PREP RECAP UPDATED (Week 9): Ousley leads Prattville win; Tallassee shocks Central-Clay; Wetumpka gets playoff bid
COMBINED REPORTS
Quarterback E.J. Ousley was near perfect in passing as Prattville dropped Jeff Davis, 36-9, in Class 7A, Region 2 action at Cramton Bowl on Friday.
The senior connected on all but one of his passing attempts and finished with 18 completions on 19 attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Ironically, his lone incompletion was ruled a safety for intentional grounding in the end zone that gave the Vols their only points in the second half.
Ousley connected with Kameran Shanks for a 46-yard touchdown in the second quarter and added a second pass for a score before the half to Alexander Peake.
The Lions took the early lead on a Zay Parrish 7-yard run but Jeff Davis tied the score midway through the second quarter on Christopher Moore’s 2-yard run.
The Lions scored three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half including the two TD passes by Ousley. They added an interception return for a touchdown by Joris Thomas with just over a minute to play.
Mario Parks rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Lions. Shanks had three catches for 78 yards and a score. Laderius Fitts grabbed two interceptions.
Savion German led JD with 81 yards passing and 84 yards rushing in a losing effort.
Prattville (6-3, 4-2) finishes the regular season at Bob Jones while Jeff Davis (1-8, 1-5) will complete its season against Park Crossing next Thursday at Cramton Bowl.
Tallassee 39, Central-Clay County 28
TALLASSEE – The Tigers fell behind early but scored 32 unanswered points to pull away from the Volunteers in a key Class 5A, Region 4 win at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium on Friday.
The Tigers fell behind 14-6 early in the second quarter and the offense went to work with quarterback Tyler Ellis connecting on three passes for touchdowns to put Tallassee on top, 27-14, with 6:12 to play in the third quarter. Jalyn Daniels and Zavion Carr added touchdown runs to give the Tigers a commanding 39-14 lead with 3:46 left in the game.
The Vols would score two late touchdowns to make the final respectable.
Ellis finished 13 of 19 for 255 yards and three touchdowns and added 86 yards rushing on 15 carries. Daniels had 148 yards on 18 carries. Ziggy Holloway led the receivers with six receptions for 181 yards, including a catch for 77 yards and a score. Clayten Gough and Dontae Leonard added a reception for a score.
The win puts Tallassee in a three-way tie for first place with Clay-Central and Sylacauga in the region, all with 5-1 records. The seeding will be decided by tiebreakers that will include next week’s games. Tallassee (6-2, 5-1) faces Carroll-Ozark while Central-Clay (7-2, 5-1) finishes against Handley.
Sylacauga 35, Holtville 16
SYLACAUGA – The Aggies earned a share of first place in Class 5A, Region 4 with a win over the Bulldogs.
Shawn Brackett scored two touchdowns in a losing cause for the Bulldogs. He had 52 yards rushing and 106 yards receiving. Dalton Yarroch passed for 206 yards.
Holtville (5-4, 3-3) has a playoff bid locked up as the fourth seed and will complete the regular season against Reeltown next week.
Wetumpka 8, Stanhope Elmore 7
WETUMPKA – The Indians earned the fourth and final seed out of Class 6A, Region 4 with a come-from-behind win over their arch rivals on Friday.
Back-up quarterback Tyler Johnson threw a 20-yard pass to Quinn Wilson on third-and-goal with just under seven minutes remaining in the game for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Wetumpka defense then held Stanhope out of the end zone on two different drives in the final minutes. First, Antonio Trone was stopped on a fourth-down run.
The Mustangs had one last drive into Wetumpka territory in the last minute of the game but it ended on an interception by Kadarious Brown.
The Mustangs (4-5, 2-4) took the early lead on a Trone 21-yard touchdown scamper with 2:41 left in the first quarter. Wetumpka’s first points came on a safety scored in the third period that was ironically set up by a Stanhope Elmore interception at the Mustangs’ 3-yard line.
Johnson was in the game at quarterback for injured Dorian Jackson, who started due to an injury to regular starter Nathan Rogers.
The Indians (5-5, 3-3) earned the right to face Saraland in the first round of the 6A playoffs. They have completed the regular season.
Stanhope Elmore will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Mustangs will close out their season next Friday at Smiths Station.
R.E. Lee 34, Valley 0
VALLEY – The Generals pitched their first shut out of the season while holding the Rams to less than 100 yards in total offense.
Jakel Williams passed for two touchdowns while Brian Thomas had 155 yards in total offense and a score in the win. Lee finished with 466 yards in total offense.
Lee (6-2, 5-2 6A/R2) closes out the regular season next Friday against Pinson Valley at Cramton Bowl. The Generals will be the No. 3 seed and travel to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 5.
Eufaula 28, Sidney Lanier 6
EUFAULA – The Tigers got the win over the Poets but didn’t get the help they needed to keep their playoff streak alive.
The Tigers (5-5, 4-3) will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1997, or 23 consecutive trips. They needed a Carver loss to make the playoffs. The Wolverines defeated Russell County, 41-31, to earn the fourth seed.
A Braylon Jones to Cory Haigler touchdown pass in the second quarter were the only points for the Poets, who lost for the first time since the third week of the season.
The Poets (8-2, 5-2 6A/R2) still held on to the No. 2 seed thanks to their win over Lee earlier in the season. The two teams tied for second in region play. Lanier will play next in the 6A playoffs at Cramton Bowl against McAdory on Nov. 5.
Alabama Christian 42, Bullock County 0
Alabama Christian closed out its region slate with an impressive 42-0 win over Bullock County on Friday night, using three touchdown passes from Hayes Hunt to jump out to a 35-point lead in the first half.
Hunt completed 12 of 18 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, throwing a 3-yard pass to Preston Hicks midway through the first quarter for a 14-0 lead, adding a 20-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Weathers early in the second quarter for a 21-point lead and throwing 28 yards to Avery Stuart with 7:51 left in the first half for a 35-0 lead.
Thomas Stovall put the Eagles on the scoreboard first with a 28-yard run three minutes into the game. Otasowie Dion added a 12-yard scoring run with eight minutes left in the first half and AC Walters closed out the scoring with a 13-yard run in the final four minutes.
Walters led the Eagles with 65 yards on seven carries. Starting tailback Corey Landers added 58 yards on eight carries.
Hicks led the ACA receivers with four receptions for 27 yards. Stuart had a pair of catches for 36 yards, Weathers had a pair of receptions for 27 yards and Trey Schlemmer added two catches for 12 yards.
Defensively, Jack Thomas had seven tackles and Donovan Emerson had seven tackles and a sack to lead the Eagle defense. Schlemmer had five tackles and a fumble recovery and Hicks had five tackles.
Alabama Christian (6-3) finished in a tie for second in the region standings at 5-2 and will enter the playoffs as the third seed. The Eagles close out the regular season next Thursday at Montgomery Academy, then travel to Handley for the first round of the 4A playoffs on Nov. 5.
St. James 49, Geneva 26
GENEVA -- KJ Jackson threw three touchdown passes and Ethan Beard returned an interception 104 yards for another score as the Trojans rolled to a 49-26 win over Geneva to finish unbeaten in region play.
St. James (8-1) will play host to Trinity next week at Carlisle Field, then host Cherokee County in the first round of the 4A state playoffs on Nov. 5.
Jackson completed 6 of 7 passes for 177 yards, with Clint Houser catching two of those passes for 49 and 17 yards, scoring on both, and Beard added a 40-yard touchdown on his only reception.
Bradley Thomas had two receptions for 56 yards.
Cosner Harrison added three touchdowns of his own, rushing for 173 yards on 16 carries and scoring on runs of 2, 20 and 64 yards.
The Trojans scored a touchdown on every possession except for a third-quarter drive that stalled with a lost fumble and the final drive of the game when time expired.
Montgomery Academy 28, Monroe County 0
Montgomery Academy cruised out to a 28-0 halftime lead, then dialed it back in the second half in a 39-14 win over Monroe County at McLemore Field on Friday night.
The Eagles (7-2) completed 3A Region 3 play with a 6-0 record and will host Alabama Christian next Thursday to close out the regular season, then will face Flomaton on Nov. 5 in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.
Jamal Cooper ran for a touchdown and passed for another, while Judson Lindsey and Greer Armstrong added rushing touchdowns and DJ Vinson and Nigel Walker had touchdown receptions.
Cooper completed 2 of 3 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown and added 16 rushing yards and a touchdown. Armstrong ran for 29 yards and a touchdown and Lindsey ran for 25 yards and a touchdown and had 25 receiving yards as well.
Thomas Woodward also completed 2 of 3 passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Jashawn Cooper was limited in his touches on Friday night, accounting for just 22 rushing yards.
Defensively, Lindsey led the Eagles with eight tackles, followed by Walker and Jashawn Cooper with six tackles each and Arch Lee with five tackles.
Catholic 56, Goshen 0
Catholic posted its seventh shutout of the season and Jeremiah Cobb went over the 1,500-yard mark as the Knights demolished Goshen 56-0 on Friday in the regular season finale for the Knights.
Catholic (10-0) will now take a week off before resuming play at home against Houston Academy in the first round of the 3A state playoffs on Nov. 5.
Cobb scored nearly every time he touched the ball, rushing for 179 yards and four touchdowns on six carries. The junior topped the 100-yard mark for the eighth time this season and now has 1,544 yards and 24 touchdowns on the year.
His backup, EJ Babies, got plenty of action against the overmatched Eagles on Friday, rushing for 66 yards on a pair of carries and adding five receptions for 41 yards.
Jeremiah Young added a 50-yard scoring reception for the Knights.
KJ Washington had eight tackles, including three for loss, to lead the Catholic defense. TJ Dudley had six tackles, giving him 100 for the year, and two tackles for loss, giving him 23 this season.
Friday’s win marked only the third time in school history Catholic has completed a 10-0 regular season. The Knights matched the accomplishment in 1979 and again in 2019.
Trinity 52, Childersburg 6
Coleman Stanley threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the Wildcats celebrated Senior Night with a 52-6 win over Childersburg at Ragsdale-Boykin Field on Friday night.
Stanley, one of the seniors honored on Friday, completed 7 of 8 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Late in the first quarter, he hit Mac McClinton with a 60-yard touchdown pass, followed it up with a 4-yard scoring run, then hit Luke Pittman with a 69-yard pass to make it 31-0.
He also had a 45-yard touchdown pass to Norris Pemberton as the Wildcats built a 45-0 halftime lead.
Trinity scored just once in the second half as AJ Glover ran 26 yards to make it 52-0. Glover finished as the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 58 yards on six carries in relief of starter Chase Letner, who had 40 yards on six carries.
Webber McClinton also blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown.
Walker McClinton led the Trinity defense with six tackles, followed by Chapman Pouncey with four tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries.
Trinity (8-1) travels to St. James to close out the regular season next Friday at Carlisle Field before returning home to host third-seeded Wicksburg in the first round of the 3A state playoffs on Nov. 5.
Talladega 49, Elmore County 37
ECLECTIC – Peyton Stephenson rushed for 285 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to end the Panthers’ losing streak on Friday.
Talladega picked up its first win of the season, never relinquishing the lead after taking a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter.
The Panthers got to within four points in the fourth quarter on a CJ Wilkes touchdown run for 14 yards but Talladega answered minutes later with Malik Williams’ score to close out the win.
Stephenson had touchdown runs of 9, 28 and 52 yards. Williams finished with 145 yards and five TDs for Talladega (1-8, 1-5).
The Panthers (0-9, 0-6 Class 5A, Region 4) close out the season next week at Jemison.
Opelika 37, Park Crossing 0 (Thursday)
The Bulldogs ran just 10 offensive plays in the first half but made the most of them in a whitewash of the Thunderbirds in a Thursday night contest at Cramton Bowl.
Quarterback Roman Gagliano passed for two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to their seventh win of the season and complete a perfect 7-0 record in Class 6A, Region 2.
The second half was shortened to six-minute quarters with a running clock.
Opelika (7-3, 7-0) has completed its regular season and will open the Class 6A playoffs at home on Nov. 5 at home against an opponent to be determined. Park Crossing will try to earn its first win of the season next Thursday against Jeff Davis.