Piedmont scoring record highlights AHSAA Football Spotlight for Week 4

The AHSAA

MONTGOMERY – The Piedmont Bulldogs set a new school record for points scored in a game Friday night in a 70-13 victory over Class 3A, Region 5 rival Weaver.
The old record was 68 points set in 1944 in a 68-0 victory over Lincoln. That mark was tied in a 68-13 win over White Plains in 2013.

In Friday’s record-setting performance, junior quarterback Jack Hayes completed 7-of-10 passes for 143 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. The Bulldogs (4-0) posted 43 points in the opening period on the way to the win.

The record night in Piedmont wasn’t the only area performance to receive recognition in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Week 4 Spotlight. Six other area players were honored for their performances, led by three Sand Rock Wildcats.

Jacob Cornejo posted 8 ½ tackles on defense and accumulated 160 total yards (84 rushing, 76 receiving) in the Wildcats’ 32-28 Class 2A, Region 6 loss to Southeastern.

Heath Driver returned an interception 47 yards for a score at the end of the first half to give Sand Rock a 21-18 lead.

Olin Pruitt also had an interception in the game. On offense, he had five catches for 101 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.

Staying in Class 2A, Region 7, Spring Garden’s Chaz Pope posted eight tackles on defense. He also completed 6-of-12 pass attempts for 105 yards and ran for 72 yards and a score on 16 carries in the Panthers’ 20-13 loss at Cleveland.

Keylon Higgins and Michael Reynolds were recognized for their efforts in a shootout at Class 1A, Region 7 rival Valley Head. Higgins accumulated 224 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and returned a kickoff 70 yards for another score in the Trojans’ 64-42 loss.

Reynolds gained 93 yards and scored three touchdowns on 13 carries. He also totaled 11 tackles and forced a fumble on defense.

In other statewide action, Ariton’s Jordan Smith rushed for 248 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, including a 69-yard scoring run 2:10 left to for the clinching score as the undefeated Purple Cats (5-0), coached by Steven Kilcrease, won the Class 2A, Region 2 battle of Dale County unbeaten rivals 27-21.

The 5-foot-8, 166-pound running back’s performance in the Dale County small-school showdown earned Smith this week’s AHSAA Prep Football Spotlight.

The game turned out to be perhaps the most exciting in the two schools’ 56-year series.

The Rebels (2-1), coached by David Watts, stayed close thanks in big part to the performance of senior quarterback Kobie Stringer. He accounted for 301 yards and all three scores for G.W. Long – rushing for 168 yards and two TDs and passing for 133 yards and a score.

The two teams have played every year since 1966 – after Ariton revived a program that started in 1928 and was discontinued in 1936, and Long also started its program for the first time that year. Since then, Ariton has won 30 and G.W. Long has won 26. There have been no ties.

Ironically, the Rebels have outscored the Purple Cats by 141 points (1,215 to 1,074) overall in the series.

The two teams, located just 10 miles apart as the crow flies, have met 13 times with both teams undefeated – albeit five straight years in the first game of the season. Long has won six times and Ariton has won seven in those meetings.

The clutch rushing effort by Smith edged out a strong rushing performance by Sidney Lanier running back Tacaris Bozeman, the state’s top pass receiving performance since 2019 by Demir Smith of LeFlore, and completed pass streak by Opp quarterback Gray Jennings.

Sidney Lanier’s Bozeman collected 250 rushing yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns as the Poets beat Valley 28-6 in a Class 6A, Region 2 game Saturday at Cramton Bowl.

The 5-8, 160-pound sophomore had an 87-yard TD run to start the second half, raced 65 yards for a touchdown in the first period on a punt return and tacked on a 3-yard rushing TD late in the fourth quarter.

LeFlore’s Smith, a 6-2, 290-pound senior, turned in the top AHSAA pass-receiving performance of the season with 10 catches totaling 242 yards and two touchdowns covering 6 and 81 yards in the Rattlers’ 37-29 loss to Satsuma in Class 5A, Region 1. He also had three rush attempts for 60 yards and a third TD, kicked three extra points and scored on a 2-point conversion to account for 23 of LeFlore’s points.

His effort was the best since Madison County receiver Quamaine Gamble had six catches for 254 yards and two TDs in a 42-7 victory over New Hope in 2019.

Opp’s Jennings, a 6-1, 200-pound junior, completed 10-of-15 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns as the Bobcats downed Daleville 55-0 in a Class 3A, Region 2 contest. In the process, he completed his first eight passes of the game before his ninth pass was dropped by a receiver and ended his pass completion streak at 18.

Jennings was 11-of-12 passing in Week 3 in a 49-21 win over Houston Academy with 10 straight completions to end that game.

MILESTONES
SAINT JAMES HANDS PERRY MILESTONE WIN: The Trojans, led by Cosner Harrison’s 236-yard rushing performance, downed Straughn 43-6 in a Class 4A, Region 2 battle and presented head coach Jimmy Perry with his 73rd career coaching win at the school. That makes him the Montgomery school’s all-time winningest football coach. Now in his 10th season as the Trojans’ head coach, he has compiled a 74-34 record which surpassed Robert Johnson, who was 72-41 at the school from 1997-2006. Johnson is now head coach at Montgomery Academy, one of Saint James’ chief rivals. Perry, 138-66 in 18 seasons overall, also was head coach at Lee-Montgomery and St, Paul’s Episcopal, He also was offensive coordinator at Lee and spent nine years as an assistant on the staff at Auburn University. Harrison rushed for three TDs and had a 20-yard pass reception for touchdown in the milestone win.

ADAMS GOES OVER 400 YARDS PASSING: Charles Henderson sophomore quarterback Parker Adams became the first quarterback in the AHSAA this season to pass for more than 400 yards completing 21-of-38 passes for 407 yards and one touchdown in the Trojans’ 58-28 loss to Andalusia. His TD pass went for 70 yards in the first quarter to give Charles Henderson an early 6-0 lead.

GENEVA COUNTY’S HENDERSON SUPASSES 5,000 YARDS: Senior Emmanuel Henderson powered his way to five touchdowns and a 251-yard rushing performance as the Bulldogs downed Abbeville 49-6 in Class 2A, Region 2. The senior and University of Alabama commitment, became just the 40th player in AHSAA history to go over 5,000 career yards rushing, had TD runs of 8, 8, 45, 63 and 67 yards in the win. He now has 5,049 career rushing yards.

EXCEL BEATS HILLCREST FOR FIRST TIM: Junior linebacker and fullback Kaleb Browning totaled nine tackles on defense and rushed 17 times for 80 yards and 3 TDs on offense as the Panthers (3-1) beat Hillcrest-Evergreen 22-19 in a key Class 3A, Region 1 win. The victory was the first in school history for Excel over the Jaguars in six tries. The Panthers had a 3-2-1 record in the series with Evergreen High School before Conecuh County merged all its schools into one school at Hillcrest in 1989.

ROE LEADS LEROY IN RIVALRY WIN: Senior wide receiver Grayson Roe caught six passes for 193 yards, including TD receptions of 84 and 43 yards, as Class 2A Leroy (4-0) beat Class 3A Thomasville (2-2) 13-9. He also had an interception and a 34-yard return to seal the Bears’ 13th win in the series that dates back to 1929. Thomasville holds a 38-13-1 lead in the series. Leroy has won two of the last three games played between the two southwest Alabama powers, but only four of the last 14.
Other outstanding performances and accomplishments reported this week include:

RUSHING
JOSEPH ANDERSON, MONTEVALLO: Ran for 271 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries and also caught a touchdown pass in 49-8 Class 4A, Region 3 win over Wilcox Central.

EARL WOODS, HUEYTOWN: Rushed for 201 yards and one TD on 33 carries and was 10-of-24 passing for 175 yards and three touchdowns to spark the Gophers (4-1) to a 30-14 Class 6A, Region 4 victory over Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa. He finished with 376 total yards and accounted for all four Hueytown scores.

EIAN BAIN, VALLEY HEAD: Had 23 rush attempts for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the Tigers’ 64-42 win over Gaylesville in Class 1A, Region 7. He also passed for 52 yards and another TD in the win.

EDWARD OSLEY, CLAY-CHALKVILLE: Totaled 221 yards rushing on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Cougars (5-0) downed Minor 50-7 to improve to 3-0 in Class 6A, Region 6.

CARTER LAMBERT, BOAZ: Totaled 208 yards and had a hand in all four touchdowns as the Pirates downed Sardis 28-0 in Class 5A, Region 8. He had 11 carries for 132 yards rushing and three touchdowns and completed 8-of-12 passes for 76 yards and another score.

LAKEITH PERSON, CARROLL: Rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 31-7 Class 5A, Region 2 win over Headland. Person had TD runs of 5 and 40 yards.

JOSH LOWERY, SAMSON: Ran 24 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers beat McKenzie 36-28 in Class 1A, Region 1.

CHRIS PEARSON, ORANGE BEACH: Sparked the Makos’ 38-12 win over Greene County with 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He also had two pass receptions for 17 yards and a third score in the Class 2A, Region 1 win.

RONNIE ROYAL III, GULF SHORES: Rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries as Gulf Shores defeated Robertsdale 27-13 in Class 6A, Region 1.

KASON JONES, JACKSON-OLIN: Piled up 172 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 20 carries to lead the Mustangs (4-0) remained unbeaten with its 36-28 victory over defending Class 6A state champion Pinson Valley. Jackson-Olin improved to 2-0 in 6A, Region 6 with the upset win.

JAYLEN MURRY, WICKSBURG: Rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns and teammate Charles Snyder had 108 yards rushing and two scores on five carries and 71 passing yards and another score on three catches as the Panthers beat New Brockton 60-19 in Class 3A, Region 2.

JEREMIAH COBB, MONTGOMERY CATHOLIC: Had 252 total yards on just eight touches as the Knights (5-0) blanked Beulah 49-0 in Class 3A, Region 4. He had 170 yards on seven rush attempts and caught an 82-yard pass for a touchdown for his only reception.

JAYLYN DANIELS, TALLASSEE: Totaled 156 yards and three touchdowns rushing on 21 carries as the Tigers downed Elmore County 48-10 in Class 5A, Region 4.

BRYCE DOWDLAN, B.C. RAIN: Rushed for 155 yards and the winning TD in overtime on 23 carries in Saturday’s 27-24 overtime win over Elberta. He also had three receptions for 120 yards and a TD in the Class 5A, Region 1 nail biter.

PASSING
ALEX YOUNG, PLEASANT GROVE: Completed 10-for-12 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns as the Spartans (3-1) toppled Carver-Birmingham 55-12 to remain unbeaten in Class 5A, Region 5.

JAMES ED JOHNSON, ARAB: Completed 13-of-16 passes for 229 yards with a 60-yard touchdown connection with his brother Wes Johnson on the third play of the game as the Knights (4-1) downed Southside-Gadsden 24-7 to take sole possession of first place in Class 6A, Region 7 with a 3-0 region mark. He added 65 yards rushing on 25 carries with TD runs covering 7 and 2 yards. He upped his season totals to 507 yards rushing and 11 TDs on 107 carries and 778 yards passing with 64-of-91 passes completed. He has thrown four touchdowns with just two interceptions. Brother Wes finished with five catches for 90 yards, giving him 22 receptions for 294 yards and four TDs in the first five games.

CHRISTOPHER VIZZINA, BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN: The Lions’ 6-4, 200-pound junior quarterback was 8-of-11 passing for 278 yards and five touchdowns as Briarwood (5-0) downed Huffman 42-21 in Class 6A, Region 5.

DE’ANTONIO LESUEUR, LEFLORE: The 6-foot-1, 197-pound freshman quarterback was 14-of-22 passing for 275 yards and three touchdowns in the Rattlers’ 37-29 Class 4A, Region 1 loss to Satsuma.

TRENT CARPENTER, SOUTHEASTERN: Completed 14-of-27 pass attempts for 209 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 50-yard touchdown to Benjamin Hall with 36.9 seconds remaining in the Mustangs’ 32-28 win over Sand Rock in Class 2A, Region 6. He also ran for 102 yards and a TD on 13 carries for 311 total yards.

GAUGE NESMITH, SOUTHSIDE-GADSDEN: Completed 10-of-16 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers’ 24-7 Class 6A, Region 7 loss to Arab.

OWEN HENDRY, MILLRY: Connected on 10-of-12 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns in a 62-6 win over Southern Choctaw in Class 1A, Region 2.TDs in a win over Southern Choctaw. He also scored the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run for unbeaten Millry (4-0).

CONNER HARRELL, THOMPSON: Completed 15-of-23 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns as the two-time defending Class 7A state champion Warriors (5-0) downed Hewitt-Trussville 42-9 in a battle of Region 3 unbeaten teams at Alabaster.

ANDY HOWARD, ALBERTVILLE: Was 13-of-23 passing for 183 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 win over Grissom in Class 7A, Region 4 as the Aggies handed Coach Chris English his first victory as Albertville’s coach. Givenchy Dorival also had seven catches for two scores and ran for a 13-yard TD for the Aggies. Albertville lost last year to the Tigers 55-0 – with English serving as head coach at Grissom.

CALEB NIX, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Led the Red Devils to a 36-27 win over Enterprise in a game featuring two undefeated teams from Class 7A, Region 2. He was 16-of-24 passing for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He also had four rush attempts for 54 yards, including s 35-yard TD run.

BRAYDEN KYLE, DECATUR HERITAGE: In just one half of play, the quarterback completed 6-of-8 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns and added a TD run in a in a 46-0 Class 1A, Region 8 win over Shoals Christian.

JOSHUA FLOWERS, BAKER: Had a hand in five touchdowns as the Hornets (4-1) beat Mary Montgomery 43-0 in Class 7A, Region 1. He was 12-of-17 passing for 205 yards and three scores. He also rushed three times for 39 yards (13.0-yard average) and scored twice.

COLE McCARTY, GUNTERSVILLE: Was 11-of-14 passing for 200 yards and four touchdowns and scored on a 51-yard run in a 58-6 Class 5A, Region 7 win over Douglas.

JABARI COLLIER, CENTER POINT: Completed 8-of-12 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown and also had 12 rush attempts for 188 yards and two touchdowns to finish with 376 total yards as the Eagles beat Moody 40-11 in Class 5A, Region 6.

JOSH MURPHY, ST. MICHAEL CATHOLIC: Passed for 181 yards and two touchdowns as the Cardinals (4-1) downed Escambia County 44-12 to improve to 2-1 in Class 4A, Region 1.

TYLER ELLIS, TALLASSEE: Was 9-of-13 passing for 154 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 65 yards as the Tigers downed Elmore County 48-0 in Class 5A, Region 4.

ANDREW HUNTER, RANDOLPH: Completed 12-of-21 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 149 yards and two TDs on 19 carries in a 35-21 Class 4A, Region 7 win over Madison County. He finished with 272 total yards and five scores accounted for.

PARKER MARTIN, FAIRVIEW: Passed for two touchdowns and rushed for three as the Aggies (4-1) downed West Point 49-21 in Class 5A, Region 7. He has 13 TD passes and seven rushing touchdowns.

GABE AMICK, RUSSELLVILLE: Passed for five touchdowns as the Golden Tigers (5-0) downed Lawrence County 43-0 in Class 5A, Region 8.

PASS RECEIVING
JEREMIAH LOVELACE, HUNTSVILLE: Pulled down 10 pass receptions for 234 yards and two touchdowns in a 43-40 Class 7A, Region 4 setback to unbeaten James Clemens (5-0).

DARIUS COPELAND, PELHAM: Caught six passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in the Panthers’ 37-34 setback to Helena in Class 6A, Region 3.

TYLEN CAMPBELL, JACKSON: Snagged four passes for 119 yards and 2 TDs in the Aggies’ 40-8 win over Selma.

TERRY DAVIS, OPP: Hauled in three pass receptions for 111 yards and one TD – with a long of 55 yards to set up another score as the Bobcats downed Daleville 55-0 in Class 3A, Region 2.

OMARI KELLY, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Caught 12 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, the only TD allowed this season by the Thompson defense, as the Huskies (4-1) fell to the Warriors 42-9 on Class 7A, Region 3.


DEFENSE
TIM SPURLOCK, MADISON ACADEMY: Accumulated 21 tackles and three sacks in a 33-0 Class 4A, Region 7 win over North Jackson.

JAMES SMYRE, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Totaled 12 tackles with one sack and two tackles for losses as the Red Devils (5-0) beat Enterprise (4-1) in Class 7A, Region 6 in an exciting 36-27 victory.

JAMAL MAYERS, JAMES CLEMENS: Intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown, in a 43-40 win over Huntsville in Class 7A, Region 4 for the Jets (5-0).

TREVON McALPINE, SARALAND: Had three sacks and six tackles for losses as the Spartans beat Blount 31-0 in Class 6A, Region 1.

C.J. DOUGLAS, LEEDS: Managed nine tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, had an interception and a 70-yard punt return for a score as the Green Wave (5-0) beat Hayden 41-0 in Class 5A, Region 6.

JARROD WILLIAMS, SOUTHEASTERN: Returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown on defense and snagged five passes for 91 yards and a TD on offense as the Mustangs beat Sand Rock 32-28 in Class 2A, Region 6.

HARRISON PARKMAN, TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN: Had five tackles, including two sacks, as the Wildcats (5-0) posted its fourth shutout in five games beating Pike County 52-0 in Class 3A, Region 4.

TRE’MARCUS WEBB, PIKE ROAD: Returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown on a defense that also blocked two punts as the Patriots (5-0) blanked Rehobeth 55-0.

SPECIAL TEAMS
KARMELLO ENGLISH, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Returned an Enterprise onside kick attempt 53 yards for a touchdown with 1:33 to play to clinch a 36-27 win over Enterprise in Class 7A, Region 2. He also had eight pass receptions for 103 yards and a 6-yard TD connection.

MITCHELL DUQUETTE, ARAB: Blocked a punt to set up one Knights TD and the special teams of Arab blocked another punt in the 24-7 Class 6A, Region 7 win over Southside-Gadsden. He also accounted for seven tackles.

EZRA SEXTON, ST. MICHAEL CATHOLIC: Kicked a 42-yard field goal and also rushed for 73 yards on 10 carries with one TD to help St. Michael (4-1) post a 44-12 win over Escambia County in Class 4A, Region 1.

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