Auburn dominates Smiths Station
BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Ahead of Friday’s game, Auburn High School head football coach Keith Etheredge challenged his team to not overlook winless 7A Region 2 foe Smiths Station.
That message rang loud and clear as the Tigers (7-0) steamrolled the Panthers (0-8) by a score of 70-6 on homecoming night, nearly breaking 88-year-old school records for both total points scored (72) and margin of victory (72) in the process.
Paced by Jackson Kilgore’s five touchdown passes, Caleb Pitts’ three sacks and Omar Mabson’s 154 total yards of offense, Auburn also secured a spot in the new-look AHSAA 7A playoffs as it seeks its first division crown since 2020.
Following the victory, Etheredge praised his players’ resilience, effort and turnover-free performance after falling behind early.
“[Smiths Station] came out, misdirectioned us, hit us with a couple of plays and scored. But I loved the way our guys adjusted, came back, kept their composure — and they’ve done that all year,” Etheredge said. “Our guys have found ways to get right back in the game, take the lead back, and end up winning games. I’m just really proud of them for finishing.”
After adding 127 rushing yards and a TD on nine carries, Mabson, a consensus 3-star recruit, now has 1,036 rushing yards through seven games. Yet, it might have been a 27-yard touchdown pass halfway through the second quarter that was the highlight of his night.
According to the star junior tailback, this past offseason was about becoming a more versatile and well-rounded player. It appeared those efforts paid off.
“One of my personal goals [coming into the season] I would say was to get more receiving touchdowns and work on my catching abilities to be able to work out of the backfield. Instead of just being a running back, I need to also be a receiver and all-purpose back,” Mabson said after praising the offensive line and receivers.
It appeared from the start that the Panthers intended to play homecoming spoiler after freshman running back Nathan Malone ripped off an explosive 67-yard touchdown run through the heart of Auburn’s defense on the game’s third play. After Smiths Station missed the extra point, Auburn stormed down the field with a four-play, 54-yard drive culminating with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Kilgore to Joshua Askew to go up 7-6.
Following Askew’s touchdown, the Panthers went three-and-out before Mark Bazzell’s 30-yard TD catch capped off a two-play, 49-yard drive that took only 28 seconds.
On the next possession, a five-yard loss on first down and two false start penalties backed Smiths Station up to their own 5 yard line. Smelling blood in the water, a swarm of Tigers blocked the kick and recovered it in the end zone to go up 21-6.
After receiving the kickoff, Pitts derailed an initially promising Panther drive with a timely sack on third-and-six.
Peyton Plott’s 50-yard punt return then set the Tigers up at the Smiths Station 10 yard line. A meandering 10-yard reverse from Antonio Welch put Auburn up 28-6 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
With a potential route on the horizon, the Panthers embarked on a promising six-play drive — extended by an Auburn offside penalty on third-and-fourth — that again ended with a timely third down sack by Pitts.
Pitts attributed his big night to Smiths Station’s effort, or rather lack of it.
“I was noticing that they were starting to quit a little early, so I knew if I just kept going, just go, just go, just go, I’d get there eventually,” the Appalachian State defensive end commit said after the game.
On Auburn’s following possession, a grinding seven-play drive continued to soften up the Panthers’ defense as Kilgore slung his third scoring pass of the evening with a 14-yard strike to BJ Collins to put Auburn up 42-6.
Following two unsuccessful Smiths Station drives that sandwiched Mabson’s 27-yard touchdown reception, the Tigers received the ball at the Panthers’ 33 yard line. In what was a recurring theme, Auburn scored its sixth TD of the night with two Mabson runs: the first eight yards, the second 25.
After a third Smiths Station drive ended with a Pitts third down sack, Auburn rumbled into end zone for the eighth time of the half after Cash Rief ended a two-play, 34-yard drive with a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 56-6 before halftime.
Another short Smiths Station drive featuring a facemask penalty and negative two-yard run ended the half, allowing senior cheerleader TaNyla Cobb to be named homecoming queen.
To start the second half, the Tigers’ starters played one final drive before their curtain call for the evening, powered by 18 and 27-yard Mabson runs before Ryan Birchfield hauled in a 10-yard TD pass from Kilgore.
Despite the offensive explosion, Kilgore, who threw three incomplete passes along with the five TDs, said the offense maintained a vanilla gameplan.
“We didn’t really put in anything new. We just stuck to our gameplan, stuck to our execution. We executed very well tonight and it was a great team win,” Kilgore said. “We’re still not there yet, but I believe in this team, we’re very talented all around and I believe the best is yet to come.”
From there, a 15-play, roughly 11-minute long touchdown drive ending with Lareaco Echols’ 5-yard TD run concluded the evening’s scoring and put Auburn up 70-6.
In total, the Tigers ran for 252 yards and threw for 191 yards, outgaining the Panthers 443 yards to 102 overall.
On Oct. 18, the Tigers will look to remain undefeated as they travel to Carver Montgomery in region play. The Wolverines are 5-2 overall and sit at fourth in 7A Region 2 after losing to Central-Phenix City 31-26. A victory over Carver mathematically guarantees Auburn a first-place finish in Region 2 by virtue of tiebreakers.
Smiths Station will host Region 2 opponent Dothan, who sits at 3-4 overall. A win over the Wolves would snap the Panthers’ 11-game losing streak, which dates back to Oct. 28 last season. Smiths Station and Dothan have both already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Wadley shocks Lee Scott with dramatic 4th quarter comeback
BY NOAH GRIFFITH | FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — The Wadley Bulldogs (7-0) proved why they are at the top of the 1A standings by marching into Auburn and taking down 3A’s Lee-Scott Warriors (4-3) on Friday, Oct. 11, by a score of 29-28.
Up 28-15 with 51 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Lee-Scott had all the momentum early. Then, Wadley and junior RB Jaquez Wilkes, who stands at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, pounded away for 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
“[Wilkes] has college offers from all over the country, and that’s not for no reason. He’s a big, physical, good-looking player. He’s hard to stop,” said Lee-Scott head coach Buster Daniel. “We just couldn’t hold them with a 15-point lead.”
Early on, the Warriors’ offense was explosive with 152 yards and three scores in their first seven plays. But the Bulldogs had the ball for the majority of the game and chewed the clock with tough running and methodical drives that seemed to wear on the Lee-Scott defense.
After Arab Lynch punched it from four yards out with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, Wadley took advantage of its upper hand in the ground game as Wilkes rushed in for the go-ahead two-point conversion.
But the Warriors kept battling.
With their backs to the wall not having scored since the end of the third quarter, Lee-Scott’s offense came back to life to set them up for a comeback bid. A big pass from senior quarterback Pelzer Reeves to senior receiver Brady Cegielski got the Warriors into Wadley territory. From there, they drove down to the 26 yard line for 4th-and-6, down by one.
What seemed like a complicated decision was simple to Daniel. He sent out the field goal team for a 43-yard field goal with a chance to go ahead with less than four minutes remaining in the game.
In the most crucial moment of the game, Wadley stood up tall. It blocked the field goal attempt and chewed the rest of the clock to remain unbeaten and extend Lee-Scott’s losing streak to three games.
In hindsight, Daniel thinks Lee-Scott made the right calls and executed them decently. It just didn’t go their way.
“Field goal was the right call there. We just couldn’t afford to go for it on 4th-and-6,” Daniel explained. “We did everything right. Maybe a little bit slow getting it off, but that’s all I can tell you.”
Despite the loss, Daniel was proud of the way his team performed against a big and imposing Wadley team.
Lee-Scott resurrected its offense after losing 13-10 to previously winless Dadeville. Reeves and backup QB Max Hammer each threw a TD pass with no turnovers between them. Sophomore receiver Preston Hughley also caught his first TD, and sophomore RB Braxton Cox ran for two scores – both from over 15 yards out.
The defense, though hit hard by an intimidating Wadley offensive line and RB, snagged two interceptions and kept the Bulldogs from getting many explosive plays, though junior WR Frisco Robertson broke off a 53-yard screen pass for a TD to begin Wadley’s fourth-quarter comeback. Robertson, who also blocked the field goal, caught two TD passes, including one right before the half that cut Lee-Scott’s lead to 21-13.
Despite the loss, Daniel was pleased with his team’s effort and persistence.
“I’ve always told the guys, if we play well and get beat, I can live with that. And I can live with this one,” Daniel said. “Not happy, but I can live with it.”
After jumping out to a 4-0 start, Lee-Scott is now on a three-game skid heading into a rivalry matchup with the Glenwood Gators (7-0), who clinched the 3A Region 4 title with a win over Dadeville on Friday.
It will be their first rivalry match as members of the AHSAA after they faced each other in the AISA state championship the past two years. Lee-Scott came out on top in both of those title games, although Glenwood won the regular-season matchup last season.
The squads will be headed in on opposite trajectories, as Glenwood is undefeated and Lee-Scott has dropped three in a row. Nonetheless, Daniel is confident that the Warriors are prepared for the road ahead after a hard-fought battle with Wadley.
“Anytime you play a game like this, it gets you prepared down the road for anyone you face,” Daniel said. “We played for 48 minutes. I’m not happy with the loss, but I’m happy with how we fought for the whole game.”
Southern Christian Patriots unable to weather Evangel lightning storm
BY JASON SCOTT
FOR THE OBSERVER
EAST ALABAMA — After a two weeks off, the Patriots of Southern Christian Athletics return to Moore Stadium in Opelika to face the defending ACSC eight-man football state champions, Evangel Christian Academy.
The Patriots were 5-1 going into the night, with a record of 0-1 in the conference. The Pats only loss went to another tough ACSC opponent, East Central Homeschool of Pinson in a 42-41 heartbreaker. The Patriots were scheduled to play Trinity Christian Homeschool from Pelham last week, but the T.C.H. Eagles elected to forfeit the game. This gave the guys from Southern Christian an additional week off including the scheduled bye week.
“I think we lost some of our intensity during the two weeks off,” said Patriots head coach Jason Scott. “It was a blessing to have the time to get most everyone healthy, with plenty of time to prepare for Evangel, but it was definitely a curse as well, not having a game for 21 days — that was not a good thing for the guys. We won’t do that again no matter how banged up we are.”
Evangel is also the third year reigning eight-man NFHS National Champions, beating every team in their wake since November of 2021. The boys from Alabaster, AL is 7-2, with a 2-0 record in conference play so far.
The Lightning are coming back into the eight-man football world after a devastating defeat last week at the hands of AISA 11 man private school powerhouse, Chambers Academy.
Evangel Christian had its 37-game winning streak snapped early in the year during game three while facing Banks Academy in an eleven man matchup.
The Lightning experienced their second loss under the boots of the Rebels from Chambers Academy, losing 39-0. Not putting points on the board is something Coach Tim Smith, head coach for Evangel, is not at all accustomed to. The last time the Lightning varsity squad was shut out was in August of 2017.
The hopes were high for the Patriots, studying the chinks in the Evangel armor for two weeks, and looking to pull out the first eight-man defeat against the Lightning in almost 4 years. But the Lightning would not be easily grounded. Evangel would score first after eating up over 6 minutes of clock, deciding to run the ball right through the heart of the S.C.A. defense, but E.C.A. would fail to make the two-point conversion attempt. The Patriots would answer right back, scoring on one of many scrambles by junior QB Elijah Bailey. But the Pats would make their extra point, behind the leg of Aiden Hahn, taking the lead 7 to 6. That would be the end of the Patriots scoring until the last 2 minutes of regulation.
Defensively, the Patriots would not be able to stop the Lightning from scoring again and again behind the tenacity of senior QB Kemp Swords. The Patriots defense would stall the Lightning air attack, deflecting three passes and successfully defending 14 more. Junior safety Jedd Scott would end the night with five passes defended and 15 tackles, in what would normally be a very successful night. Jedd’s twin brother Jagger would smoke his single game record with 20 tackles. DE Lawton Curran set his single game record with 9 QB hurries. Junior Elijah Bailey added 17 tackles.
Offensively for the Patriots, a high snap goes through the hands of the Patriot’s quarterback, ends up getting kicked around and knocked all over the field until it ends up in the end zone for Evangel to fall on it, adding another Lightning touchdown. Extremely ill timed penalties would plague the Patriots all night as well. Not only nullifying a Patriot score but also killing two momentous drives. Behind the eight ball, Bailey would have his toughest game yet, with the Lightning grabbing two interceptions and also not being able to get his offense running on all cylinders.
Although all the mistakes were costly, the story of the night was the Pats were just unable to hold back the brute force of the Evangel Lightning. Toward the end of regulation, freshman QB William Dooley connected with Owen Vaughan for a 45 yard reception and a score. Hahn kicks through the PAT and Southern ends the night with a score of 41 to 14. The Patriots will face the Ezekiel Knights at Moore Stadium this Friday at 7 p.m. for yet another chance to punch their ticket to the ACSC State Playoff.
Under the lights — Week 8
BY D. MARK MITCHELL
EAST ALABAMA — Glenwood High Gators (7-0) clinched their first AHSAA Region Championship after beating Dadeville 35-14 last Friday. They will host LSA Friday.
Auburn (7-0) beat Smiths Station 70-6 last week, play Carver Friday;
Lee-Scott (5-2) lost 29-28 to Wadley, they will play at Glenwood in Phenix City this week;
Beauregard (5-2) was open last week and will host Central Clay for region championship (the Hornets have on won 3 region championships in 2012, 2015 and 2017 in the history of the program);
Benjamin Russell High School (3-4, R 2-2) did not play last week, will play at Pelham Friday, Oct. 18.
Beulah (6-2) beat Childersburg. The Bobcats need one region win or LSA /Randolph losses;
Region champ Chambers Academy (7-1) was open last week, will play Banks Academy Friday;
LaFayette (3-4) lost to Reeltown 12-54, will host Central Coosa Friday;
Lanett (4-4) lost to Central Coosa 28-21;
Loachapoka beat Horsehoe Bend 47-28, will play at Ranburne;
Notasulga (2-6) lost to Ellwood Christian, will host Billingsley;
Smiths Station (0-7) lost to Auburn 70-6, will host Dothan;
Southern Prep beat North River Christian 66-2;
Valley (3-3) lost in OT to Elmore County 20-14, will host Beauregard at Ram Stadium.
