FRIDAY NIGHT PREPS (Week 6): Montgomery Academy earns road win; Holtville tops Maplesville; Pike Road falls to Opelika

COMBINED REPORTS

Montgomery Academy 36, Luverne 8

LUVERNE -- Reid McBride threw three second-half touchdown passes to help Montgomery Academy pull away for a 36-8 win over the Tigers at Glen Daniel Stadium.

McBride threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Knox Wingate to put the Eagles on the scoreboard and a blocked punt by Mikey Kirkland set up a short touchdown run by Mac Benefield and a 13-0 lead, but the Tigers answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute to trim the deficit to 13-8.

McBride threw a pair of touchdown passes to DJ Vinson and another to Braden Gordon to give the Eagles a comfortable lead. The freshman completed 11 of 18 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns, adding 33 yards on three carries.

Vinson had four receptions for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns, increasing his career total receptions to 156 and career touchdowns to 28. His career reception yardage of 3,138 ranks 19th all-time in Alabama High School Athletic Association history.

Gordon had two receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown and Jarrett Friendly had three receptions for 35 yards. David Whisenhunt added one catch for 34 yards.

Benefield led MA in rushing with 73 yards on 15 carries, while Kingston Nelson had 10 carries for 51 yards.

Defensively, Wingate had 10 tackles, Gordon had six tackles, a forced fumble, three quarterback pressures and a pass breakup and Graham Martin had three tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Vinson added an interception.

Montgomery Academy (5-1) returns home to play a crucial 3A Region 2 game next Friday against Trinity at McLemore Field.

Holtville 35, Maplesville 7

HOLTVILLE -- Daishaun Zeigler rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Class 5A Bulldogs to a 35-7 victory over Class 1A Maplesville for homecoming on Friday.

Holtville bounced back from last week’s loss to Elmore County with 363 total yards of offense.

Jacob Burgess passed for 83 yards and rushed for 13 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.

Elijah Headley led the Bulldog receivers with 59 yards on receptions.

Brock Godwin led the Bulldog defense with five tackles.

Holtville (2-3) jumps back into 5A Region 4 play with a home game against Beauregard next week.

Isabella 42, Billingsley 28

BILLINGSLEY -- Landon Jones passed for 203 yards and Kaden Cotton rushed for three touchdowns, but the Bears couldn’t keep pace with Isabella on Friday night at Mims Field.

Jones completed 13 of 19 passes for 203 yards and rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

His favorite target was Kyle Boice, who had eight receptions for 146 yds and carried the ball once for 5 yards.

Cotton rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, adding another 43 yards on two receptions.

Defensively, linebacker Caleb Massey led the Bears with 11 tackles and a sack, while fellow linebacker Kyson Thomas had nine tackles. Boice had eight tackles and Jones had seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

Billingsley (2-4) remains home over the next two weeks with a pair of 1A Region 4 contests against Ellwood Christian on Oct. 4 and Maplesville on Oct. 11.

Opelika 35, Pike Road 20

PIKE ROAD - The Patriots had 373 yards in total offense but it wasn’t enough in a non-region game Friday.

Quarterback Cason Myers passed for 217 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while Ja’Michael Jones rushed for 101 yards and a score on 30 carries for the Patriots.

Jordan Holmes had two carries for 31 yards and a touchdown while Mason Hussey had three receptions for 45 yards and a score.

Braylon Outlaw led the defense with nine solo tackles and two assisted tackles.

Trailing 21-0 with 5:52 left in the half, Jones scored on a 1-yard TD run following an 80-yard Pike Road drive. On the next play, Holmes recovered a bobbled kickoff reception at the Opelika 30-yard line. Two plays later, Holmes scored on a 31-yard TD run off of a direct-snap.

The Patriots got their final points of the night on a 16-yard play-action pass from Myers to Mason Hussey.

Pike Road (3-3) faces Park Crossing next Friday.

Macon East Academy 56, Southern Prep 24

CAMP HILL -- Sam Wallace threw three touchdown passes and Thad McKinney rushed for two more as the Knights remain unbeaten with a 56-24 win in 8-man football on Friday night.

Wallace completed 6 of 7 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns, while McKinney had 12 rushes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

Wallace added 11 carries for 83 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run. Brandon Fitch added a 3-yard touchdown run.

Wallace’s touchdown passes covered 55 yards to Micah Andrews, 38 yards to Carter Hopson and 36 yards to Matthew Pugh.

Defensively, Hopson had eight tackles, Pugh had seven tackles and Cole Streetman had a sack.

Macon East (4-0) remained unbeaten in Class A play at 4-0 and returns home to play North River Christian next Friday for homecoming in another region game.

Lowndes Academy 45, Edgewood Academy 0

HAYNEVILLE -- Jeremy Hardy rushed for three touchdowns to lead the Rebels to their 23rd consecutive victory with a 45-0 shutout of Edgewood Academy at Mac Champion Field on Friday night.

The three-time defending state champions improved to 4-0 this season and extended a winning streak that stretches over three seasons to a mid-season loss to eventual Class AA state champion Patrician Academy in 2022.

Hardy rushed for 126 yards on nine carries, including a 42-yard scoring run in the second quarter that broke a scoreless tie. Watters Box added the first of four extra points, scored on a 20-yard interception return in the third quarter and added a 27-yard field goal in the fourth to account for 13 of the Rebels’ 45 points.

Hardy added a 30-yard scoring run in the second quarter and a 16-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Bradyn Stokes had a 2-yard run in the second quarter to give Lowndes a 22-0 halftime lead.

Tyler Hollingshead scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter.

Ashton Yelder led the Rebel defense with seven tackles, including three for loss. He also had a tackle in the end zone to give Lowndes a safety in the second quarter.

Lowndes will play host to Clarke Prep next Thursday in their final home game of the regular season.

Edgewood (1-3), which was held to a pair of first downs and 33 total yards, will also play a home game next Thursday, facing Crenshaw Christian.