Opelika defeats Central-Phenix City
BY D. MARK MITCHELL
OPINION —
Opelika (8-1, R 5-1) beat the Central-Phenix City Red Devils (6-2, R 4-2) 23-14, last Friday night in front of a packed home crowd at Bulldog stadium, earning a first trip to the AHSAA Class 7A State football playoffs in school history. OHS finished as the No. 2 seed in Region 2 and will host Florence or James Clemens in the first round at home.
This was a battle between two great football teams, playing for a home playoff game instead of going on the road to Huntsville. The Dogs jumped out to a 17-0 first half lead after scoring two TDs and a 26-yard field goal while holding the Red Devils to one TD in the game. Tristan Williams ran 10 yards with six minutes left in the third quarter. Opelika’s Beasley kicked a 41-yard field goal less than four minutes later, extending the lead to 20-7. CHS answered with a second TD with six minutes left in game, closing the lead to 23-14. Opelika came right back and sealed the win a 40-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the game.
Opelika ended the game with 126 rushing yards and 146 passing yards for a total of 272 yards of offense. Calvin Hughley rushed 15 times for 62 yards, Waits had seven rushes for 20 yards and Johnson added 33 yards on eight carries. Colby Key was six of 11 for 146 yards and one TD. Teceiver Jalyn Miller caught three passes for 111 yards.
Opelika was set to play Carver Thursday night in Montgomery’s Crampton Bowl in the last regular game of the season. Results were available at press time.
Regardless of the outcome of the OHS vs CHS football game, head coach Bryan Moore should be commended for the product he is putting on the football field. The team plays hard, with energy, hustling on and off the field, making fewer mental mistakes and appearing to be having a good time.
Opelika has a chance to make a playoff run and play for the 7A State Championship, but it’s a long tough road to get there. Round one will be against a team from the Huntsville area. Round two is where things get interesting: Opelika will probably travel to Hoover for a game against the Bucs while Auburn hosts Thompson at Duck Samford Stadium.
Another interesting tidbit — Auburn and Opelika could play each other in the Super 7 Championship game at Protective Stadium in Birmingham on Dec. 4. Time will tell.
IS4S SPONSORS MONTGOMERY “SALUTE TO VETERNANS BOWL”
Local company IS4S is the new sponsor of the Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery. IS4S President and CEO Dr. Glenn Rolader appeared on my radio show “On the Mark” after the announcement was made official.
“We are a defense contractor, no attention is wanted or needed,” said Rolader. “We wanted to give back to our veterans. We have numerous bases in the state of Alabama and surrounding states, I am glad IS4S can honor our military veterans. They are special and deserve recognition. New employee Marshall Meyers thought of this idea, researched the numbers and it made sense. I told Marshall he is the most expensive first year employee I’ve ever hired.”
The IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl will be held Dec. 14 at Montgomery’s Crampton Bowl at 8 p.m., following the Heisman presentation. The bowl features teams from Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt conference.
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia and host of “On the Mark” on Fox Sports the Game 910-1319.
