PREP UPDATE: Marbury gets first-ever win in flag football; St. James splits volleyball matches

LAMP’s Elizabeth Ladd avoids Marbury defenders after a reception in Tuesday’s game. (Tim Gayle)

COMBINED REPORTS

Tuesday’s meeting between LAMP and Marbury featured two first-year flag football programs in search of their first-ever win.

Marbury’s team had a little better skill at passing the ball. And the Bulldogs decided to use that big-play capability to set the tone on the first play of the game.

“It was something we kind of designed for the first play,” Marbury coach Thomas Sowell said. “Elizabeth Woodfin, our quarterback, threw it up for Nasiyah Jernigan and it was a touchdown pass.”

Flag football teams start at the 14-yard line on the 80-yard field, so the 66-yard strike on the first play was a stunning setback for the Golden Tigers, who are still looking for their first win after the Bulldogs’ 41-0 win.

Marbury (1-2) had opened the season with losses to John Carroll and Gadsden City, followed by game cancellations by region rivals Wilcox Central and Calhoun, so the Bulldogs weren’t quite sure what to expect from their first-ever region game. The Bulldogs followed up the passing touchdown with three on the ground for a 27-0 halftime lead.

“We did the little things right that we had talked about doing in practice,” Sowell said. “I liked what we saw as far as our intensity but we’ve got some things we’ve got to fix. There are some little things we’ve got to do before we play really good teams and compete with the good teams.

“That was a big first win for the program. I’m really proud of the girls. They really bought in to what we were preaching at practice. They really bought into the film study and getting better. These girls have been working hard since June.”

Woodfin opened the second half with another passing touchdown to Jernigan, this one covering 36 yards, and the Bulldogs tacked on an interception return for a touchdown and a 41-0 lead late in the third quarter.

“We made a lot of mistakes tonight that really weren’t the problem the first two weeks,” LAMP coach Michael Thornton said. “Not to say we took a step backward, but we had so many unforced errors, we gave them a lot of opportunities and squandered a lot of our opportunities.

“Our girls know that. They had a look in their eyes at the end that I like to see after a loss. They were mad at themselves for not having played their best.”

The Golden Tigers had a season-high seven first downs in the game, but five dropped passes kept the LAMP offense from sustaining drives despite some improvement with a short passing attack. 

“We’re learning,” Thornton said. “Our quarterback Chloe (Thomas) is starting to make those reads better. She’s starting to make good decisions with the ball and starting to run our routes better. We’ve just got to catch it.”

LAMP (0-3) dropped to 0-2 in 1A-5A Region 4 play and will remain home next Tuesday to play Ellwood Christian.

Marbury improved to 1-0 in 1A-5A Region 4 play and Sowell was encouraged by what he saw as the Bulldogs remain on the road for their next region game on Monday at Francis Marion.

“We’ve got 30-35 girls in the program right now,” he said. “We’ve got a couple that aren’t here because they’re volleyballers. When they get here, we’ll be full strength. But it’s an exciting first win and I’m really proud of the girls. They’ve worked hard and they deserve it.”

VOLLEYBALL

St. James 3, Catholic 1

The Trojans bounced back from an opening-set loss to Catholic with three consecutive wins to defeat the Knights 3-1 in a big 5A Area 6 win in the St. James gym on Tuesday night.

Catholic won the first set 25-18, but the Trojans turned the tables and won the next three sets, 25-21, 25-22 and 25-20 to improve to 4-1 in area play.

KK Corley led the Trojans with 20 kills, 19 digs and two aces, while Sydney Johnston had 21 digs and Tat Shuford had 36 assists, 12 digs and two aces. Arden Green added 10 kills, two aces and six digs, Sana Shuford had eight killsand seven digs and Alex Mendel had two kills and three blocks.

St. James (15-5) will travel to Trinity on Thursday in a huge area rematch. The Wildcats handed the Trojans their only area loss in an Aug. 29 meeting.  

Prattville Christian 3, Booker T. Washington 0

TUSKEGEE -- The Panthers had no trouble improving to 3-0 in 5A Area 4 play, defeating Booker T. Washington 25-0, 24-4 and 25-7 on Tuesday.

Baylee Rogers set the tone in the first set, taking the ball and serving 25 consecutive points to give Prattville Christian a 25-0 win.

Rogers finished with 17 aces, 11 assists and a dig.

Paysley Bayer added five aces, two kills and a dig, Morgan Fowler had seven aces, five assists and a dig and Anniston Robison had five aces, two kills and five digs.

Maren Diefenderfer had an ace and five kills, Marion Lewis had five kills and three digs, Brylee Byrd had five aces, two digs and seven assists, Natalee Wheeler had three aces and a dig, Aiden Williams had two assists and a dig, Olivia Rossi had a kill, Jenna McClendon had three kills and a dig and Emma Cate Carter, Leah Cate Wilson and Kenadie Minor each had two kills.

PCA (18-9) will head to Birmingham this weekend to participate in the Heffstrong Tournament at Hoover’s Finley Center and will face Booker T. Washington in a home area match next week. 

St. James 3, Prattville Christian 1

St. James and Prattville Christian waged a four-set battle in the St. James’ gym on Monday before the Trojans finally prevailed, winning the first two sets, 26-24 and 27-25, dropping the third 29-27 and finally winning the fourth 29-27.

KK Corley, who recorded her 1,000th career kill this past weekend in the Enterprise Invitational, led the Trojans with 33 kills, 31 digs and three blocks.  

Tat Shuford, who recorded her 2,000 career assist in Monday’s match with the Panthers, had 46 assists, nine digs and four aces.

Sydney Johnston added 24 digs and two aces, while Sana Shuford had 10 kills, seven digs and four aces and Arden Green had 10 kills and two blocks.

For the Panthers, Baylee Rogers had 48 assists, three kills, an ace, a block and 12 digs, Emma Cate Carter had 25 kills, an assist and 15 digs, Maren Diefenderfer had 10 kills, three blocks and a dig and Leah Cate Wilson had eight kills, three blocks and six digs.

Olivia Rossi had four kills and a dig, Jenna McClendon had four kills and a block, Paysley Bayer had a kill and six digs, Natalee Wheeler had two assists and 24 digs, Aiden Wiilliams had two assists and six digs, Morgan Fowler had two assists and 18 digs, Brylee Byrd had an ace and 19 digs and Anniston Robison had a dig.

PCA (17-9) will travel to Tuskegee to play Booker T. Washington in an area match on Tuesday.

Trinity beats Bayside, wins Silver bracket in Battle by the Bay Tournament

DAPHNE -- Trinity dropped a pair of hard-fought, three-set matches to Auburn High and Ocean Springs (Miss.) before battling back to defeat Bayside Academy 2-1 in the Admirals’ Battle by the Bay Tournament on Saturday.

The win over Bayside allowed Trinity to tie for first place in pool play, but the Wildcats lost the tiebreaker and were relegated to the silver bracket. In bracket play, the Wildcats defeated Whitesburg Christian 2-0 in the quarterfinals, St. Paul’s 2-0 in the semifinals and St. Luke’s 2-1 in the finals to win the bracket.  

Holland Williams had 66 kills and 32 blocks, Anna Moore had 61 kills, 14 digs and nine blocks and Lilly Smith had 79 digs and six aces in the tournament.

Trinity (18-7) will travel to Marbury on Tuesday before returning home to play St. James on Thursday in a pair of 5A Area 6 matches this week.