AISA ROUNDUP: Macon East overcomes turnovers to beat Autauga; Lowndes beats rival Hooper
Macon East’s Zach Brown is taken down in the Knights’ win over Autauga Academy on Friday. (Dylan Hurst)
By DYLAN HURST
PRATTVILLE -- Macon East Academy used an interception return by Sanders Manning to grab the lead, then outlasted the Autauga Academy Generals, 14-10, Friday.
The win came despite seven turnovers in the game.
“We’ve had snap issues all year, but tonight we just dropped two early in the game -- and then Dalton (Nickles) dropped one on a quarterback power -- and they about cost us the game,” said Macon East head coach Glynn Lott. “We should have scored one time and did it later on the goal line, so we were lucky to get out of those situations tonight.”
The game provided a good gauge for the Knights (7-3), who will face a similar test next week in Grove Hill against Clarke Prep in the first round of the AA playoffs.
“Autauga is big and physical up front and our next opponent Clarke Prep is the same way, so it was a good test for us up front,” Lott said. “We challenged our guys and we wanted to be able to run the ball, and I think we did that in the first half. But in the second half we felt like we had an advantage to the outside and we tried to exploit that.”
Senior quarterback Deonte Powell completed 14 of 20 passes for 124 yards while rushing for 75 more yards on 14 carries.
Senior running back Gabe Spencer carried the ball 20 times for 116 yards and a touchdown.
While Powell and Spencer were critical to their team’s success, it was Manning that was the difference, recording two interceptions, returning one for the Knights’ second touchdown. Manning had two tackles and two interceptions along with three receptions for 26 yards on offense.
“Our defense played really well -- they only gave up one touchdown -- and the difference in the game was the pick-six in the first half as far as scoring goes, but not as far as opportunities go,” Autauga Academy coach Trey Dunbar said. “The interception in the first half was a wide-open pass that was underthrown. Macon’s interception in the red zone was another opportunity. We just have to make plays. But we’re in the playoffs and the record is reset to 0-0.”
Autauga (3-6) entered the game on a five-game slide after starting out 3-0 and will travel to Selma next week to play Morgan Academy in the first round of the AAA playoffs next week. Morgan defeated Autauga 32-7 on the same field three weeks ago.
Freshman running back Cameron Ray scored a rushing touchdown late in the first quarter for the Generals’ lone touchdown of the game.
Defensively, Nickles led the Knights with 11 tackles and a pair of sacks. Barrett Spaeth added eight tackles, followed by Zach Brown with five tackles and Spencer with four tackles and an interception.
Lowndes Academy 48, Hooper Academy 31
HOPE HULL -- Clayton Hussey ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more as the Rebels rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Hooper Academy 48-31 at Davis Henry Field on Friday night.
The defending Class A state champions rolled out to a 28-7 lead, then weathered a wild rally that saw RJ Coker score four unanswered touchdowns to put the Colts in front. Hussey then ran 5 yards for a touchdown and threw a 9-yard pass to Luke Lovell on the Rebels’ next two possessions to put Lowndes back in control. Kasen Dismukes added a late touchdown run for insurance.
Lowndes (8-2) will return home to play host to Snook Christian (1-9) in the first round of the A playoffs next week. Hooper ends the season at 2-8.
The Rebels took an early lead with big plays as Chase Rudder ran 60 yards for a touchdown and Hussey ran 44 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead. After Zach Rusley scored on a 3-yard run and John Henry Adams added the extra point to pull Hooper within 13-7, the Rebels got a pair of touchdowns from Dismukes, one on a 3-yard run, the other on a 17-yard reception from Hussey, for a 28-7 lead.
That’s when Coker, who rushed for 126 yards on 28 carries, went to work, scoring four consecutive touchdowns from the second quarter extending into the fourth quarter, to put Hooper in front 31-28.
Ron McGinty completed 10 of 22 passes for 118 yards to lead the Colts, but was intercepted four times, twice by Hussey. Five of his passes went to Lucas Spellman, who accounted for 77 receiving yards.
Slade Russell added 64 yards on seven carries.
For Lowndes, Hussey completed 7 of 14 passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. He also had seven tackles on defense.
Rudder added 73 rushing yards on four carries and Dismukes had 65 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, Dismukes had 12 tackles, followed by Ashton Yelder with 11 and Jase Howard with seven.
Russell led Hooper with nine tackles, followed by Coker with five.
Banks Academy 25, Valiant Cross Academy 21
Banks Academy almost didn’t make the trip, then grabbed a narrow lead at the half and held on to defeat Valiant Cross 25-21 at Faulkner University’s John Mark Stallings Field on Friday night.
“We were actually trying to forfeit because of the flu bug attacking us,” Banks coach Jermaine Watson said, “That’s a great ballclub, a playoff team in AAA and well coached. I’m just proud for our guys coming out and fighting through all the adversity that we had this week and tonight.”
The Jets (6-4) travel to Elmore to play Edgewood (5-5) in the first round of the AA playoffs next week. Banks defeated 47-19 on the same field on Sept. 29.
“It’s hard to beat a good team twice,” Watson said. “We know it’s going to be a ballgame.”
Valiant Cross (3-6) travels to Monroe (4-7) next Friday for the first round of the AAA playoffs.
Fort Dale Academy 35, Escambia Academy 19
GREENVILLE -- Fort Dale trailed 19-0 late in the first half but rallied with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat Escambia 35-19.
Sterling Arnold scored on a 12-yard run late in the first half for the Eagles’ first points and they trailed 19-7 at the half before Ethan Alford went to work in the second half.
Alford hit Arnold with a 21-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, connected with Alan Alvarez early in the fourth quarter to give Fort Dale its first lead at 21-19, then ran 35 yards for another touchdown to put the Cougars away.
Clay Benson added a 1-yard touchdown run later in the quarter for insurance.
Garrett Simmons led the Eagles with 136 yards on 20 carries.
Fort Dale ends the season at 4-6, while Escambia travels to LaFayette to play Chambers Academy in the first round of the AA playoffs next week.
Patrician Academy 48, Wilcox Academy 20
BUTLER -- Matthew Mize scored a touchdown on both sides of the ball in the first quarter as the Saints jumped out to a 27-6 first quarter lead and finished the regular season unbeaten in a rout of Wilcox Academy on Friday.
Patrician (10-0) will play host to Abbeville Christian in the first round of the AA playoffs next week, while Wilcox (4-6) will travel to Luverne to play Crenshaw Christian in the opening round of the A playoffs.
Cecil Perry answered an early touchdown by Wilcox with a 47-yard scoring run and Jay Lindsey added the extra point to put the Saints ahead for good at 7-6. Mize returned an interception for a touchdown, Carson Coody added a 10-yard scoring run and Mize pulled in a pass from Tate Boykin and ran 80 yards to the end zone for a 27-6 lead on the way to a 41-6 halftime lead.
AISA SCOREBOARD (End Regular season)
Macon East Academy 14, Autauga Academy 10
Bessemer Academy 34, Cornerstone Christian 8
Fort Dale Academy 35, Escambia Academy 19
Glenwood School 48, Chambers Academy 7
Lee-Scott Academy 55, Edgewood Academy 0
Clarke Prep School 34, Monroe Academy 6
Morgan Academy 30, Pickens Academy 0
Banks Academy 25, Valiant Cross Academy 21
Patrician Academy 48, Wilcox Academy 20
Abbeville Christian 32, Lakeside School 14
Lowndes Academy 48, Hooper Academy 31
Crenshaw Christian 62, Snook Christian 14
Southern Academy 42, South Choctaw Academy 19
Coosa Valley Academy 13, Sparta Academy 12
AISA PLAYOFFS
FIRST-ROUND GAMES
CLASS AAA
Autauga Academy (3-6) at Morgan Academy (6-4)
Valiant Cross Academy (3-6) at Monroe Academy (4-7)
Lee-Scott Academy (10-0) -- bye
Glenwood School (7-3) -- bye
CLASS AA
Escambia Academy (4-5) at Chambers Academy (7-3)
Banks Academy (6-4) at Edgewood Academy (5-5)
Macon East Academy (7-3) at Clarke Prep School (7-3)
Abbeville Christian (4-6) at Patrician Academy ()
CLASS A
Snook Christian (1-9) at Lowndes Academy (8-2)
Wilcox Academy (4-6) at Crenshaw Christian (7-3)
Southern Academy (4-5) at South Choctaw Academy (4-6)
Lakeside School (3-7) at Jackson Academy (10-0)