PREP RECAP: St. James earns tough win over Southside; Hooper falls in close loss to Crenshaw
COMBINED REPORTS
St. James 49, Southside 48
SELMA -- KJ Jackson threw four touchdown passes and rushed for two more, but it was Jake Huff’s perfect effort as a placekicker that made the difference as the Trojans escaped with a wild 49-48 win over the Panthers in a 3A Region 3 battle on Friday night.
Jackson completed 11 of 20 passes for 221 yards and four touchdown passes -- two to Huff and two to Pruitt Conner -- giving the Arkansas commitment 101 touchdown passes in his career.
Huff, in addition to his touchdown receptions of 21 and 30 yards, was 7 of 7 on extra-point attempts, which proved to be critical in holding off the Panthers. Southside made a trio of two-point conversions, then came up short on the final four conversion attempts.
Jackson also rushed for 22 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries.
Conner had touchdown receptions of 5 and 13 yards in the win. Paxton Wingard returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown for the Trojans as well.
Southside's Marquavius Reese threw four touchdown passes of his own, rushed for two more, and added one two-point conversion run.
St. James (4-1) improved to 3-0 in region play, but has now surrendered 104 points in its three region games. The Trojans return home to play 5A Charles Henderson next Friday at Carlisle Field.
Alabama Christian 49, Sumter Central 18
YORK -- Alabama Christian rallied from two first-half deficits with three touchdowns in the final nine minutes of the first half to pull away for a 49-18 region victory over Sumter Central on Friday night.
The Eagles got a safety and a 2-yard run from AC Walters in the final seconds of the first quarter for a 9-6 lead, only to fall behind early in the second quarter. David Ortiz-Ramirez scored on a 10-yard run with 8:25 left in the first half to give ACA the lead for good and Walters added runs of 50 and 1 yards to give the Eagles a comfortable 31-12 lead at the half.
Walters rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries and completed 2 of 4 passes for another 47 yards in the win.
His backup, Christian Snipes, completed 6 of 11 passes for 49 yards and a pair of touchdowns, hitting tight end Jackson Burton with scoring passes of 9 and 3 yards in the second half.
Noah Shack rushed for 48 yards on four carries, including a 9-yard run with 5:04 remaining for the Eagles’ final touchdown.
Ortiz-Ramirez had 69 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
Bryant Swindle added 47 yards on a pair of receptions.
Defensively, linebacker William Milner led the way with 11 tackles. Lane Smith had eight tackles and Jaylan McCovery, Jackson Burton and Blake Shaw all had five tackles each.
Alabama Christian (2-2) evened its 3A Region 3 record at 1-1 and will step out of region play next week with a game at Montgomery Academy. Sumter Central (2-2) fell to 1-2 in region play.
Catholic 49, Geneva 0
GENEVA -- Josh Griffin rushed for five touchdowns as Catholic won its 30th consecutive region game dating back to 2019. Half of those have been shutouts, including Friday’s 49-0 win at Hugh Owen Stadium.
Catholic senior Caleb McCreary, a Troy commitment, completed 10 of 19 passes for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding another 55 yards on a pair of punt returns.
Griffin rushed for 107 yards on 10 carries, with half of those ending up in the end zone.
Courtney Williams led the receivers with four receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Jo Pierce had eight tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble to lead the Knights. Rickie Williams added seven tackles and a pass breakup and Harrison Rodgers had six tackles, including two for loss and a pair of sacks, and a fumble recovery.
It was the Knights’ 29th consecutive regular-season win dating back to 2020.
Catholic (5-0) remains on the road next week, playing at Demopolis.
G.W. Carver 20, Stanhope Elmore 6
MILLBROOK - The Wolverines overcame an early 3-0 deficit with three touchdown passes from Terrell Russell to earn a key Class 6A, Region 2 victory over the Mustangs at Foshee-Henderson Stadium on Friday.
Russell threw two TD passes in the first half that gave the Wolverines a 12-3 lead. After Stanhope Elmore cut the lead to 12-6 on a Colby Beyer field goal the Wolverines answered with a Russell pass to Tristan Norman to extend the lead back to 14.
Jamyran Bell and Niking Patterson also had receptions for scores for Carver, which improved to 4-1, 3-0 in region play.
Carver returns home next week to face P. Julian (Lee) while Stanhope Elmore goes to Prattville.
AISA
Lowndes Academy 47, Abbeville Christian 0
ABBEVILLE -- Clayton Hussey went 5 for 5 for 144 yards and three touchdowns to lead Lowndes Academy to its fifth straight win, but the defense stole the show again by pitching its fifth consecutive shutout in a 47-0 win over the Generals.
The Rebels held Abbeville Christian to one first down and minus 9 total yards. Kasen Dismukes had nine tackles to lead the defensive effort. Cooper Dansby had eight tackles, including three for loss, and Hussey had eight tackles, while Ashton Yelder had seven stops.
Hussey gave Lowndes all the points it would need in the first quarter on an 82-yard touchdown pass to Scott Stinson for a 6-0 lead. He added touchdown passes of 26 and 23 yards to Dansby to help the Rebels to a 34-0 halftime lead.
Dansby, Braydn Stokes, Jon Ross Hollingshead and Huston Hampton all had touchdown runs for the Rebels.
Dismukes led the rushing attack with 58 yards on six carries. Hampton added 56 yards on seven carries.
Lowndes’ 5-0 start is the best since 2006.
The Rebels have never shut out five opponents in a season, registering a program-best four shutouts and a forfeit win in 2004.
Lowndes will travel to Grove Hill to play Clarke Prep next week, while Abbeville (0-5) remains home next week to play Sparta Academy.
Crenshaw Christian 34, Hooper Academy 32
HOPE HULL -- Ron McGinty threw four touchdown passes but the Colts’ rally fell short as Crenshaw Christian held on for a 34-32 win over Hooper at Davis-Henry Field on Friday night.
The Colts (3-2) were trying to extend their winning streak to four games for the first time since 2002, but couldn’t overcome an early deficit against the Cougars.
McGinty did his part, throwing four touchdown passes, rushing for 71 yards and another touchdown, making seven tackles on defense and blocking a kick. Lucas Spellman had three of the receiving touchdowns while amassing 50 yards in the air. Luke Moseley had the other touchdown catch for 37 yards.
Defensively, Kadyn Lumley had a team-high eight tackles, followed by McGinty, Ellis Fleming and Owen Stockinger with seven tackles each.
Lumley had 53 yards rushing, followed by Christ McCoy with 33 rushing yards. Judah Petty added 24 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards.
Hooper remains home to face Escambia Academy next week.
Crenshaw Christian (4-2) snapped a two-game losing streak. The Cougars will travel to Cecil to play Macon East next week.