early, but a scoreless third quarter was plagued by fouls and missed opportunities.

“I thought we had some pretty good drives going down in the third quarter, but every time we got into the red zone, the yellow carpet kept coming out,” said Marbury coach Hayden Stockton. “They were crucial calls that kept us from taking the situational shots that we wanted to.”  

These fouls took the Bulldogs out of their comfort zone, and the extra yardage was often too much to overcome.

“It was crucial, and there were a lot of crucial calls that dictated a lot of things,” said Stockton. “We’re just not good enough to be first down and 15 or first down and 20. We need to be good enough to keep that first down and 10.”

Bulldogs junior quarterback Wyatt Fowler completed 9 of 14 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 27 yards on seven carries. Senior quarterback Ethan Edwards completed one pass for a touchdown while rushing for 14 yards on four carries. Junior running back Carsyn Cobb ran for 158 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Senior wide receiver Cody Whitford caught a touchdown pass for 60 yards.

It didn’t look good for Elmore County at the beginning. After the Panthers’ first possession ended with a punt, the first Bulldog play from scrimmage was a 73-yard touchdown run by Cobb to give Marbury an early lead with 10:30 left in the first quarter. On the ensuing Panther possession, Stephenson completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Allen to tie the game. Minutes later, a hard-fought drive by the Panthers ended with a successful field goal kick by senior kicker Logan Pack to give Elmore County a 10-7 lead. Late in the first quarter, Fowler connected with Whitford on a 60-yard touchdown pass to put Marbury back in front 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Wilkes scores on a 27-yard run but the Panthers couldn’t convert the two-point conversion try, leaving the score at 16-14. With nine seconds left in the second quarter, a Bulldog fumble is recovered by the Panthers and Stephenson again connects to Allen for a touchdown pass, this time for 30 yards. The extra-point attempt is missed, but Elmore County held a 22-14 lead at the half.  

Penalties were the highlight of a scoreless third quarter as neither team could find any momentum. The Bulldogs managed to cut into the lead early in the third quarter with a Baylor Cannon field goal to make it 22-17, but Stephenson connected with Murphy for a 73-yard touchdown on the Panthers’ next possession for a 28-17 lead.

A 10-yard touchdown run by Murphy late in the fourth quarter capped the scoring.

The Panthers travel to Class 1A Autaugaville next Friday in search of another win, while Marbury returns home to play John Carroll.  

Tallassee 37, Reeltown 13

TALLASSEE - The Tigers needed just 252 yards of total offense to knock off the Rebels in the annual “Battle on the Tallapoosa” on Thursday at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium.

Quarterback Tyler Ellis rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tallassee to the opening-season victory.

Cade Everson added 71 yards rushing on 10 carries with two scores.

The Tigers (1-0) held a 19-0 halftime lead on scores by Everson, Lil’ Josh Griffin and a fumble recovery and return by James Bender.

The Rebels (0-1) got on the board with a 53-yard scamper by Arthur Woods in the opening minutes of the second half.

Tallassee forced four turnovers by Reeltown.

Woods had 68 yards on eight carries to lead the Rebels.

Next week, Tallassee travels to Tuskegee to face B.T. Washington while Reeltown plays its home opener against Dadeville.

KICKOFF CLASSIC: Helena 28, Chelsea 6

Helena High School junior Jordan Washington opened the AHSAA Kickoff Classic with a dazzling 86-yard kickoff return to set up a 1-yard run for a touchdown and lead the Huskies to a 28-6 win on Friday at Cramton Bowl.


Washington, who rushed for over 1,700 yards as a sophomore, finished with 123 yards rushing on 25 carries and scored two TDs. He gave Helena a 14-0 lead later in the first quarter with a 15-yard TD run to cap a four-play, 38-yard drive with 4:40 left in the period.


Huskies quarterback Dalton Lewellyn added a 9-yard scoring run in the second period and scrambled to find receiver Nathan Wade on a 9-yard pass late in the third quarter for Helena’s final TD.


Chelsea used just four plays to cover 70 yards on a drive that started late in the third period to score its only points of the night. Emerson Russell, who had 87 yards on 15 carries, finished the drive 10-yard run early in the fourth period.

The Kickoff Classic continues on Friday with a Class 7A matchup featuring the Auburn Tigers and Hoover. Kickoff is 7 p.m.