Lowndes Academy advances to second-straight Class A title game

Lowndes Academy quarterback Clayton Hussey drops back for a pass in the Rebels’ win in the AISA semifinals on Friday. (Dylan Hurst)

By DYLAN HURST

HAYNEVILLE -- The Lowndes Academy defense was lights out all night in the Rebels’ AISA matchup with Southern Academy, intercepting five passes to shut out the Cougars 35-0 at Mac Champion Field on Friday night.

“We’ve been thriving and really pushing on our defense, and really since Patrician (a 34-6 loss on Oct. 6) we’ve felt like our defense has been up and down,” said Lowndes head coach Shayne Moye. “For the last two weeks we’ve been really getting after them and tonight it showed, with a bunch of athletes making plays.”

For the first time in school history, the Rebels will be making back-to-back trips to the state finals. Lowndes (10-2) will be playing Jackson (12-0) on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Cramton Bowl for the Class A championship. Last year, Lowndes defeated Jackson 21-6 to win its first state title since 1997.

“We’ve all worked our butts off and this is the first night in four weeks where we’ve been at full capacity because of injuries,” Moye said. “Tonight, this is the football team we signed up to coach and I’m super proud of them.”

On a night where the defense shined, the offense also showed out, scoring five touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Clayton Hussey completed six of his nine passing attempts for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Senior quarterback and wide receiver Chase Rudder ran the ball five times for 85 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Kasen Dismukes ran the ball 13 times for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Senior wide receiver Luke Lovell caught three passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Junior receiver and cornerback Scott Stinson caught one pass for 66 yards and a touchdown, while also getting two interceptions on defense. Junior running back Clayton Dansby caught a 3 yard touchdown pass.