This will be a weekly feature where readers can find all the local high school football news
Auburn High cruises to season-opening 49-0 shutout over North Miami Beach
PHOTO BY JERRY BALLAS FOR THE OBSERVER
BY PATRICK BINGHAM FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — The Auburn High Tigers, led by rising star running back Omar Mabson, cruised to a 49-0 win over North Miami Beach in their season opener at Duck Samford Stadium on Friday night.
Mabson, a junior running back, was the star of the night. He scored four touchdowns on 12 carries for 110 total rushing yards on the Chargers.
“Unbelievable,” said AHS head coach Keith Etheredge of the running back. “I mean, we could’ve given him the ball 25 times and he’s going to have 250 yards and he’s going to have six, seven touchdowns, but we’ve got to monitor his carries. We don’t want to get him too much this early… We could have given him the ball a lot more in this game, you know.”
The junior running back set the tone early, scoring three of the first four TDs for the Tigers —all by the first play of the second quarter. Mabson ran for 31 yards on four carries during Auburn’s season-opening drive against the Chargers that took just 1:40 off the clock.
“I’m really excited about this group on offense,” said Etheredge. “I love the pace. Love how we got from snap to whistle back on the ball. Snap to whistle, I love the pacing of the offense.”
Auburn’s defense continued the Tigers’ fast start to the 2024 campaign as Isaac Benford returned a North Miami Beach fumble 28 yards into the endzone to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead just under three minutes into the game.
“Defense really set the tone,” said Etheredge. “[Defensive coordinator Scott Goolsby] does an unbelievable job. They play with such intensity, such fire. When we get to the football and cause turnovers, we can really, really cause people problems. I think that our defense flew around tonight.”
In addition to the Benford scoop-and-score, the Tigers were led by sophomore Jaxon Loveless, who racked up eight total tackles on the night, five of which were solo. Loveless and Auburn’s defense were able to prevent any Charger plays over 20 yards.
“I thought the defense played great — we locked up and tackled,” Etheredge said. “That’s the one thing you worry about coming into your first game simply because you don’t do it as much in practice, because you don’t want anybody going to the ground and stuff. I thought we tackled well tonight. I thought we kept the balls in front of us.”
The Auburn offense kept the momentum going the rest of the first half by scoring on all six of its drives to build a commanding 42-0 lead heading into the break. Both sides agreed on playing with a running clock due to injuries amongst a small North Miami Beach travel squad.
“We did a running clock because they had some guys banged out,” Etheredge said. “I think he said they (the Chargers) had two broken collarbones and two concussions, and he said a couple of those guys played both ways.”
Playing mostly without its starters in the second half, Auburn High was able to preserve a shutout, despite a North Miami Beach drive that got as far as the Auburn 10-yard line.
Next up, AHS will host the Vestavia Hills Rebels at Duck Samford Stadium on Friday, Aug. 30, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
Glenwood makes a statement with first AHSAA win over Valley
PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES | THE OBSERVER
BY NOAH GRIFFITH FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — The Glenwood Gators booted the door down and charged into its new era of football.
Down in the Swamp of Phenix City, Glenwood took some punches early on but fought back to put an exclamation point on its first week in AHSAA 3A. With about 4:00 left in the game, senior receiver Kham Cooper hauled in the game-winning touchdown pass, and the Gators held on to win 21-20 over Valley.
“That was the one thing I was really impressed with was just we found a way to win,” said head coach Ryan Nelson. “When things weren’t comfortable and adversity hit, we didn’t panic. We kept playing, and on the sideline we kept believing. When you do that, a lot of times good things happen for you.”
But after winning nine of its 10 games by at least two scores last season, Glenwood was put to the test on Friday night.
Valley gave Glenwood a rude welcome to the season by running the opening kickoff back for six. The Rams proceeded to dig a 20-0 hole for the Gators, but that’s when the switch flipped.
In his first start at quarterback for Glenwood, senior Levi Pinder remained calm and collected. He got the offense on the board by hitting junior Cal Lawrence down the sideline for a score. Closing the gap before halftime, running back Jermaine Brown rumbled into the end zone to make it 20-14 going to the break.
Glenwood seized momentum and got the ball back to open the second half, but Valley wasn’t going to let the lead slip that easily. The Gators drove down into enemy territory and threatened the lead, but in an attempt to score, their ball carrier lunged out to the goal line and fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Still, the defense held its own and pitched a shutout after the first quarter. Senior Emory Davis led the way with four sacks, while several other newcomers such as Makai Simpson and Eric Carter excited on both sides of the ball.
That effort kept the game at a standstill until Pinder found Cooper for the nail in the Rams’ coffin in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. In his first game taking over behind center since four-year starting QB, Dallas Crow, graduated in the spring, Pinder solidified the offense with no turnovers and avoided any crucial mistakes – then, he pounced on the opportunity to mount a dramatic start to Glenwood’s first competition in the AHSAA after moving over from AISA.
Pinder went 9-for-17 with 97 passing yards, no interceptions and two TDs. No. 2 also had a strong supporting cast; Cooper caught five passes for 46 yards and a TD, Lawrence hauled in two receptions for 27 yards and a TD, and Brown ran it 22 times for 103 yards and a score.
Valley, who’s in class 5A, held nothing back on the 3A Gators as they embarked on their new journey, but Glenwood didn’t take long to show it can hang with the big boys.
“They battled their tails off for our school and for our football team,” Nelson said. “This helps them just from a standpoint of believing and knowing this is where they belong.”
Under the Lights — Week One
BY MICHELLE KEY
PUBLISHER
LEE COUNTY — The first week of local high school football started last week with most of the local teams walking away with a win.
Auburn v. North Miami Beach
Auburn played at Duck Samford stadium in its first game of the season against North Miami Beach (NMB). Auburn cruised all over NMB like a walk on the beach, winning the game 49-0.
The Florida team made its 12-hour trip home with some broken bones, but some positive memories of their time spent in The Loveliest Village on The Plains. The team spent Friday before the game touring Auburn University and said that they look forward to returning next year. For a detailed recap of the game, see Patrick Bigham’s story on B1.
Auburn will play Vestavia Hills at Duck Samford on Aug. 30.
Beauregard v. Wetumpka
The hornets fell 14-19 to the Wetumpka Indians Friday night. Sophomore Cub Jones had 124 passing yards to the Indians’ 217 yards by senior Tyler Johnson.
Both teams fumbled the ball, with the Hornets losing the ball twice and Wetumpka once.
The Hornets were leading game with just five minutes left in the 4th quarter, but Wetumpka perservered and scored a TD followed. Beauregard lost its opportunity to pull back ahead when a pass was intercepted by the Indians in the final seconds of the game. Wetumpka snapped the ball and took a knee allowing the clock to run out.
Beauregard will travel to Anniston Aug. 30 for its game.
Beulah v. Abbeville
It was the Bobcats versus the Wildcats last Friday night when Beulah faced off against Abbeville for its game of the season.
Although Abbeville had a home field advantage, it was not enough to stop the Bobcats from coming out on top 39-14. This was a non-conference game for Beulah.
Beulah will play Lanett at home on Aug. 30
Glenwood v. Valley
It was a close game for the Glenwood Gator’s first game in the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) but the Gators defeated their foe from Valley 21 – 20.
For a detailed recap of the game, see Noah Griffith’s story on B1.
Glenwood will play in Elba on Aug. 30.
Lee-Scott v. Excel
The Lee-Scott Warriors also won their first AHSAA game Friday night when they faced off against the Excel Panthers. The final score was 33-16.
D. Mark Mitchell provides more game info in his column on B1.
Lee-Scott will take on the Loachapoka Indians on Aug. 30 in Loachapoka.
Loachapoka High School
The game with the Loachapoka Indians and Notasulga was canceled last week due to tensions between the teams following the death of LHS player [add his name] and the injury of another student the first week of school. Two teens from Notasulga have been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting.
The Indians will host their first game on their new field on Aug. 30 and will face Lee-Scott.
Opelika v. Benjanmin Russell
The Opelika Bulldogs defeated their opponent in [insert city name] [insert score] on Friday night.
See D. Mark Mitchell’s column on B1 for more detailed information about the game.
OHS will play at home against Callaway from Georgia on Aug. 30.
Smiths Station v. Shaw
The Panthers from Smiths Station lost their first home game of the season, Thursday, Aug. 22, game against the Shaw Raiders out of Columbus, Georgia. The final score of the game was 15-6.
Smiths Station will travel to Valley on Aug. 30 to face the Rams.
Other area teams that will play Aug. 30 include:
- Chambers Academy against Fort Dale Academy
- LaFayette v. Central Hayneville
- Lanett v. Beulah
- Notasulga v. Barbour County
- Reeltown v. Trinity Presbyterian High School
- Southern Prep Academy v. Coosa Valley
- Tallassee v. Elmore County and
- Valley v. Smiths Station.
Southern Christian hits the ground winning
BY JASON SCOTT FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Coming home last week after defeating Jacksonville Christian on the road, the Patriots of Southern Christian Academy (SCA) ordered a double shot of winning and drank every drop on Friday against the Springwood Wildcats.
The Wildcat’s high-powered offense came into Moore Stadium in Opelika with a dose of confidence after defeating the Pats last year 50-7. But what a difference a year can make. Springwood’s head coach Joey Burch’s stable of runners, in the end, were no match for the swarming defense of SCA. Lawton Curran and Jedd Scott led the Patriots defense with nine ground pounding tackles each.
“This year the key to our success will be our defense,” said Coach Jason Scott, head coach for SCA. “I think coach Ben [Phinney] has done a great job as defensive coordinator getting our guys ready for prime time.”
On the other side of the game, there is Jagger Scott. He is currently the number one rushing junior in eight-man football this week on Maxpreps.com. Not only is he the top rusher in the state of Alabama, but he’s the number one junior in the nation, and number three overall. This young bull also filled his cup to the brim with 255 all-purpose yards, doing triple duty on punts and kickoffs, and had seven bone jarring tackles. He also had an interception along with freshman cornerback Owen Vaughan.
But the star of the night was Patriot quarterback Elijah Bailey running an amazing 21 times for 82 yards and completing 10 of 16 passes for 157 yards.
In the end, the Patriots defeated the Wildcats 55-36.
The Patriots will have two weeks off before returning to Moore Stadium on Sept. 13 to face off with Stewart County, Georgia.
