WEEK 1 RECAP: Wetumpka wins with 'Hail Mary' pass; Lee honors McKee with win; Lanier earns road win
COMBINED REPORTS
TALLASSEE – A Hail Mary pass of 40 yards from Nathan Rogers to Jamarion Thrasher on the game’s final play gave the Wetumpka Indians a stunning 18-14 victory over the Tigers at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium on Friday night.
Wetumpka trailed the entire game, falling behind 14-0 in the first half.
Tallassee’s Jalyn Daniels had 100 yards rushing on 31 carries and 44 more on three receptions, scoring on a 1-yard run with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter to give Tallassee a 7-0 lead. The Tigers added another touchdown on a fumble recovery by Luke Burdette in the end zone with just over four minutes remaining in the first half for a 14-0 lead.
Rogers, who rushed for 144 yards on 14 carries, brought Wetumpka back quickly in the third quarter, scoring on a 21-yard run 86 seconds into the third quarter to make it 14-6. He added another touchdown on an eight-yard run with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 14-12. But after each score, the Indians failed to convert the extra point attempt, setting up the final play of the game.
Rogers finished the evening 5-of-18 for 67 yards passing. As a team, the Indians finished with 339 yards in total offense.
Tallassee had 189 yards of total offense led by Daniels and quarterback Tyler Ellis, who had 95 yards passing on 9-of-12 attempts.
Wetumpka (1-1) opens region play next week at Helena while Tallassee (1-1) is idle.
R.E. Lee 41, Jeff Davis 13
The Generals honored their fallen teammate, Dmitri McKee, with a resounding win over rival Jeff Davis on Friday at Cramton Bowl.
Lee took a 34-0 lead into halftime with 275 yards in total offense, much of it from the passing attack. Jakel Williams passed for four touchdowns in the half, including strikes of 13 and 55 yards to Daniel Scott. Williams added two scores in the second quarter with a 69-yard bomb to Christopher Dillihay and a 43-yard pass for a score to Dyuri Vandriver.
Brian Thomas rushed for two touchdowns of 21 and 16 yards for the Generals, who opened the season a week late after last week’s game with Daphne was cancelled due to the loss of McKee, who died on Aug. 13.
The team honored McKee with a walk on to the field, carrying a poster of him whie the cheerleaders released balloons. Members of McKee’s family were part of the coin toss and the Generals left an open slot on the offensive line while the JD players knelt on the first play of the game.
“We are honoring ‘Meech’ all season,” stated Williams. “We want to win for him and honor him by winning. It’s what he would want for us.”
Quarterback Savion German scored both touchdowns for the Vols who fell to 0-2 for the season. They managed just 15 yards of total offense in the first half and finished with 99 rushing yards for the game, most of it from German in a mop-up role.
Lee finished with 375 yards for the game behind Thomas, who had 106 yards and two scores on the ground. Williams was 5-of-11 passing for 188 yards and four TDs.
Lee (1-0) goes on the road next Friday to Eufaula to open Class 6A, Region 2 action. Jeff Davis will have the week off before heading to Phenix City to play Central on Sept. 10.
Sidney Lanier 33, Paul Bryant 13
TUSCALOOSA – Behind running back Tacaris Bozeman, the Poets scored 27 second-half points to pull away from the Stampede on Friday.
Bozeman score three second-half touchdowns on runs of 80, 30 and 31 yards while Terrance Watkins added a 27-yard interception return for a score that gave the Poets the lead for good early in the period.
Lanier took an early 6-0 lead on a Braylon Jones pass of 41 yards to Zariah Marks.
The Poets defense forced five turnovers including three deep in their own territory. to thwart Paul Bryant scoring threats. Two of the turnovers were in the end zone.
The Poets open the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017. They face Opelika in the Class 6A, Region 2 opener at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
Dothan 14, Park Crossing 7
DOTHAN -- Lynn Pettway returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half, but the 7A Wolves rallied with a pair of touchdowns in the second half to earn the win.
Za Henry’s game-winning 8-yard run with 2:54 left was the difference, keeping the Thunderbirds winless for the season.
Park Crossing (0-2) travels to Russell County in search of its first offensive touchdown in the region opener for both teams next week.
Enterprise 28, G.W. Carver 12
ENTERPRISE – Carver took an early lead but was unable to hold on, ruining the coaching debut of Marcus Gardner.
Jamar Green ran for one touchdown and passed for another in the loss. His 31-yard scamper gave the Wolverines an early 6-0 advantage in the first quarter. In the third quarter, he hit Marquan Jamerson for a 76-yard screen pass that pulled the Wolverines within three points at 15-12.
Carver opens its home season next Friday against Valley.
St. James 35, Reeltown 6
KJ Jackson threw for 271 yards and four touchdown passes and the Trojan defense clamped down on the Rebels to win their 2021 home opener at Carlisle Field on Friday night.
Jackson threw 17 yards to Bradley Thomas for the game’s first touchdown midway through the first quarter for a 6-0 lead, then found Ethan Beard on a 43-yard pass midway through the second quarter. Jonathan Harris ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead. After turning back a Reeltown threat at the Trojan 6-yard line, St. James marched 94 yards for a 21-0 halftime lead.
Jackson completed three consecutive passes late in the first half for the third touchdown, throwing 17 yards to Clint Houser, 15 to Thomas and the final 27 yards to Houser.
Reeltown finally got on the board on a fourth-and-one run for 46 yards by Marcus Haynes, but the Trojans responded with an 85-yard drive, using runs of 10, 2, 69 and 4 yards by Cosner Harrison for a 28-6 lead. Harrison finished with 125 yards on 12 carries.
Jackson closed out the night with his fourth touchdown pass, a 69-yarder to Beard. The sophomore completed 10 of 15 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns.
St. James (1-1) travels to ACA next Friday to open region play.
Alabama Christian 47, Highland Home 6
Alabama Christian scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and three more in the second to down the Flying Squadron and give Michael Summers his first win as the Eagles’ head coach on Friday night.
Hayes Hunt threw for a pair of touchdowns and Corey Landers led a quartet of runners who each scored a touchdown as the Eagles rolled to a 40-0 lead at the half, forcing the teams to play six-minute quarters with a running clock in the second half.
Landers scored on a 37-yard run, Hunt passed 33 yards to Garrett Weathers and ran 40 yards for another touchdown as ACA led 21-0 midway through the first quarter. Otasowie Dion scored on a nine-yard run and returned an interception 33 yards for another touchdown for a 34-point lead with 4:55 left in the first half.
Hunt completed 5 of 11 passes for 158 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Weathers late in the first half for a 40-0 lead. AC Walters added a 58-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Landers finished with 87 yards on 11 carries, while Walters had 55 yards on two carries, Hunt had 38 yards on five carries and Dion had 21 yards on two carries.
Weathers finished with 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns on three receptions.
Defensively, Donovan Emerson had eight tackles and a sack and Joshua Kreitz had five tackles to lead the Eagles. Jack Thomas, Trey Schlemmer and William Milner each had four tackles.
ACA (1-1) plays host to St. James next Friday in the region opener for both teams.
Catholic 50, Charles Henderson 0
TROY -- Jeremiah Cobb rushed for five touchdowns and got some help from TJ Dudley, who chipped in a defensive touchdown, as the Knights pounded Charles Henderson 50-0 at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
Cobb had 24 carries for 189 yards and scored five of the Knights’ seven touchdowns. Dudley returned an interception for another score and defensive back-turned-receiver Kylon Griffin took his only reception 40 yards to the end zone as Catholic pitched its second shutout of the season.
Dudley, an Oregon commitment, had 10 tackles from his linebacker position, including three for loss, along with a pair of interceptions. Griffin, a Mississippi State commitment, had six tackles from his secondary position. Linebacker Patrick Ryan added nine tackles.
Catholic (2-0) travels to Dadeville for its region opener next week.
Pike Road 56, Calhoun 0
PIKE ROAD -- Iverson Hooks completed five of his six pass attempts, with three of them going for touchdowns, as the Patriots crushed 2A Calhoun 56-0 on Friday night in Pike Road’s home opener.
Hooks threw two passes to Roman Mothershed for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns, finishing with 173 passing yards as the Patriots took a 42-0 lead at the half.
Calhoun finished the game with minus 10 yards of offense.
Pike Road (2-0) travels to Ozark next week to play Carroll in the region opener.
West Blocton 43, Holtville 25
HOLTVILLE – The Bulldogs managed just 229 yards in total offense in Friday’s loss.
Tanner Potts passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in a losing effort. He finished with 174 yards in total offense including 157 yards passing including a TD pass to Cooper Mann.
Mickey Forney led the Holtville defense with eight tackles.
The Bulldogs (1-1) open region play next week at home against Elmore County.
Dadeville 47, Elmore County 7
ECLECTIC – The Panthers were held to 140 yards in total offense and a lone score in the final stages to drop to 0-2 for the season.
Ja’Vauntae Holley rushed for 171 yards and three TDs to lead the Tigers to the win.
Elmore County’s lone score came on a Payton Stephenson pass to Jabari Murphy for 14 yards with 5:23 left in the game.
Elmore County will face Holtville next week.
AISA
Edgewood Academy 43, Hooper Academy 13
ELMORE -- Austin Champion completed 12 of 19 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns as the Wildcats used a 30-point second quarter to take care of Hooper Academy 43-13 on Friday night.
The Wildcats (2-0), which opened the season with a 32-point outburst against Southern, were even better on Friday as Champion threw 49 yards to JT Brazell, 11 yards to JB Collier and 52 yards to Trevor Rodie for a 37-0 lead late in the first half. Edgewood had 428 yards of total offense to extend a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Rodie was on the receiving end of five Champion passes for 129 yards, scoring on catches of 52 and 45 yards to give Edgewood a 43-7 lead at halftime. Collier added 75 receiving yards on a pair of catches.
Colton Jones and Sam Williams each had five tackles to lead the Wildcat defense. Brazell and Bryson Boone each had four tackles.
R.J. Coker finally put Hooper on the scoreboard with a 65-yard run with 33 seconds remaining in the first half. Coker added another touchdown on a 33-yard run late in the fourth quarter to finish with 99 yards.
Coker led the Colts’ defense with nine tackles and three sacks, while Shawn Murphy had five tackles and a sack, Cameron Smith had six tackles and a sack and Rob McGinty had seven tackles.
Hooper (1-1) returns home to play host to Pike Liberal Arts in a region game next Friday, while Edgewood opens region play in Birmingham against Banks Academy.
Autauga Academy 42, Lawton Chiles 7
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Karl Ligon rushed for 211 yards and three touchdowns and Robert Rose passed for 195 yards and three touchdowns as the Generals coasted to a 42-7 win over the Class 7A public school on Friday night.
Ligon, the G.W. Carver transfer, scored on runs of 87, 89 and 12 yards, topping the 200-yard mark with 15 carries. Rose, the Wetumpka transfer, completed 13 of 21 attempts, including touchdown passes of 46 and 17 yards to Josh Palmer and one of 12 yards to Noah Ray.
Palmer finished with 175 yards on seven receptions.
Defensively, Darryl Cook had four solo tackles, including a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery, and Caden Henry had four solo tackles and an assist while causing a fumble. Deilmalik Livingston had two fumble recoveries and O’Ronde Henderson had a pair of solo tackles, including a tackle for loss and a sack, along with one assist.
Autauga (2-0) is open next week before jumping into region play with a showdown of unbeatens at Patrician on Sept. 10.
Banks Academy 54, Cornerstone Christian 0
BIRMINGHAM -- Josh Bonner rushed for 225 yards and three touchdowns as the second-year AISA program jumped out to a 2-0 start with a shutout of Cornerstone.
The Jets open region play next Friday at home against unbeaten Edgewood Academy.
Morgan Academy 46, Wilcox Academy 22
SELMA -- Andrew Thomas completed 17 of 24 passes for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for two more scores as the Senators led 38-6 at the half in a comfortable win over Wilcox.
Rhyne Williams was on the receiving end of 10 of those completions for 107 yards and a touchdown, opening the scoring with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Thomas for a 6-0 lead.
Wilcox tied the game minutes later on a 2-yard run by Darius Clifton, but the extra-point attempt failed, leaving the game tied.
Morgan pulled ahead for good on a 4-yard run by Allen Michael Creech and a two-point conversion run by John Allen Ingram for a 14-6 lead. Ingram added a 3-yard run, followed by a Thomas conversion run, to make it 22-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Morgan (1-0) opens region play at home next week against Clarke Prep, while Wilcox (0-1) travels to Southern.
Patrician Academy 46, Clarke Prep 7
BUTLER -- Tate Boykin rushed for 95 yards on just six carries, including a 28-yard scoring run in the second half, as the Saints rolled over Clarke Prep 46-7.
Jay Lindsey opened the scoring with a 31-yard run and added a 38-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Patrician a 34-0 lead at the half.
Bubba Ballard led the Patrician defense with six tackles.
Trace Strickland led Clarke Prep with 84 yards on six carries. Trace Phillips scored on a 3-yard run late in the game to avoid the shutout.
Patrician (1-0) opens region play next Friday at Escambia. Clarke Prep (0-2) travels to Selma to play Morgan.
Jackson Academy 48, Fort Dale Academy 7
JACKSON -- Dakota Baxter scored on runs of 4 and 56 yards and Joseph Barnes added a 36-yard scoring run as the Eagles jumped on Fort Dale early and cruised to a 48-7 win.
Barnes rushed for 165 yards on eight carries as Jackson ran out to a 36-0 lead at the half.
Ethan Alford completed 13 of 24 passes for 125 yards to lead Fort Dale.
Jackson (2-0) plays host to Snook next week, while Fort Dale (0-1) plays host to Tuscaloosa.
AISA SCOREBOARD
Pike Liberal Arts 1, Crenshaw Christian 0, forfeit
Valiant Cross Academy 18, Macon East Academy 17
Morgan Academy 46, Wilcox Academy 22
Edgewood Academy 43, Hooper Academy 13
Banks Academy 54, Cornerstone Christian 0
Southern Prep 40, Springwood School 16
Chambers Academy 1, Abbeville Christian 0, forfeit
Patrician Academy 46, Clarke Prep 7
Escambia Academy 59, Glenwood School 47
Autauga Academy 42, Lawton Chiles 7
South Choctaw Academy 43, Southern Academy 21
Pickens Academy 35, Coosa Valley Academy 14
Lowndes Academy 56, Meadowview Christian 8
Sparta Academy 30, Monroe Academy 20
Jackson Academy 48, Fort Dale Academy 7