Gardendale 36 Pell City 0

Gardendale’s defensive front seven were relentless last Friday, disrupting Pell City’s entire offensive attack and harassing Panthers’ quarterback, Hudson Hughes all night. Gardendale’s offense succeeded in sacking Hughes six times and holding Pell City to under 150 yards total offense in their shutout victory.

Rockets’ running back, Demetrius King scored three touchdowns in the first half to put Gardendale up 21-0 at halftime. King was the star of the night, averaging nearly 10 yards per rush in his 109 yard night.

Sept. 9 Pell City (1-1) vs. Southside Gadsden (3-0)

It seems like the Panthers have jumped out of the Gardendale frying pan and into the Southside fire, facing a team that is undefeated and filled with offensive weapons. Southside will be without the services of senior running back and Auburn commitment Alaric Williams, who has been torching defenses for the last three years. Williams suffered a knee injury a few weeks back, but is replaced by sophomore Kenneth Bothwell, who shredded Fort Payne’s defense last week with 269 yards rushing and two long touchdown runs of 82 and 62 yards. Pell City’s defense will need to build a wall around Bothwell, and rebound offensively from this past week.

Briarwood Christian 42 Moody 6

The Briarwood Christian defense shut down the Blue Devils’ offense last Friday, allowing them only one first down in the first twenty minutes of the game. The Lions scored touchdowns in their first six drives of the game, including four touchdown passes by William Gray, three of which went to wide receiver Carson Eddy, giving Briarwood Christian an insurmountable 42-0 lead at halftime. Moody came back in the second half to score six points but it wasn’t enough to catch up, leaving them with their first loss of the season.

Sept. 9 Shelby County (1-1) @ Moody (1-1)

Moody’s home game against Shelby County will be a serious challenge for the Blue Devils’ rushing defense. The Tigers rotate three explosive running backs into their backfield. Michael Norwood is their battering ram, set to carry the ball more than 20 times per game. Keyvontae Mayfield is their breakout player – running for almost 190 yards last week against St. Clair County. And Lamont Bush rotates in and out, as well as lines up off the line for speed sweeps. Moody needs to be prepared mentally and physically for an opponent that simply wants to wear down the home team before rolling over them. A homestand, coupled with a great game from Moody’s running attack, keeps them in the game.

Shelby Co. 49 Saint Clair Co. 32

In a closely fought game that the score does not reflect, the St. Clair Saints came out at the start of the second half down 14-12. The Saints took their first and only lead of the night when running back Justin May got behind Shelby County’s defense and raced 57 yards for a touchdown and an 18-14 lead.

Unfortunately, the Saints were worn down by time-consuming drives and a running trio of Michael Norwood, Keyvontae Mayfield and Lamont Bush, who gashed St. Clair County with nearly 400 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the ground.

Sept. 9 St. Clair County vs. Pleasant Grove

After realignment took place and Pleasant Grove landed within the region, it was speculated due to recent history that the Spartans would be a favorite to win the region. After stumbling out of the gates with an 0-2 start, some of the shine on Pleasant Grove’s name and reputation has tarnished a bit, and the Saints are facing a team that can be beat at home.

The Saints are a great surprise this year. The team has shown a more diverse offense that has been on display early this season. Justin May has been spectacular out of the backfield for St. Clair in both running and catching the ball. Wide receivers Grayson Beatty and Ja’Varrius Johnson are downfield threats, and quarterback Michael Fisher is quickly becoming a very effective passer this season.

Mortimer Jordan 40 Springville 0

Springville’s defense was rocked last Friday by the formidable duo of Blue Devils running back Spencer Brown and wide receiver Trey Peters. Brown and Peters scored a combined five touchdowns in the first half alone and generated over 260 yards of offense, more than sixty yards better than the entire Springville offense could muster on Friday at home.

MJHS was able to take care of this game early when quarterback Douglas Moore’s two touchdown passes in the first to Peters helped extend the Blue Devils’ lead to 33-0 at halftime.

Sept. 9 Springville (0-2) @ West Point (0-3)

This Friday’s game will be Springville’s best opportunity to get a much-needed victory. West Point is reeling from a three game opening skid, averaging less than 10 points per game. Springville’s offense has yet to make a big impact this season, yet the Warriors’ own offensive woes gives the Tigers a chance to come out ahead with a victory in a defensive struggle. Bottling up #27 running back Cameron Moore would force West Point to go to the air. Wide receivers Brannon Calvert and Brandon Farley have shown glimmers of effectiveness downfield, but Springville’s best bet is to make the Warriors beat them through the air.

Leeds 48 Elmore Co. 14

The Leeds offense churned out 177 yards on the ground at home against Elmore County on Friday, and 58 of the 77 passing yards were gained on two 29-yard touchdown passes from quarterback Zachary Roberts. The first of these passes was to Chandler Teems, which opened up the scoring for the Greenwave in the first quarter. The second touchdown pas was completed to running back Tyler Rose, who caught a perfectly thrown post from Roberts, extending Leeds’ lead to 21-0 early in the third quarter. Elmore County was bitten by the turnover bug, losing three fumbles and an interception, which prevented them from scoring until late in the game.

Leeds (3-0) @ Dadeville (1-2)

Leeds’ march toward another state championship should not be hindered by Dadeville, who, at 1-2, has given up 100 points to their opponents in the first three games. Leeds is a scoring juggernaut, going up against a defense that has already surrendered so many points this year. Don’t be surprised if the Greenwave hangs 50, maybe 60 points on Dadeville.

Dadeville will test the Greenwave’s defense. Featuring an electric all-purpose back in #1 Margarius Buchanan, and a trio of receivers in Tight End Tre Johnson and wideouts, Jalen Sullivan and Devin Johnson, the Tigers will have to be tamed by Leeds’ defensive secondary in order to stay undefeated.

Ashville 15 Anniston 6

The Bulldogs took advantage of sloppy conditions and executed a defensive scheme that completely wiped out Anniston’s running game in an important regional win for Ashville, besting Anniston 15-9 on the road.

Offensively, quarterback Landon Cornutt, who scored two rushing touchdowns in the second half and gained 115 yards on the ground, led the Bulldogs. He received a lot of support from running back Kyle King and slot receiver Hunter Huckbay, who contributed over 100 rushing yards through the night. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs never let Anniston into the game, giving up one touchdown and holding the Tigers to less than 70 total offensive yards and scoring a safety in the first half.

Ashville (2-0) vs. Oneonta (1-1)

Oneonta is a bit of an enigma. They haven’t had the success expected when looking at the players on the team. At first glance, there is a big, strong offensive line led by the 315 pound senior tackle Tyler Studdard, who creates lanes and protection for senior quarterback Jordan Bothwell. In spite of first appearances, however, Ashville needs to disrupt Bothwell’s read-roll-tuck/pass offensive progression. Allowing him into space on his rollouts to the right gives him the ability to tuck the ball and run down the field very effectively. The Bulldogs need to get in his face on his rollout.

Victory Christian 28 Donoho 27

Victory Christian held on to a one point lead despite a furious late drive in which Donoho’s seemingly inevitable game winning effort was tripped up by a penalty that nullified a touchdown. Eventually, a blocked field goal attempt at the very end of the game allowed the Lions to escape with their second regional victory over the Falcons.

For the fifth time in his young career, VCS junior quarterback Harrison Cheatwood ran for more than 100 yards and passed for more than 200 yards as he contributed three touchdowns to the win.

Victory Christian (2-1) vs. Appalachian (2-1)

This game lines up very well for Victory Christian. This Appalachian squad looks very much like the team VCS beat last season 51-29. The leader of Appalachian’s backfield is #5 senior running back Trey Calvert, who has gained over 150 yards so far this season. Spreading the offense will be the receiving duo of #32 Alex Bynum and #10 Andrew Whittington. Expect another high scoring first half before Victory Christian pulls away at the end, much like last season.

Ragland 13 Talladega Co. Central 6

After finishing a rough August with two consecutive losses, the Ragland Purple Devils opened their September stretch with a win in their opening regional game at home. After trailing 6-0, Ragland running back, Jadon Killings punched into the end zone on an eight yard run to give his team a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter. In the second half, Ragland’s Braxton Thomas sealed TCC’s fate with a long touchdown reception from quarterback Stoney Merritt to extend the Purple Devil’s lead to seven.

Ragland (1-2) vs. Coosa Christian (1-2)

Ragland now has the perfect opponent to help the team get to .500. Coosa Christian has scored only 15 points in its first three games. There are a couple of standouts on Coosa’s roster – notably their middle linebacker and leader of their defense in #54 senior Mikey Green and Coosa’s one effective offensive weapon – running back #21 senior Dawson Ashley. Unfortunately for Coosa Christian, Ragland outguns them and is expected to outlast them as well. It would be a major upset if Ragland does not take care of business Friday.