FRIDAY NIGHT RECAP (Week 8): Trinity, MA, ACA clinch playoff berths; Holtville wins in OT
COMBINED REPORTS
Trinity 40, Wicksburg 0
NEWTON -- The Trinity defense forced five turnovers and blocked a pair of punts to sew up a playoff berth with a 40-0 shutout of Wicksburg on Friday.
The Wildcats (7-2) improved to 5-1 in 3A Region 2 play and can finish first, second or third in region play based on their game next week at Houston Academy and Montgomery Academy’s game with Alabama Christian. Should Montgomery Academy win, Trinity will finish second with a win over Houston Academy or third with a loss to the Raiders.
The top two teams in the region will be home for the first round of the state playoffs, while the third and fourth seeds will travel.
Brazier Carpenter returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown and Fleming Hall and Xavier Boswell also had interceptions, giving the Wildcats 15 this season and 37 over the last two seasons.
Trinity also had two fumble recoveries and a pair of blocked punts that set up scores.
Fleming Hall scored a pair of touchdowns out of Wildcat formation, had a team-high eight tackles on defense, blocked a punt and intercepted a pass against the Panthers.
Bo Stewart had seven tackles and blocked a punt, John Michael Cox had six tackles, Reed Daniel had five tackles and a sack and Chase Parker had two tackles for loss, a sack and four quarterback pressures.
Parker led the rushing attack with 46 yards on eight carries, while Matthew Schroll had 33 yards on eight carries. Brandon Boswell added a rushing touchdown.
Patton Mitchell completed 10 of 25 passes for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns with one interception. Boswell had six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown, while tight end John Morris had two catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Wicksburg was eliminated from playoff consideration with the loss.
Montgomery Academy 34, Prattville Christian 6
PRATTVILLE -- Freshman Reid McBride threw four touchdown passes to set a school record and secure the Eagles a berth in the state playoffs with a 34-6 win over Prattville Christian Academy at Panther Stadium on Friday night.
Montgomery Academy (8-1) improved to 5-1 in 3A Region 2 play and can earn the top seed in the region with a win against Alabama Christian Academy next week at Faulkner’s John Mark Stallings Field.
McBride completed 7 of 13 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 26 for the season. That mark set the school’s single-season record, breaking the record set by Trey Lindsey in 2018.
DJ Vinson had an incredible 223 yards on just three receptions, with all three going for touchdowns.
Vinson now has 169 career receptions for 3,543 yards and 33 touchdowns, moving up to ninth place in the Alabama High School Athletic Association record books for career receiving yardage. In the process, the MA senior passed a trio of Trinity receivers -- Tommy Trott, Mark White and Robert Adams -- and is now the all-time leading receiver in career yardage in the Capital City Conference.
Mac Benefield had two receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 51 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Jarrett Friendly added two catches for 21 yards.
Defensively, linebacker Knox Wingate had 11 tackles, Vinson had seven tackles, Benefield had six tackles, Braden Gordon had six tackles, including two for loss, and Mitch Corley had six tackles.
David Whisenhunt had four tackles and a pair of pass breakups and Friendly had three tackles and an interception.
Prattville Christian (2-7) lost its fifth consecutive game and dropped to 1-5 in region play. The Panthers close out the season with a home game against Slocomb next week.
Alabama Christian 71, Slocomb 38
SLOCOMB -- A week after tying the school record for most points in a game, the Eagles set a new standard, racing past Slocomb 71-38 and into the state playoffs with a win over the Red Tops on Friday.
The win by Alabama Christian (5-3) gave the Eagles a 4-2 record in 3A Region 2 play and, coupled with Trinity’s win at Wicksburg, assured the Eagles of a spot in the state playoffs in three weeks.
David Ortiz-Ramirez scored on runs of 27, 28, 43 and 53 yards in the first quarter to stake the Eagles to a 29-14 lead. Ortiz-Ramirez finished with 197 yards and five touchdowns on seven carries, adding a 39-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter that gave ACA a 50-22 lead at the half.
Micah Merritt scooped up a punt that was blocked by Ladarius Moore and returned it 24 yards for another touchdown early in the second quarter and Christian Snipes connected with AC Walters on a 34-yard touchdown pass just 78 seconds later in the quarter.
Snipes and Walters teamed up on a 60-yard scoring toss 23 seconds into the second half and TJ Merritt added a 15-yard interception return on the Red Tops’ next possession to make it 64-22 with 11:23 remaining in the third quarter.
Teilan Long ran 58 yards for the Eagles’ final touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Snipes completed 10 of 16 passes for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns, most of that coming on six completions to Walters, who had 182 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Jackson Burton had six tackles, Levi Summers had six tackles and an interception and Mekhi Gardner had five tackles.
Alabama Christian returns home to host Montgomery Academy in a region game next Friday at Faulkner’s John Mark Stallings Field, then closes out the regular season the following week at Maplesville.
Catholic 50, Greenville 14
GREENVILLE -- Kingston Preyear completed 10 of 15 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown and Giovanni Hayner rushed for three touchdowns as the Knights extended their winning streaks with a 50-14 romp in Tiger Stadium on Friday night.
Catholic (8-0) extended its winning streak to 23 games, its regular season winning streak to 42 games dating to a 2020 loss to Montgomery Academy and its region winning streak to 39 games dating to the last regular season game in 2018.
The Knights (5-0 in 5A Region 2 play) can wrap up their sixth consecutive season with an unblemished region record by winning at Andalusia next week. An Andalusia victory, in addition to snapping Catholic’s streak, would leave three teams atop the region standings.
Half of Preyear’s completions were to JJ Williams, who had 135 yards on five receptions. Michael Sheffield had two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Hayner rushed for 85 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, while fellow tailback Josh Harriell had 145 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Defensively, safety Jo Pierce had 10 tackles, including one for loss, and an interception, his seventh of the year. Linebackers Myles Khatri (11 tackles, including four for loss) and Charles Chappelle (eight tackles, including three for loss) held the Tigers in check.
Auburn 29, G.W. Carver 14
Auburn took a 19-0 lead early in the second quarter and held off the Wolverines down the stretch to all but eliminate Carver from the playoffs in a 29-14 win at Cramton Bowl on Friday night.
The Wolverines (5-3) dropped to 3-3 in Class 7A Region 2, tied with Enterprise for fourth place. Because of the Wildcats’ win over Carver earlier this season, Carver must defeat Opelika next Thursday at Cramton Bowl and Enterprise must lose to Smiths Station on Friday for the Wolverines to advance to the postseason.
Auburn’s Omar Mabson scored twice and finished with 57 yards rushing. Quarterback Jackson Kilgore had 205 yards and a touchdown passing. Antonio Welch had five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Carver senior TJ Russell completed 31 of 52 passes for 408 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s game but also threw two interceptions.
Alabama commitment Anthony Rogers had 10 receptions for 113 yards, while TK Norman had four catches for 48 yards. Niking Patterson had six receptions for 65 yards and Zion Crumpton had seven receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Tre Berry rushed for 57 yards on 12 carries.
Defensively, Camarre Jackson had six tackles, a pass defensed and an interception and Maurice Connor had six tackles.
Holtville 27, Valley 20 (OT)
HOLTVILLE - Hunter Chavis scored three times, including the game winner in overtime to lift Holtville to a key win over Valley in Class 5A, Region 4 action Friday at Boykin-Chapman Field.
The win puts the Bulldogs (3-5, 2-3) in a position to earn a playoff bid next week with either with a win over Marbury or a loss by Valley (3-5, 2-3), which plays Beauregard.
Quarterback Jacob Burgess passed for 134 yards while Cedrick Croskey rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown for Holtville. Tyler Hackett led the defense with eight tackles and an interception. Holtville finished with 2983 yards in total offense.
The Bulldogs will travel to Marbury next week with the playoff spot on the line.
Elmore County 30, Marbury 7
ECLECTIC -- The Panthers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away from winless Marbury and clinch a playoff berth with a 30-7 victory over the Bulldogs at Burt-Haynie Field on Friday.
Elmore County (5-2) improved to 3-2 in 5A Region 4 and secured the third seed in the upcoming playoffs with the win. The Panthers close out region play at Sylacauga next week. Marbury (0-8) dropped to 0-5 in region play with a home game against Holtville next week.
Gage Davis scored on a 9-yard run and Tyler Payton added a 32-yard touchdown run as the Panthers built a 14-0 lead. Marbury cut the lead in half with a kickoff return for a touchdown, but Elmore County scored twice in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Caleb Spivey tackled a Marbury runner in the end zone for a safety, then scored on a 1-yard run for a 23-7 lead. Parker Hobbs added a 3-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.
Eli Thames led the Elmore County offense with 100 yards on 14 carries. Hobbs added 47 yards on eight carries and Payton had 39 yards on five carries.
Notasulga 35, Billingsley 30
NOTASULGA -- Kaden Cotton ran for a touchdown, caught a pass for a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Bears to a much-needed region victory in a 35-30 loss to the Blue Devils on Friday.
The loss dropped Billingsley (3-6) to 2-4 in Class 1A Region 4, but the Bears can still reach the playoffs with a win at Keith next week, coupled with an Autauga Academy win over Notasulga.
Cotton rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, had two receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 80 yards for another score, part of a 442-yard effort from the Billingsley offense.
Landon Jones completed 10 of 18 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Kyle Boice was on the receiving end of five of Jones’ completions, accounting for 140 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Jones had 13 tackles, defensive end Danny Boice had 11 tackles and a sack and linebacker Caleb Massey had 10 tackles.
Autauga Academy 52, Ellwood Christian 0
SELMA -- Tayden Allen ran for five touchdowns in his first substantial action at tailback as the Generals rolled past Ellwood Christian 52-0 on Thursday.
Allen, inserted into the lineup to replace the injured Cam Wright, helped the Generals to a quick lead as Autauga scored three touchdowns in the first three minutes of the game to win their fourth consecutive game.
Cody Tornow added a touchdown and Carson Trotter scored a touchdown to help Autauga improve to 5-1 in Class 1A Region 4.
Autauga Academy (7-1) will travel to Notasulga for a region game next Friday.