PREP RECAP (WEEK 0): Prattville handles Wetumpka; Lee falls late; Valiant Cross wins first-ever game (UPDATED)

COMBINED REPORTS

Prattville 40, Wetumpka 10

Prattville rolled up 392 yards and got three field goals from Collin Rogers to jump out to a 16-0 lead and hold off the Indians 40-10 in the 15th annual AHSAA Kickoff Classic at Cramton Bowl on Friday night.

E.J. Ousley connected with Al’Terious Bates on a 42-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter before Rogers added field goals of 44, 28 and 43 yards to give the Lions a 16-0 lead in the third quarter. Wetumpka finally got on the scoreboard with 24 seconds remaining in the third period on a 23-yard Alex Londell field goal. 

The Lions blew open the contest with a 25-yard Albert Taggart run and a 1-yard Keondre Powell run. Wetumpka found the end zone midway through the fourth period on a 1-yard run by Stone Minnifield.

Ousley completed 16-of-24 passes for 270 yards, with Bates on the receiving end of three passes for 81 yards. Taggart led the rushing attack with 54 yards on 16 carries. C.J. Toles led the Prattville defense with eight stops.

Wetumpka quarterback Robert Rose was 8-of-16 passing for 100 yards for the Indians. Jalen Johnson had 12 tackles to pace Wetumpka (0-1), which returns home to play Tallassee next week.

Prattville (1-0) travels to Millbrook to play Stanhope Elmore.

Billingsley 13, Prattville Christian 13 (suspended)

BILLINGSLEY – Levi Arington and Boobie McCary each rushed for a touchdown for the Bears, who were locked in a 13-13 tie with Prattville Christian Academy on Friday night at Mims Field when intense lightning brought the game to a halt with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

After a lengthy delay, both coaches agreed to resume the game on Thursday at 7 p.m. Prattville Christian was scheduled to play host to Ellwood Christian next Friday but the Selma private school elected not to play football this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. Billingsley was scheduled to play at Vincent next Friday but that team is under quarantine for COVID-19.  

Auburn 46, Park Crossing 28

AUBURN – J.T. Rogers scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half as the Tigers built a comfortable 24-0 lead to spoil the debut of new Park Crossing coach L.C. Cole.

Rogers scored on runs of 2, 16 and 5 yards as Auburn rolled out to a 46-14 lead.

Adaryll Lewis scored on runs of 3, 4 and 91 yards for Park Crossing (0-1), which travels to Birmingham to play Ramsay next week.

Daphne 26, R.E. Lee 19

DAPHNE - Veontai Williams’ 80-yard run with just over three minutes remaining in the game lifted Daphne to a win over visiting Lee Friday in the season opener for both teams.

Reginald Davis scored three times for the Generals, twice on the ground and one coming on a 56-yard reception. He finished with 183 yards rushing. Quarterback Jakel Williams finished with 154 yards passing  with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Lee (0-1) faces Jeff Davis in its home opener next Friday.

Elmore County 27, Moody 7

MOODY – Payton Stephenson rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another to lead the Panthers to an opening-season win over Moody on Friday.

Sean Darnell added 88 yards and a score on 16 carries while Cole Boothe had two catches including one for a score. Reece Baker had 12 tackles and an interception while Stone Spencer had 11 tackles and a sack for the Panthers defense.

The Panthers (1-0) travel to Dadeville next Friday.

Opelika 20, Stanhope Elmore 17

MILLBROOK – Eric Watts scored a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner, to rally the Bulldogs past Stanhope Elmore in the season opener for both teams on Friday. 

The game was a late coronavirus addition, added after Selma elected not to play football this fall, giving Stanhope Elmore an open date, and Opelika’s season opener with a Georgia team was pushed back by COVID-19.

Stanhope Elmore took a lead on a 7-yard run by Antonio Trone, a D.J. McGhee reception and a field goal that gave the Mustangs a 17-14 lead before Watts disappointed the crowd at Foshee-Henderson Stadium.

Stanhope Elmore (0-1) remains home next week to play 7A Prattville. 

Autaugaville 1, R.C. Hatch 0

AUTAUGAVILLE -- The Autaugaville Eagles opened the season with a forfeit win over R.C. Hatch, marking the first time since 2016 that the Eagles opened the season with a victory.

Autaugaville (1-0) remains home next week to play Talladega County Central.

Sidney Lanier 12, Jeff Davis 8 (Saturday)

The Sidney Lanier Poets scored with 1:20 left in the third quarter and then withstood two late drives by Jeff Davis to hold on to a win and spoil the debut of new JD coach Rory Bell at Cramton Bowl on Saturday.

Braylon Jones’ 27-yard pass to Jacorian Wilson gave the Poets the lead for the first time in the game but the Vols threatened to retake the lead in the fourth quarter only to see drives end deep in Lanier territory.

After a scoreless first half, JD took the lead on a 4-yard run by De’Wontay Peterson with 6:16 left in the third quarter. Marcedric Brown added a two-point conversion to give the Vols an 8-0 lead.

Lanier answered less than a minute later when Tacaris Bozeman broke free for a 72 yard run. The Poets missed their two-point try and trailed by two, 8-6, with 5:25 left in the third.

After Lanier took the lead late in the third, Jeff Davis drove deep into Lanier territory but was turned away, once after reaching the 2 yard line. In each case, penalties ended the threat.

Bozeman finished with 84 yards on 13 carries and a score. Jones passed for 95 yards on 8 of 17 attempts.

Peterson led the Vols with 80 yards rushing while Ernest George added 74 yards.

Jeff Davis (0-1) returns to Cramton Bowl next Friday to face Robert E. lee while Lanier (1-0) plays in two weeks at Opelika.

AISA

Macon East 41, Lowndes Academy 8

CECIL – Carlos Carter scored on runs of 79, 68 and 3 yards to lead Macon East Academy to an easy 41-8 victory over Lowndes Academy in the season opener for both teams on Friday night.

Carter rushed for 176 yards on seven carries, including his 79-yard run in the first quarter that gave the Knights a 7-0 lead. Macon East scored twice in the second quarter for a 20-6 halftime lead, twice more in the third quarter and wrapped up the scoring on Luke Noffsinger’s 34-yard scoring run.

Kirkland Pugh was 9 of 14 for 200 yards and a touchdown and added a 3-yard scoring run. Backup Josh Browder was 2 of 2 for 84 yards and a touchdown. Eric Lawson had three receptions for 90 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, Tyler Daniels had three receptions for 43 yards and Tanner Moore added a 33-yard catch.

Teron Wright had 46 yards rushing on five carries, while Noffsinger had 44 yards on five carries. 

Defensively for Macon East, Lane Goree had seven tackles and a sack, Wright and Moore each had six tackles and a sack, Landon Mobley had five tackles and Tyson Amaya had four tackles. Lawson had two interceptions along with a pair of tackles.

Macon East (1-0) remains home to play Valiant Cross Academy on Thursday. Lowndes (10-1) returns home to play Meadowview Christian on Thursday.

Valiant Cross Academy 21, Lakeside School 16

EUFAULA – Antavious Jackson scored twice and Corey Brown added another score as Valiant Cross won the school’s first-ever varsity football game with a late rally in the final minutes to nip the Chiefs 21-16.

Valiant Cross trailed by 10 points with 4:30 remaining, but came back with two late touchdowns to win the season opener for both teams. 

Jackson scored one touchdown rushing and the other on a reception to lead Valiant Cross (1-0), which remains on the road with a game at Macon East Academy on Thursday.

Lakeside (0-1) is open before traveling to Cornerstone on Sept. 4 for the region opener.

Edgewood Academy 24, Southern Academy 21

GREENSBORO -- Alex Johnson completed 10 of 29 passes for 249 yards, including touchdown passes of 11 and 27 yards, and added 12 carries for 75 yards, including a 14-yard scoring run, as Edgewood defeated Southern 24-21 in the season opener for both teams.

The Wildcats trailed 14-3 with six minutes remaining in the first half when play was halted for lightning. When play resumed, Edgewood scored a pair of quick touchdowns to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at the half.

Conner Bailey had four catches for 140 yards for the Wildcats. Carson Peavey had a pair of catches for 37 yards, including an 11-yard scoring reception, and led the defense with six tackles. Blaine Guthrie also had six tackles for Edgewood.

Dawson Owens added a 27-yard scoring reception for Edgewood (1-0), which travels to Hope Hull to play Hooper next week. Southern (0-1) remains home to play South Choctaw next week.

Hooper Academy 45, Coosa Valley 6

HOPE HULL – Tamarcus Hardaway rushed for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Paul Menefee added two more scores as the Colts made a winner out of Marty Baker’s coaching debut with a rout of Coosa Valley.

Riley Wood led the defense with eight tackles, an interception and a sack. Dalton Hooper added six tackles and a sack.

Hooper (1-0) remains home to face Edgewood next week, while Coosa Valley (0-1) travels to Pickens.

Pickens Academy 41, Banks Academy 40

BIRMINGHAM -- Rafe Brown caught a 20-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left and Chandler Box ran in the two-point conversion to give Pickens Academy a 41-40 victory over Banks Academy on Friday night.

Banks Academy was playing its first game as a varsity football program. The Pirates snapped a five-game losing streak in the process and won a season opener for the first time since 2017.

Pickens capped the rally by recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and running out the clock. 

Box finished with 94 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, followed by Lane Goodman with 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries. Aidan Johnson was 5 of 12 for 108 yards and three touchdowns for the Pirates. His top receivers were Caleb Robbins, with two receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown; Bodhi Parham, with two catches for 28 yards and a touchdown; and Brown, who made his only catch a memorable one.

Defensively, Box had seven tackles and Goodman had five to lead Pickens, Parham, Landon Collins and Grayson Phillips each had a fumble recovery.

Pickens Academy (1-0) returns home to play Coosa Valley next week. Banks Academy (0-1) will travel to Cornerstone for a Thursday game.

Chambers Academy 48, Lee-Scott Academy 7

AUBURN -- Payton Allen completed 14 of 27 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns to lead Chambers Academy to a 42-7 win at Lee-Scott in the season opener for both teams on Thursday.

Chambers, after five consecutive trips to the Class A finals, moved up to AA this season but didn’t have any problem with the AAA Warriors in the Rebels’ first game as an AA program since 2007.

T.Y. Trammell had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and caught four passes from Allen for 72 yards and another score. Jeremy Conway led the receiving corps with 106 yards on five receptions, while John White added 73 yards and a touchdown on just three catches. 

Jordan Benbrook led the Chambers’ rushing attack with 55 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.  

Defensively, Dean Sheffield led Chambers with eight tackles, followed by Jacob Oliver with seven tackles and a fumble recovery, Hunter Burdette with seven tackles and a fumble recovery, Jarquez Banks with six tackles, an interception and a sack and Kross Colley with five tackles and a sack.

Chambers (1-0) returns home to play Abbeville Christian next Friday, while Lee-Scott is idle before traveling to Glenwood on Sept. 4 for the region opener.