THURSDAY PLAYOFFS: Trinity, St. James ease into second round; Lanier football comes to an end
Webber McClinton rambles for yardage during Trinity’s first-round playoff win over Providence Christian on Thursday. (Ryan Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Trinity was never challenged in its first-round playoff win over Providence Christian on Thursday.
So why was Wildcat coach Brian Seymore berating his players in the middle of Ragsdale-Boykin Field at the conclusion of the game?
Trinity looked nearly flawless in the first half as it scored the first 31 points in the game, but the second half was an entirely different look as the Wildcats sputtered through a half full of mistakes before finally pulling out a 31-14 win over the Eagles in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.
“I just thought we didn’t execute,” Seymore said. “They put a lot of guys in the box (to stop the run) and we tried to throw our short game and got a bunch of tipped passes. I don’t know what was going on with the snaps (resulting in five illegal procedure penalties). It was disappointing. Those snaps and procedure calls really cost us.
“We’ve got to fix those issues but I felt like we came out in the first half and did what we were supposed to do. We jumped on them, made some plays, but we’re fortunate to be moving on. I’m proud of our guys, proud of the work they put in, proud of the coaches for coming up with a good game plan. We got a lot of guys back that were banged up (from injuries) and I’m glad to see them back on the field.”
Trinity (10-1) awaits the results of Friday’s game between Walter Wellborn and Flomaton to learn its travel destination in the second round of the 3A state playoffs. The Wildcats will either travel to the Anniston area to play Walter Wellborn next week or to south Alabama to face Flomaton.
Providence Christian ends the season at 5-6.
The one constant was the Wildcat defense, which didn’t allow the Eagles to cross midfield but once in the first half while the offense built a 31-0 lead. There were breakdowns of all kinds in the second half, but the Trinity defense played well throughout, holding Providence Christian to 60 rushing yards on 36 carries and just six total first downs.
Trinity’s offense, meanwhile, put points on the scoreboard on its second offensive play when Walker McClinton hit Webber McClinton near midfield as the receiver took off for the end zone to complete a 60-yard play.
“That really just got us going,” senior tailback Ross Sanders said, “and we just took off from there. Our offense played well in the first half.”
After a Ryan Basile field goal, Sanders scored on the fourth play of the second quarter and again midway through the quarter on a 36-yard run. The Wildcats added another score with 86 seconds remaining on a 41-yard pass from McClinton to Xavier Boswell for a 31-0 lead.
The offense was never the same after that.
“We were up 31-0, then in the second half we came out quiet and flat,” Sanders said. “If we want to move on more than the first round, we can’t do that, so we’re going to fix it up this week in practice. We should be good.”
Sanders, who had 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half, finished with 95 yards as the Wildcats were held to 5 rushing yards and 57 total yards in the second half.
“I think we just got comfortable with a lead,” Sanders said, “and we can’t do that. We’ve got to clean it up and do better next week.”
One noteworthy absence from the offense was Webber McClinton, who banged up his shoulder in the first quarter and sat out the remainder of the game.
“Something was wrong with his shoulder, maybe an AC joint,” Seymore said. “If he can’t play (next week), the guys have to be ready to step up, somebody’s got to take that role.”
“I’m sure he’s going to do all he can to get back because he loves this team more than any of us,” Sanders said. “He’ll be all right.”
The Wildcats allowed a 47-yard pass from Craig Pittman to John Martin Byrd midway through the fourth quarter to move the Eagles deep into Trinity territory. Four plays later, Pittman threw back across the field on a fourth-and-two pass to a wide-open Roman Banner for a 12-yard touchdown.
After Trinity’s ensuing possession failed to generate any yardage, Walker McClinton’s punt was blocked and Tyler Sharp grabbed the ball out of the air at the goal line for another touchdown.
Still, the game was never in doubt after the first quarter. Providence Christian scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, but managed just three first downs and 6 rushing yards in the second half.
Luke Hall had five tackles, including one for loss, to lead the Wildcats, while Boswell had five tackles and a pair of interceptions. Sanders added four tackles, including two for loss, and Chayman Wilkins had four tackles as well.
Trinity’s 10-1 start is the best since 2010. Seymore becomes only the second coach in school history to win a playoff game in his first season as the Wildcats’ head coach.
St. James running back Pruitt Conner stiff arms a defender in the Trojans’ win on Thursday. (Contributed)
St. James 41, Opp 7
The St. James Trojans open defense of their Class 3A state title with a win over Opp, 41-7, behind a strong effort from seniors KJ Jackson and Clint Houser.
Jackson tied his school record with five touchdown passes -- three to Houser and two to Tabor Offord -- and Houser scored four total touchdowns as the Trojans won the ninth all-time meeting between the Trojans and the Bobcats.
Jackson completed 10 of 16 passes for 197 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 41 more yards on three carries. Houser caught six of Jackson’s 10 completions, including touchdowns of 21, 9 and 65 yards, finishing with 65 receiving yards. He added 67 rushing yards on four carries, including a 33-yard touchdown run.
Jackson’s five touchdown passes gave him 121 for his career, fifth all-time in the Alabama High School Athletic Association record book. Offord’s two touchdown catches of 41 and 30 yards gave him 15 this season, tying him with Ethan Beard for the school’s single-season record.
St. James (9-2) will face Friday night’s winner between Randolph County and W.S. Neal in the second round of the playoffs.
Benjamin Russell 39, Sidney Lanier 12
ALEXANDER CITY - The curtain fell on the Sidney Lanier football program on Thursday with a Class 6A first-round loss to Benjamin Russell at Martin-Savarese Stadium.
Malcolm Simmons scored three times to lead the Wildcats (9-2) to the win, advancing to face either Hueytown or Theodore next week.
Jacquez Thompson had a touchown pass for the Poets, who ended the season at 5-6.
The loss ends Lanier’s 113 years of fielding a football team. The school will close after 2023-24.