By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
GAYLESVILLE – Gaylesville senior running back Alex Baty has churned out some big rushing performances for the Trojan football team this season, but Friday night was unlike any other.
Baty set a new Alabama High School Athletic Association state rushing record in a game with 535 yards on 43 carries and six touchdowns in the Trojans’ 62-28 victory over visiting Woodville in Class 1A Region 8 action. Baty eclipsed the old mark set by Parrish’s Tony Dixon against Hubbertville back in 2003 (21 carries for 531 yards). Parrish won that game 81-58.
Baty also eclipsed former Gaylesville back Jerry Stancil’s rushing mark in a game, which is now fourth on the state’s all-time list. Stancil ran for 470 yards on 23 carries against Spring Garden in a 48-28 Trojan win back in 2004.
Shortly after Friday’s game, Baty said it still hadn’t sunk in what he had accomplished.
“I can’t take the credit for all of it. My guys up front worked real hard,” Baty said. “There were several times I’d look up and I’d have linemen running in front of me on a 60-yard touchdown. It was crazy. I’ve never seen linemen run that fast.
“You never know when it’s your last game. Coach (Brian) Knapp has preached to us that any game could be your last. We were all thinking this could’ve been our last, so we all went out here with that mentality that we were just going to leave it all on the field and we did.”
Knapp said Baty is the type of back that “once he gets going, he just gets stronger as the night goes on.”
“We kept feeding him, and he just kept churning out the yards,” Knapp said. “When we got to the third quarter, we knew he was close (to the state record). That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was no disrespect to Woodville. It’s just when a young man has an opportunity like that I was not going to hold him back to have a chance to do it.”
Baty has accumulated 1,828 yards on 190 carries with 26 touchdowns for the Trojans (4-5, 2-4) this season.
But Baty wasn’t the only Trojan that etched his name into the state record books on Friday.
Junior defensive back Jack Sentell returned an interception 107 yards for a touchdown just before halftime. Sentell’s interception return for a score is tied for the second longest in state history with Opp’s ZaZa Lindsey against Geneva in 2020 and Guntersville’s Kevin Gentle versus Dora in 1993.
The state record is 108 yards held by Notasulga’s Jimmy Pitts against Autaugaville in 2018 and Demopolis’s Tommy Wilson versus American Christian in 2012.
Sentell led the Trojan defense with 12 tackles.
Despite Baty and Sentell’s once-in-a-lifetime moments, the Trojans didn’t get off to a great start in Friday’s game. Woodville jumped out to a 22-8 advantage.
“We had two turnovers early and came out flat,” Knapp said. “Hunter Allmond threw a really good football on a third-and-12, a deep post route to Aydn Heinrich, and that got us going.”
The 35-yard pass connection was Allmond’s only throw of the game. He also ran in for a touchdown.
Baty, along with Caden Angle, posted eight tackles apiece on defense. Allmond and Timmy Dawson both had six stops. Cole Hendon and Karrson Ray both finished with five tackles.
Friday’s game was originally scheduled to be the Trojans’ regular-season finale, but Knapp said Gaylesville could host Notasulga next week.
“We’re about 99-percent sure,” Knapp said. “Notasulga said they would come play us if they got beat by Autauga Academy, and they did tonight. I hope we’ve got another game at Gaylesville.”
And so do the Trojans, who fell short of making the playoffs last week with their 27-20 loss at Ragland.
“Kudos to our kids for buying in this season,” Knapp said. “We’ve been so close so many times this year. You have to admire the kids for battling. I think we’ve earned a lot of people’s respect this year.”