AHSAA 2ND ROUND: Tallassee, Catholic, Pike Road earn dominant wins
COMBINED REPORTS
Tallassee 40, Ashford 14
TALLASSEE -- Chase Chumley intercepted two passes, returning one 73 yards for a touchdown to break open a tight game and lead the Tigers to their eighth consecutive win in a 40-14 rout of Ashford in the Class 4A state playoffs at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium on Friday night.
Tallassee (9-2) advances to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in school history and the first since 2016. The Tigers will travel next week to Jackson (11-1), a 51-0 winner over Bibb County.
Ashford, making only its third trip to the second round of the playoffs in school history and its first since 2002, ended the season at 6-6.
The Tigers owned a 14-7 lead at the half, using a 4-yard run by Roderick Green and a 37-yard Trent Morris pass to Jaiden Gordon to lead the Yellow Jackets at the break.
Morris completed just 4 of 14 passes for 53 yards but two of the completions went for touchdowns as he connected with Chumley on a 10-yard pass in the third quarter to make it 20-7. On the Yellow Jackets’ ensuing possession, Chumley stepped in front of a Coy Paramore pass and returned it for a touchdown to kill any thoughts of an Ashford rally.
Jordan King added a 14-yard touchdown run and Cortland Roberts scored on a 1-yard run as Tallassee opened up a 40-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Ashford got its touchdowns on a Jay Ragland 3-yard run in the first quarter and a Braylon Bigham 36-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Morris led the Tigers with 66 rushing yards on five carries, while Green added 48 yards on 13 carries.
Paramore led the Yellow Jackets with 79 yards rushing on 20 carries. He completed 4 of 13 passes for 32 yards but was intercepted four times.
Ragland added 74 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Catholic 43, Citronelle 0
CITRONELLE -- Giovanni Hayner rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown and safety Jo Pierce added two touchdowns out of Wildcat formation as the Knights blasted Citronelle 43-0 in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs on Friday.
Catholic (11-0) returns home to play host to Central-Clay County (12-0), a 31-6 winner over Williamson, in the 5A quarterfinals next Friday.
Citronelle ends the season at 9-3.
Catholic dominated on both sides of the ball, following up on a similar performance in a 52-0 win over Holtville last week in the first round of the playoffs. The Knights have shut out five of their last six opponents and 15 foes over the past two years.
The Knights extended their winning streak to 26 games over the past two seasons and reached the state quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year.
Offensively, Hayner reached his total on just seven carries and Josh Harriell added 78 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Pierce had 18 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Kingston Preyear completed 11 of 15 passes for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns, throwing one to JJ Williams and another to Michael Sheffield. Williams had five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown, while BJ Bedgood had four catches for 50 yards. Sheffield had just one catch, but it went for a 35-yard touchdown. He also had two punt returns for 59 yards.
Defensively, Kam Miller had 10 tackles, including three for loss, and Pierce had seven tackles, including one for loss. Garrett Sanford also had seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Charles Chappelle had five tackles, an interception and a pass breakup.
Pike Road 44, St. Paul’s Episcopal 6
MOBILE -- Jordan Holmes rushed for 267 yards and three touchdowns and passed for another to lead the Patriots to a convincing 44-6 win over St. Paul’s Episcopal in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs on Friday.
Pike Road (9-3) returns home to play Hueytown (9-3), a 21-14 winner over Spanish Fort, in the 6A quarterfinals next Friday. St. Paul’s ends the season at 9-3.
The Patriots had 449 yards of offense, jumping out to a 23-0 halftime lead over the Saints. Holmes had 15 carries for 267 yards and also completed both of his pass attempts, one to Braylon Outlaw for a 28-yard touchdown and the other to Omari Smith for 21 yards.
St. Paul’s got off to a rocky start, fumbling both the opening kickoff and the Saints’ first punt return. The kickoff blunder didn’t cost them, but the fumbled punt return did as Pike Road’s Chandler Boyd recovered on the St. Paul 27-yard line and Holmes hit Outlaw with a touchdown pass moments later for an 8-0 lead.
On its next offensive possession, Ja’Michael Jones ran 25 yards for a touchdown and a 15-0 lead.
The two teams battled evenly through the first half of the second quarter before the Patriots marched 70 yards to another touchdown. Holmes ran for 1 yard, then ran in the two-point conversion for a 23-0 lead. The Patriots ended the half by holding the Saints on the Pike Road 3-yard run to preserve the shutout.
Holmes sprinted 79 yards on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter to make it 30-0. St. Paul’s answered with its only touchdown of the game before Holmes came back with a 65-yard touchdown run for a 37-6 lead.
The Patriots closed out the scoring with a 3-yard run by Jones to cap an 85-yard drive.
In addition to Holmes, Jones rushed for 73 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries, while Quinton Robinson added 62 yards on six carries.
Defensively, Ethan Holloway had 12 tackles, Outlaw and Jhaylon Smith each had eight tackles, Rufus Boone had seven tackles, including one for loss, Corey Tims had six tackles, including a pair of sacks, and Gavan Rogers had six tackles.
Bayside Academy 23, Alabama Christian 7
Alabama Christian jumped out to a first-quarter lead but turnovers plagued the Eagles all night as Bayside Academy rallied for a 23-7 win in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs at Faulkners John Mark Stallings Field on Friday night.
Bayside Academy (9-3) will travel to Selma next week to play Southside (10-2), a 44-34 winner over Montgomery Academy, in the 3A quarterfinals. Alabama Christian ends the season at 7-5 after making its 10th trip to the second round, including its third in the last five years.
ACA got out to a 7-0 start with Christian Snipes hit AC Walters with a 29-yard touchdown pass with 3:49 remaining in the quarter, but it was one of the few highlights for the Eagles.
The Admirals rallied with a field goal and a touchdown to take a 9-7 halftime lead, then added a touchdown in each of the last two quarters to secure the win.
Snipes completed 16 of 27 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Walters rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries and had 59 yards on five receptions. Jackson Burton added six receptions for 69 yards.
Defensively, Micah Merritt had nine tackles to lead ACA, while Broderick Williams and Burton added seven tackles each.