AHSAA 1st ROUND: Lee holds off McAdory; MA, Catholic, Trinity advance

COMBINED REPORTS

The Robert E. Lee Generals survived a couple of late rallies to hold off the Yellow Jackets of McAdory, 33-25 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday at Cramton Bowl.

The Generals built as much as a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter only to see McAdory fight back to within two points with 1:48 left in the game.

After Lee had pulled ahead on a Jakel Williams 1-yard run, the Yellow Jackets  followed with two touchdowns with a recovered onside kick in between. Jacob Clopton threw a 28-yard TD pass to JaCorey Whitted but the extra point was missed keeping McAdory down nine points.

After the recovered kick, McAdory scored again on a Rod Thomas 6-yard run. The extra point was good, pulling the Jackets to within two at 27-25.

The Generals recovered the second onside kick at midfield and that led to a Williams 30-yard run for a score with just over a minute left in the game. But Lee missed the extra point leaving McAdory within a possession of tying the game.

But the Generals’ Austin Yelder ended the threat of a final comeback with an interception with 37 seconds remaining in the game.

Lee got an 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter from Brian Thomas before he left with an apparent leg injury and did not return. Williams took up most of the slack, scoring twice after his injury. He also had a touchdown run early to give Lee a 7-0 lead and he threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Jackson midway through the second quarter that gave the Generals a 14-0 lead at the time.

Williams finished with 141 yards rushing on 15 carries as well as 156 yards passing on 10-of-20 passing.

Lee overcame 15 penalties for 105 yards.

Lee (8-2) will travel to Saraland next week for the second round. Saraland defeated Wetumpka, 37-7, to advance. McAdory finishes 7-4.

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 56, G.W. Carver 6

TUSCALOOSA - The Wolverines gave up six touchdowns in the first half with four coming on passes by Ethan Crawford as the Patriots routed Carver in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs on Friday.

Carver’s lone touchdown came early in the third quarter on an 8-yard run by Desmond Hordges, who finished with 69 yards on 10 carries.

Carver’s season ends at 4-6 while Hillcrest (9-2) advances to face Baldwin County.

Saraland 37, Wetumpka 7

The Spartans scored two quick touchdowns and never looked back on the way to a Class 6A first-round win over the Indians on Friday at Spartan Stadium.

Nathan Rogers had a touchdown pass of 13 yards to Rod Merkerson that pulled the Indians to within 14-7 but managed just six first downs the rest of the game.

Rogers finished with 125 yards rushing to lead Wetumpka (5-6).

Saraland (9-2) will play host to Lee next week.

Greenville 32, Tallassee 0

GREENVILLE – The Tallassee Tigers fell behind early and never recovered in a Class 5A first-round loss to homestanding Greenville on Friday.

Greenville opened up a 12-0 lead on a first quarter score with Javonte Herbert’s 8-yard reception. That was followed by a blocked punt picked up and carried into the end zone by Jonathan Purifoy late in the first quarter.

Greenville scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter and then the final points in the fourth to win easily.

Tallassee managed just 177 yards in total offense, including just 58 yards in the air. The Tigers suffered two turnovers in the game.

Quarterback Andre Davidson led Greenville with 136 yards and three touchdowns on 8-of-15 passing attempts.

Greenville (8-3) advances to face UMS-Wright. Tallassee’s season ends at 7-3.

Jacksonville 42, Alabama Christian Academy 21

JACKSONVILLE -- Jim Ogle threw four touchdown passes to lead Jacksonville to a 42-21 win over Alabama Christian Academy in the first round of the 4A state playoffs on Friday.

Jacksonville (7-3) will travel to Tuscaloosa to play American Christian Academy (10-1) in the second round of the playoffs next Friday. Alabama Christian Academy ends the season at 7-4.

Ogle threw a 39-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter to give the Golden Eagles the early lead, but ACA responded with a 59-yard touchdown run by Otasowie Dion with 10.8 seconds left in the first quarter and a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hayes Hunt to Trey Schlemmer with 9:42 left in second quarter for a 14-7 lead.

After a Jacksonville score tied the game at the half, Corey Landers’ 3-yard run put ACA back in front, 21-14, with 9:29 remaining in the third quarter before it all unraveled quickly for the visitors. 

Ogle threw another touchdown pass to tie the game, the Golden Eagles added a scoring run in the final seconds of the third quarter and then Ogle threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final four minutes to take control. 

Hunt completed 9 of 15 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, along with an interception. Landers had 120 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Dion had 118 yards and a touchdown on five carries. 

Defensively, D’Andre Sneed led ACA with 14 tackles, including a sack and an interception. Jack Thomas had 13 tackles, Schlemmer had 12 tackles and both Donovan Emerson and Dion recorded sacks. 

While the Eagles fell short of their goal, the 7-4 record by Michael Summers’ team was the third-best record in school history for a first-year coach, trailing only John Poitevint (9-4) in 1989 and Nate Sanford (10-3) in 2017. Summers was the defensive coordinator on Sanford’s team. 

Catholic 56, Houston Academy 7

The Montgomery Catholic Knights were relatively unchallenged in a first-round playoff win over Houston Academy, but first-year coach Kirk Johnson still found plenty of mistakes to correct after the 56-7 win.

“We just need to do a better job in all phases,” he said. “Even our kicking game got tripped up for a second, and we can’t miss kicks, we can’t muff punts, that’s just not what we do.” 

The Knights (11-0) advanced to the second round of the 3A state playoffs with the win and will travel to Daphne to face Bayside Academy, a 37-36 winner at Southside-Selma on Friday.

Houston Academy ends the season at 6-5.

“I think we did a good job of mixing our running and passing around,” Johnson said, “but the results of many of those plays just shows our team’s athleticism.”   

After coming up just short of a championship in the 3A finals against Fyffe at Bryant-Denny Stadium last December, Johnson and the Knights returned to the playoffs with a determination to bring home a championship. 

“After what happened last year, it just means more this year, and our guys know that we have to bring our best every week,” he said. 

Five different players scored touchdowns for the Knights on Friday, with quarterback Caleb McCreary completing 7 of 18 passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing six times for 49 yards. 

Junior running back Jeremiah Cobb rushed 16 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching two passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. His backup, E.J. Babies, rushed nine times for 92 yards and a touchdown. 

Junior wide receiver Luke Harkless caught two touchdown passes along with a rushing touchdown, while junior wide receiver Justin Rose caught one touchdown pass. 

McCreary threw a pair of touchdown passes early, one to Cobb and another early in the second quarter to Harkless, for a quick 14-0 lead. After Cobb ran for a touchdown, McCreary connected with Rose with 19 seconds remaining to give Catholic a 27-0 halftime lead.

Cobb added his second rushing touchdown late in the third quarter and Harkless had his second receiving touchdown late in the third quarter, but the Raiders blocked the extra-point attempt following Harkless’ score. 

The Raiders got their lone score of the game early in the fourth quarter after junior wide receiver Will Wells caught a touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Kayden Mitchell.

Babies and Harkless added rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 54-7 lead before the Catholic defense registered a safety in the final two minutes. 

Montgomery Academy 35, Flomaton 7

Jashawn Cooper rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on Friday to help Montgomery Academy grab a comfortable 35-7 win over Flomaton in the first round of the 3A state playoffs at McLemore Field on Friday night.

Montgomery Academy (8-3) will remain home to play Capital City Conference rival Trinity (9-2) in the second round of the playoffs next Friday at McLemore Field. Trinity defeated the Eagles 18-15 earlier this season in a game played at Trinity.

Flomaton ends the season at 6-4 

Cooper scored on a 7-yard run in the game’s opening drive, added a 1-yard run later in the quarter and scored again in the second quarter for a 21-0 lead.

His brother Jamal, now playing quarterback, completed 3 of 6 passes for 55 yards and added 54 rushing yards, including a 6-yard scoring run with 38 seconds left for a 28-0 halftime lead.

Greer Armstrong added 54 rushing yards and Ruston Bassett had 55, including a 7-yard run that gave Montgomery Academy a 35-0 lead.

DJ Vinson led the MA receivers with 41 yards. 

Defensively, Nigel Walker had nine tackles to lead Montgomery Academy, followed by Parker Cook with eight and Arch Lee, Judson Lindsey, Jashawn Cooper and Thomas Woodward with six tackles each.

Trinity 51, Wicksburg 23

Coleman Stanley threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Trinity beat up Wicksburg 51-23 in the first round of the 3A state playoffs at Ragsdale-Boykin Field on Friday night.

Trinity (9-2) will travel to Montgomery Academy (8-3) for the second round of the state playoffs. Trinity defeated the Eagles at home 18-15 earlier this season.

Wicksburg ends the season at 7-4.

Stanley scored the game’s first touchdown on a quarterback sneak from a yard out, then went to the air to put away Wicksburg. A Grayton Flowers’ 20-yard field goal following a turnover put the Wildcats on top 10-0 before Stanley answered a Wicksburg touchdown with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Norris Pemberton. 

Stanley connected with Christopher Bryan for a 7-yard touchdown pass and hit McClain Phillips with a 34-yard flea flicker later in the third quarter.

Stanley complated 12 of 22 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Mac McClinton led the Wildcat receivers with five receptions for 92 yards, while Pemberton had 82 yards on three catches.

Chase Letner, who rushed for 65 yards on 22 carries, added a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

 Harrison Johnson led the Trinity defense with 10 tackles and a sack. Joe Handey had seven tackles, including two for loss, forced a fumble and intercepted two passes. 

Pike Road 37, Holtville 0

PIKE ROAD -- Quinshon Judkins totaled 204 all-purpose yards and scored three times as the Patriots coasted past Holtville 37-0 in the first round of the 5A state playoffs on Friday.

Pike Road (10-0) will play host to St. Paul’s Episcopal (8-3) in the second round next Friday. The Patriots have never advanced past the second round, losing at home in the 3A playoffs to Mobile Christian in 2019 and losing in Mobile to UMS-Wright in the second round of the 5A playoffs last year.

Holtville ends the season at 5-6.

Judkins, an Ole Miss commitment, rushed for 184 yards on 18 carries, adding another 20 yards receiving in Friday’s game. His backup, Anthony Rogers, had 82 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, along with an 80-yard kickoff return.

Defensively for the Patriots, both Tremarcus Webb and Mac Ceman had six tackles and an interception. Khurtiss Perry had four tackles, along with four quarterback pressures and a pair of pass breakups.

Michael Forney led the Holtville defense with 10 tackles. Cooper Mann and Conner Hackett each had a sack.