FRIDAY NIGHT PREPS (Week 5): Tallassee earns comeback win; ACA shuts out PCA; Carver stays unbeaten

COMBINED REPORTS

Montgomery Academy 41, Northside Methodist 16

Montgomery Academy jumped out to a 41-point lead in the second quarter and cruised to a 41-16 victory against winless Northside Methodist in a 3A Region 2 game at MeLemore Field on Friday night.

Reid McBride completed 13 of 14 passes for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while running for 21 yards and another touchdown on three carries.

DJ Vinson had six receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown and added another touchdown on a 65-yard punt return. Vinson continued his assault on the school record book, extending his school record for career receptions to 152, for career yards to 3,045 and for career touchdowns to 26.

Braden Gordon added four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown, while David Whisenhunt pulled in the other touchdown catch covering 27 yards.

It was Whisenhunt’s second touchdown of the night. He also had an interception return for a touchdown.

Defensively, William Marks had five tackles and an interception, Knox Morrison had five tackles, Knox Wingate had four tackles, Graham Martin had four tackles, including a sack, and Hubb Vinson had three tackles.

After last week’s loss to Wicksburg, the win allowed the Eagles to remain a game behind Trinity in a four-way tie for second place in Region 2, along with Alabama Christian, Houston Academy and Wicksburg.

Montgomery Academy (4-1) travels to Luverne next week for a non-region game against the Tigers at Glen Daniel Stadium.

St. James 35, Talladega 12

TALLADEGA -- St. James won its 26th consecutive region game while handing first-time opponent Talladega its 26th consecutive loss over four seasons as Chase Perry passed for a touchdown and ran for another and Pruitt Conner rushed for two himself as the Trojans defeated the Tigers 35-12.

Conner scored his first rushing touchdown on the fifth play of the game -- a 30-yarder. The Trojans added two touchdowns just before halftime on a 1-yard sneak by Perry and a 3-yard run by Conner after Talladega turned the ball over inside their own 10 yard line on an intentional grounding play.

The Trojans extended the lead to four touchdowns with Perry’s t81-yard pass to Tabor Offord, and Grant Phillips added a 50-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter to complete the Trojans’ scoring. Dylan Hines continued his perfect season converting all five all five extra points,

Perry completed 7 of 11 passes for 225 yards, a career high. Offord caught three passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. Conner carried nine times for 75 yards and two scores.

Talladega quarterback X'zavier Lyles completed 17 of his 28 pass attempts for 104 yards, with 12 of those completions to Marik Smith, including an 18-yard touchdown reception. Lyles also carried 15 times for 73 yards as the Tiger workhorse.

The Trojans improved to 3-0 in 4A Region 3 play, joining Booker T. Washington as the only two unbeaten teams. The Trojans (3-2) travel to Ragsdale-Boykin Field next Friday for a non-region game against Trinity.

Alabama Christian 35, Prattville Christian 0

Christian Snipes threw three touchdown passes to lead the Eagles to a 35-0 win over Prattville Christian at Faulkner’s John Mark Stallings Field on Friday night.

Snipes, who missed last week’s region game with Trinity, put the Eagles on the board quickly with a 56-yard pass to David Ortiz-Ramirez for a 7-0 lead with 8:13 left in the first quarter.

Snipes added a 55-yard touchdown pass to AC Walters early in the second quarter and Ortiz-Ramirez scored on an 11-yard run late in the quarter for a 21-0 halftime lead.

Walters scored on a 71 yard run early in the third quarter and Snipes connected on his third touchdown pass with a 21-yard strike to tight end Jackson Burton with 42.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter to close out the scoring.

Snipes completed 9 of 17 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, with Ortiz-Ramirez catching three passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, Burton catching three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown and Walters catching two passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Walters added five carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Ethan Dabney had eight carries for 56 yards.

Defensively, Cam Sutton and Mekhi Gardner had nine tackles each as the Eagles posted their first shutout since beating Bullock County 42-0 on Oct. 22, 2021. Jordan Sanders added eight tackles and Broderick Williams had three tackles, a sack and an interception.

Prattville Christian (2-3) dropped to 1-2 in 3A Region 2 play, while Alabama Christian (3-2) remained in a four-way tie for second place at 2-1 with Montgomery Academy, Wicksburg and Houston Academy, a game behind Trinity. The Eagles are idle next week, returning to action on Oct. 4 against Houston Academy at Faulkner.

G.W. Carver 35, Dothan 28

DOTHAN -- The Wolverines pulled away from the Wolves in the second half with a pair of touchdowns, then held on for a crucial 35-28 win over Dothan at Rip Hewes Stadium on Friday night.

The win allowed the Wolverines (5-0) to remain in first place in 7A Region 2, tied with unbeaten Auburn and Central-Phenix City, a game ahead of Opelika and two games ahead of Enterprise.

All four region opponents remain on Carver’s schedule, starting with the next game against Enterprise in Cramton Bowl in two weeks. Carver has defeated Enterprise just once in 20 previous meetings.

In Friday’s game against the Wolves, TJ Russell threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown and caught a pass for a touchdown to lead the Wolverines, who broke a 14-14 tie with a touchdown and a 22-21 halftime lead, then scored the first two touchdowns of the second half for a 35-21 lead.

Russell completed 10 of 20 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown, rushed 20 times for 41 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown run, and added a 28-yard reception from TK Norman for another touchdown.

Tre Berry added 63 yards on 16 carries, scoring on runs of 2 and 1 yards. He added a conversion run late in the first half to give the Wolverines a one-point advantage at the half.

In addition to Russell’s touchdown reception, Norman had a 17-yard reception from Russell for a touchdown. Anthony Rogers added two receptions for 29 yards, Javorski Barnes had a 35-yard reception and Channing Cargill added a 42-yard catch.

Defensively, Kendarious Reynolds had six solo tackles, an assist and a sack, Rashad Walker had five solo tackles, an assist and a fumble recovery, Camarre Jackson had three tackles and an assist along with a fumble recovery and Jamares Harris had two tackles, three assists and a fumble recovery.

Billingsley 43, Autaugaville 18

AUTAUGAVILLE -- Kaden Cotton rushed for 243 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries as the Bears rolled past Autaugaville 43-18 in a crucial 1A Region 4 game on Friday night.

Billingsley (2-3) had dropped its first two region games to Autauga Academy and Verbena and needed a win to improve to 1-2 in Region 4 play, a game behind Autauga Academy and Keith and two games behind Maplesville and Verbena. The top four teams advance to the playoffs.

Billingsley quarterback Landon Jones completed 5 of 10 passes for 34 yards, rushed seven times for 68 yards and a touchdown and made 12 tackles from his safety position.

Kyle Boice led the Billingsley defense with 16 tackles and an interception. Defensive end Danny Boice had six tackles and an interception return for a touchdown.

Billingsley returns home to play Isabella in a non-region game next Friday.

Autaugaville (2-3) is idle next week before returning to region play on Oct. 4 at Maplesville.

Tallassee 21, Bullock County 18

TALLASSEE -- This time, the Tigers found a way to close out the game.

Tallassee found itself trailing Bullock County 18-0 but Trent Morris rolled out and found Jaiden McKenzie all alone in the back of the end zone to cap the rally for a 21-18 victory in a crucial 4A Region 3 victory at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium on Friday night.

The Tigers, which trailed at Montgomery Academy in the season opener and couldn’t rally, which led Booker T. Washington but couldn’t hold off the Golden Eagles’ rally, found the right combination in the fourth quarter after the Hornets took a shocking three-touchdown lead in the first half.

Jer’markis Parker ran 13 yards for a touchdown and 40 yards for a touchdown and Tye’Kelis Wallace scored on a 2-yard run to give Bullock County an 18-0 lead.

Roderick “Tiny” Green scored on a 4-yard run and Yuren Rodriguez added the extra point as the Tigers finally got on the scoreboard, but Tallassee still trailed by 11 points entering the fourth quarter.

Joseph Hooks’ 49-yard run trimmed the deficit to 18-13, then Morris connected with McKenzie on a 9-yard touchdown pass, along with the ensuing two-point conversion pass, to complete the comeback.

Parker rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries to lead the Hornets, while Wallace added 98 yards on 19 carries.

Morris completed 8 of 18 passes for 151 yards, with four of those going to Jordan King for 87 yards.

The win was crucial for Tallassee (2-2) to keep pace in the Region 3 race. St. James and Booker T. Washington lead the region at 3-0, followed by Tallassee and Handley at 2-1.

Both teams are idle next week before resuming region play with Tallassee going to Cleburne County and Bullock County returning home to play Handley.

Lowndes Academy 44, Sparta Academy 6

HAYNEVILLE -- Jeremy Hardy rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns to help the Rebels to a 44-6 win over Sparta Academy at Mac Champion Field on Friday night.

Lowndes Academy (3-0) improved to 2-0 in AA Region 1 play and will play host to Edgewood next week, while Sparta Academy (3-2) suffered their first loss in three region games and will have next week off.

Bradyn Stokes, who completed 5 of 12 passes for 116 yards, connected with Huston Hampton on a 29-yard pass and Watters Box added the first of five extra points for a 7-0 lead.

After Brodie Fowler scored for Sparta to trim the lead to 7-6, Hardy took over and scored on a 69-yard run and a 44-yard touchdown reception from Stokes for a 20-6 lead.

Hampton, who rushed for 100 yards on eight carries, added touchdown runs of 52 and 22 yards before Hardy added another score on a 4-yard run to make it 41-6.

Hardy finished with 172 yards on 12 carries.

Box closed out the scoring with a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Crawford Dansby had 67 yards on three receptions.

Ashton Yelder led the Lowndes defense with six tackles, including two for loss. Hampton also had six tackles.

Valiant Cross 26, Edgewood Academy 17

ELMORE -- Valiant Cross pulled off its first win of the season, defeating Edgewood Academy on Friday night in an AAA Region 1 matchup.

Edgewood (1-2) fell to 0-2 in region play and needs to win its remaining region games with Banks on Oct. 11 and Bessemer on Oct. 18 to help its playoff chances.

Valiant Cross (1-3) improved to 1-2 in region play with an Oct. 11 game against Bessemer remaining.

For Edgewood, Brock Whitt was 11 of 19 passing for 120 yards. He also had 18 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown.

Avery Haskew had four receptions for 43 yards, along with a touchdown run, and Grayson Jones had four catches for 50 yards and also hit a 25-yard field goal.

Landon Smith had an interception for the Wildcats as well.

Edgewood will travel to Hayneville to play Lowndes Academy next Friday, while Valiant Cross will travel to Greensboro to play Southern Academy next week.

Beauregard 31, Elmore County 13

BEAUREGARD -- Beauregard scored three consecutive touchdowns to wipe out an early Elmore County lead and hand the Panthers their first loss, 31-13, on Friday night.

The win allowed Beauregard (4-1) to keep pace with Central-Clay County at 3-0 in 5A Region 4 play. Elmore County (3-1) is one of three teams tied for second place in the region at 1-1.

Cub Jones completed 15 of 25 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown and Kajaden Holloway rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries to lead Beauregard.

Caleb Spivey’s 22-yard pass to Tate McNeely and McNeely’s extra point gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead, but Holloway scored on a 5-yard run to tie the game and Jones threw a touchdown pass to put Beauregard in front for good at 13-7.

Braxton Daar added a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter and Holloway scored on a 13-yard run, along with a two-point conversion run, for a 24-7 lead.

Gage Davis connected with Luke Reinert on a 13-yard pass for Elmore County, but McNeely’s extra-point attempt was blocked.

Holloway closed out the scoring with a 27-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Eli Thames led Elmore County with 76 yards rushing on 11 carries, but the Panthers struggled to keep the ground game going. McNeely added 77 yards on five receptions.

Beauregard remains home to play host to Andalusia in a non-region game next week, while Elmore County is idle before hosting Central-Clay County in a region game on Oct. 4. 

Pike Road 39, P. Julian 35

PIKE ROAD - The Patriots jumped out to a 27-0 lead, lost it by the end of the first half and needed a score late in the game to secure a key Class 6A Region 2 win over the Phoenix on Friday at Patriots Field.

The Phoenix fought back to trail by six points in the final minutes of the first half but Pike Road pushed the lead back to 33-21 after an interception and score by Jabarron Tyus and a touchdown pas from Cason Myers to Elias Holtzclaw.

But a 74-yard strike from Bryson McGrew to Johnnie Darby and a Brendarion Hooks run of 12 yards gave the Phoenix the lead late in the third quarter.

The Phoenix had a chance to add to the lead by recovering an onside kick and drove to the Pike Road 3-yard line but a number of miscues including several penalties forced Julian back to its own 35-yard line where it had the ball fourth-and-goal.

JaMichael Jones would score the eventual game-winner early in the fourth quarter.

Julian had one more chance on its final possession driving the ball to the Patriots’ 30-yard line but McGrew’s final pass sailed over the back of the end zone on the last play.

Pike Road (3-2, 2-0) plays a non-region game against Opelika next week. Julian (2-3, 1-2) has an open date before playing at Rehobeth on Oct. 4.