FRIDAY RECAP (Week 9): Tallassee earns first region title in 10 years; Julian, Elmore County qualify for playoffs
COMBINED REPORTS
Houston Academy 28, Trinity 21
DOTHAN -- Kadyn Mitchell threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Glover with 1:33 remaining to break a 21-21 tie and give Houston Academy the win over Trinity on Friday night.
The win gave the Raiders (8-1) the second seed in Class 3A Region 2, allowing them to play the third-seeded team among a group that includes Dadeville, Beulah and Lee-Scott at home in the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks.
Trinity (7-3) finished third in 3A Region 2 with a 5-2 record and will travel to Randolph County in the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks.
St. James 42, Munford 24
MUNFORD -- Chase Perry tied a school record with five touchdown passes, and ran for a sixth, as the Trojans earned a tie for the Class 4A Region 3 championship and secured a first round home playoff game as the second seed with a 42-24 victory at Munford.
Perry completed 20 of 29 passes for 287 yards with one interception and ran 2 yards for another score. His touchdown passes covered 27 and 5 yards to Braylen Corley, 37 and 17 yards to Mason Craig and 22 yards to Jackson Clifford.
Grant Phillips carried 14 times for 73 yards, while Ford Bass added 38 yards on 10 carries.
Backup quarterback Will Blackwell, son of head coach Aubrey Blackwell, completed his first varsity pass with a 34 yarder to Nelson Aman to convert third down and 28.
Dylan Hines converted all six extra point attempts and recovered a fumble.
Tallassee captured the top seed in the region in head-to-head competition with the Trojans and both teams will play host to a first-round playoff game in two weeks from a group that includes Mobile Christian, Orange Beach and W.S. Neal, which all finished 3-3 in Region 1.
Tallassee 48, Talladega 7
TALLASSEE -- Trent Morris threw three touchdown passes as the Tigers completed their worst-to-first run with a 48-7 win over Talladega at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium on Friday.
The Tigers, 1-9 a year ago, captured the Class 4A Region 3 championship with Friday’s win and will play host to a first-round playoff game in two weeks from a group that includes Mobile Christian, Orange Beach and W.S. Neal, which all finished 3-3 in Region 1.
The title is the first for the Tigers program since 2014.
Morris completed 6 of 9 passes for 126 yards, throwing touchdown passes of 8 yards to Kevin Mason, 10 yards to Jordan King and 17 yards to Chase Chumley.
Yuren Rodriguez added field goals of 23 and 47 yards in the first quarter and Tiny Green had a 26-yard touchdown run for a 20-0 lead.
Morris then connected with King and Chumley in the second quarter and Jaiden Gordon added a 68-yard touchdown run for a 41-0 halftime lead.
King added a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter to complete the homecoming win.
Talladega’s Jerondez Moten had a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Tallassee (6-2) extended its winning streak to five games and will play host to Holtville next week to close out the regular season.
P. Julian 49, Park Crossing 6
The Phoenix earned a playoff berth win a win over the Thunderbirds and the Wetumpka win over Stanhope Elmore on Friday.
Julian (4-4, 3-3 6A Region 2) will be the No. 4 seed and will travel to Hueytown in two weeks. The Phoenix close out the regular season next week at Benjamin Russell.
Park Crossing (0-8, 0-6) closes out the season next week at home against Greenville.
Elmore County 36, Sylacauga 7
SYLACAUGA -- Gage Davis threw three touchdown passes and Caleb Spivey added a pair of touchdown runs as the Panthers defeated Sylacauga in a region game on Friday.
Davis threw a 54-yard pass to Jacob Baker to tie the game, then connected with Justin Brooks on a 17-yard touchdown pass to give Elmore County the lead.
Spivey added a 22-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 halftime lead, then scored on a 29-yard run as part of a 15-point third quarter.
Davis hit Tate McNeely with a 55-yard touchdown for the game’s final points.
Davis completed 7 of 10 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns. McNeely led the receivers with three catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Eli Thames rushed for 110 yards on 12 carries, while Spivey had 53 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
Elmore County (6-2) returns home to play Chilton County next Friday, then goes on the road to Charles Henderson for the first round of the state playoffs on Nov. 8.
Holtville 28, Marbury 0
MARBURY -- Daishaun Zeigler rushed for a pair of touchdowns and the Bulldogs pitched their first shutout of the season to earn a playoff berth with a 28-0 shutout of winless Marbury on Friday night.
Holtville (4-5) captured the fourth seed in 5A Region 4 and will play at Catholic in the first round of the 5A state playoffs in two weeks.
Zeigler rushed for 104 yards and Jacob Burgess threw for 147 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Headley, in the win over the Bulldogs.
Jayce Price had an interception and Brock Godwin had a sack and an interception to lead the Holtville defense. Arkevious Turner had a pair of sacks for Holtville, while both Owen Jackson and AJ Reeves had fumble recoveries.
Holtville closes out the regular season next Friday at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium against Tallassee.
Marbury (0-9) closes out the 2024 season next Friday at Elberta.
Lowndes Academy 54, Valiant Cross 6
Jeremy Hardy and Crawford Dansby each scored a pair of first-half touchdowns as the Rebels cruised to their 27th consecutive victory with a 54-6 win over Valiant Cross on Thursday.
Lowndes (8-0) will close out the regular season next week in Selma against Morgan Academy, then return home to play Jackson Academy in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs on Nov. 8.
Hardy rushed for 141 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns in the win. Dansby rushed for 44 yards on six carries, scoring on second-quarter runs of 11 and 9 yards.
Huston Hampton added 87 yards on five carries and Sanders Harrell added a 21-yard touchdown.
Bradyn Stokes completed 3 of 7 passes for 52 yards, with all three completions to Hampton.
Dansby led the defense with 11 tackles, while Watters Box had a pair of interceptions.
Edgewood Academy 33, Abbeville Christian 14
ABBEVILLE -- Brock Whitt completed 5 of 8 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, along with an interception, as the Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over the Generals on Friday night.
Grayson Jones had four receptions for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns on offense and an interception on defense.
Colton Lashley had one catch for 60 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 35-yard touchdown.
Landon Smith had three carries for 47yards and a touchdown. On offense, while making six tackles, including two for loss, on defense.
Parker Shaw had four carries for 42 yards for the Wildcats.
Defensively, Cooper Freeman led the Wildcats with 11 tackles.
Edgewood (3-5) returns home to close out the 2024 season next week against Fort Dale.
Abbeville Christian (2-6) remains home to play Chambers Academy next week, then travels to South Choctaw in the first round of the Class AA playoffs in two weeks.
Keith 38, Billingsley 36 (OT)
ORRVILLE -- Both Landon Jones and Kaden Cotton were responsible for four touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as the Bears closed out the season with a 38-36 loss in overtime to Keith on Friday night.
Jones completed 16 of 24 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 55 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Cotton rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, while catching six passes from Jones for 55 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Jones’ favorite receiver, Kyle Boice, had nine receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears rolled up 482 total yards.
Defensively, Jones had 16 tackles from his strong safety position, while Jake Rawlinson had 13 tackles and a fumble recovery. Danny Boice added 10 tackles and a sack and Caleb Massey had eight tackles and a sack.