AHS GOES UNDEFEATED
Ends regular season with 42-7 win over Dothan
BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — After clinching the 7A Region 2 title last week, Auburn High School did not have much to play for on paper.
Yet on an unseasonably warm October night, the Tigers had the opportunity to send the class of 2025 out in style and secure their first undefeated regular season since 2009.
Auburn (9-0) did just that, demolishing the Dothan Wolves (4-5) by a score of 42-7 Friday night behind star junior running back Omar Mabson’s record-breaking performance, Peyton Plott’s 123 receiving yards with a receiving touchdown and Charlie Ward’s 84 rushing yards with two rushing TDs.
Despite the Tigers already securing a playoff spot, Auburn head coach Keith Etheredge said the team’s goal was to finish strong against a banged-up Dothan squad and make memories that would last a lifetime.
“It really has no bearing on what our playoff status is, [and] we’ve already won the region. It’s just a pride thing, how bad do you want it?” Etheredge said. “You want to stay perfect, and you want to continue to fight. We’ve got a standard that we talk about all the time.
“It’s a testament to the [underclassmen] too, because they love these seniors so much,” he later added. “Our young guys were in there talking, ‘we’ve got to do it for them, we want to finish this for them.’ This is a really close group, they’re really tight and it shows by the way they play together.”
On a night that honored the Tigers’ most veteran players, Plott’s explosive performance — highlighted by his 55-yard TD reception — perhaps embodied that mentality best. After the game, the Georgia Southern commit briefly touched on his chemistry with senior quarterback Jackson Kilgore before discussing how the team feels entering the postseason.
“We can’t overlook anybody. [We] come in and focus every day and keep grinding every week,” Plott said. “We’re now zero and zero. It’s basically a new season, we just have to keep playing hard.”
Auburn began its first half scoring onslaught on the game’s first drive, driven by a 28-yard reception from Kilgore to Plott on the game’s third play before Mabson capped things off with a 1-yard TD plunge two plays later.
With that score, Mabson broke the school’s single-season rushing TD record with his 21st rushing score on the year. After the game, Mabson said the achievement was not a goal he initially set out to accomplish this year.
“It feels great, I got my name in the record books and that’s all that matters,” Mabson said while laughing. “[Thinking about breaking the record before the season started] never crossed my mind, I just went out there and played football and had a good time.”
Dothan provided some early resistance on the ensuing drive, gaining 20 yards on eight plays, but Aubrail Alexander’s efforts could not power the Wolves to a third first down.
After fielding the punt at its own 41, the Tigers looked to again capitalize on good field position early. They did not have to wait long as Mabson pierced the heart of Dothan’s defense for a 59-yard trip to the end zone — his second of the evening.
Following a 10-play Dothan drive marred by two false start penalties and an intentional grounding call, Auburn took possession at its 39 yard line. The Tigers again blew to top off of the Wolves’ defense on third and four with Plott’s 55-yard TD reception.
At that point, Auburn was ahead 21-0 with 1:52 left in the second quarter, and the rout was on.
Dothan’s next drive, also hampered by another false start penalty, produced one first down as Alexander — who finished the game with 76 rushing yards on 22 carries for the Wolves — could not muster enough magic to will them further.
On their fourth drive of the evening, the Tigers flipped the script and marched 64 yards down the field on eight plays, highlighted by a 26-yard reception from Plott and a bruising 5-yard TD run from Mabson.
Facing a 28-0 deficit, Dothan took possession on its 16 yard line, desperate to cut into Auburn’s lead before half. Yet its reliance on the running game became predictable, with four rushes gaining only 6 yards.
With a commanding lead and the ball at the Wolves’ 22 yard line, Auburn smelled blood in the water. From there, it took just a 14-yard reception from Plott and an 8-yard rushing TD from Ward to put the Tigers up 35-0 with 2:37 left before halftime.
A quick five-play, 17-yard drive from Dothan then ended the half.
As both teams’ regular seasons were effectively over and the score out of hand, the referees instituted a running game clock to shorten the second half.
Following a three-and-out from Dothan to start the second half, Ward ripped off a weaving 75-yard touchdown run down Auburn’s sideline on the drive’s second play, hindered only by a declined facemask that did little to slow his progress.
The Wolves did eventually avoid being shut out for the first time this season after a 13-play, 70-yard drive that consumed much of the second half ended with Tyjawon Vickers’ 2-yard scoring run.
From then on, the only thing left was to get as much playing time for both teams’ backups until the Tigers secured a 42-7 victory.
In total, the Tigers rushed for 201 yards on 19 carries and threw for 127 yards on five completions, outgaining the Wolves 328 total yards to 172, which came exclusively on the ground.
What’s Next
Auburn will next play on Nov. 8 when they host the Madison-based Bob Jones Patriots (6-4) in the first round of the 7A playoffs. Bob Jones finished fourth in 7A Region 4 and is coming off a 54-14 victory over the Huntsville Panthers. The Patriots, ranked 61st in the state by MaxPreps, average 42.2 points per game while allowing 24.2 points per game.
On offense, Bob Jones is led by senior quarterback Johnny Jackson, who has completed 163-of-262 pass attempts for 2,257 yards, 24 TDs and six interceptions. His top target is senior WR Malachi Foster, who has 64 receptions for 865 yards and nine TDs, while senior running back Samuel Monroe paces the ground game with 105 rushes for 635 yards and 10 TDs.
On defense, junior linebacker Romeo Washington has posted 105 total tackles and six tackles for loss on the season. Junior defensive end Tyler Karl and junior cornerback BJ Carter have terrorized opposing quarterbacks to the tune of five sacks and five interceptions, respectively.
Valley knocks off Beauregard
BY DAVID YOHN | FOR THE OBSERVER
BEAUREGARD — Hoping to keep their faint playoff hopes alive, the Valley Rams played with a great sense of urgency and dominated the Beauregard Hornets on Friday night. Still, the 28-0 victory was not enough to secure the fourth and final playoff spot in region 4 of 5A as Holtville easily defeated winless Marbury to claim that honor.
Beauregard, having already locked up the number two seed prior to this game, will host a playoff game on November 8 in the first round of the AHSAA playoffs. The Hornets will rematch with the Andalusia Bulldogs, the same team that snapped Beauregard’s four-game winning streak back on September 27. All of that was little solace to the Hornets’ head coach, Justin Jones.
“There ain’t much to say. Hats off to Valley,” Jones remarked flatly. “It was their ballgame tonight. We just never really got it going. Hats off to those guys for what they did defensively. It’s been a while since this has really been done to us.”
The Rams’ defense completely stifled the Hornets’ offense in the first quarter, forcing Beauregard to consecutive three-and-out possessions to start the game. Meanwhile, the Rams offense started their second possession at midfield and scored after nine plays. The two-point conversion was successful, and Valley led 8-0 with 5:15 remaining in the opening quarter.
It appeared that Beauregard would start their second possession at the Valley 35 yard line, but a block in the back penalty on the kickoff return forced the Hornets to start at their own 48 yard line. A holding penalty on their second play only compounded the Hornets’ troubles, and they had to punt the ball back to the Rams. Valley’s senior running back, Tilyn Carrell, capped the brief four play, 81-yard drive with a 68-yard scoring jaunt. Carrell also ran it in for the two-point conversion, and Valley had jumped out to a 16-0 lead with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Beauregard did find some success on the ensuing drive, relying heavily on their senior running back, Ka’jaden Holloway. Facing 4th down and short to start the second quarter, Beauregard appeared to have drawn the Valley defense into the neutral zone. However, there was no call, and Holloway kept the drive alive with a six-yard gain.
After quarterback Cub Jones connected with Holloway for a short gain, Jones picked up 10 yards on the ground. He then connected with Davis Fuller on a play that would have given the Hornets the ball at the Rams’ one-yard line, but the play was negated by an illegal procedure penalty. After nearly four minutes of game time, the Hornets’ drive ended after an unsuccessful attempt to convert on fourth down and long.
Valley then looked to take complete control of the game, once again relying heavily on Carrell. His 37-yard rumble gave the Rams a great opportunity to tack on more points, but the Hornets’ secondary defended well on three consecutive pass plays, two of which were shots to the end zone.
The Hornets again controlled the ball for nearly four minutes, starting at their own 12 yard line and driving consistently down to the Valley 21 yard line. Jones connected with Aaden Johnson twice, and Holloway continued to find room to run. Facing fourth down and seven, Beauregard attempted a 28-yard field goal that sailed wide.
With just 2:11 remaining in the half, it appeared that Valley would be content to go to the locker room with a 16-0 lead. Two completions resulted in nearly 50 yards gained, so the Rams picked up the pace. However, Kameron James broke up the Rams’ pass in the end zone to keep the halftime deficit at two scores.
The third quarter saw both defenses take control.
In fact, Valley managed a first down on their initial play of the second half, but that was the only first down that either team could muster until the fifth possession of the half. Beauregard started that drive near midfield and overcame a holding penalty on third down when Jones found Jermyan Fitch on a crucial 40-yard gain.
The Hornets’ success was short-lived, however, as they were flagged for a personal foul penalty on the very next play. Valley snuffed out the Beauregard drive with an interception at the goal line, and a nice return gave the Rams the ball at their own 33-yard line late in the third quarter. Six plays later, Valley seized total control of the outcome of the game when they scored on a 44-yard reverse on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Rams lead now stood at 22-0.
The Hornets’ defense yielded just one first down before giving the ball back to their offense. Carrell picked up 44 yards on three carries, including the 10-yard run that rounded out the scoring.
At 5-4, Beauregard will look to close out its season with a win at home next week versus Russell County. It will be senior night for the Hornets, as it is their last contest before beginning the playoffs the following Friday night.
“We’ve got one more week to get ready for the playoffs,” Jones said. “Russell County will be a good test. It’s like this ballgame really had no bearing on anything, but I can’t stand to lose. I know the competitiveness inside of me and also the competitor inside of our coaches and our kids. We’ll bounce back.”
Southern Christian ends regular season with 6-2 record
CONTRIBUTED BY SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS
LEE COUNTY — The Patriots of Southern Christian defeated the Lighthouse Warriors 47-6 in the final game of the regular season. With this win, the Patriots climb to a winning 6-2 season, with a 2-2 split in the ACSC conference.
Right out of the gate, deep return specialist Jagger Scott started the evening off with a 65-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Aiden Hahn kicked the PAT to make the score 7-0. Hahn would punch through five of seven PATs by the end of regulation.
The Warriors marched all the way down the field, slashing through the heart of the Patriot defense all the way to the 3-yard line where they hit the red, white and blue barricade that is the Patriots’ red zone defense. Unable to break through in four attempts, the Warriors gave the ball over to Patriot junior quarterback Elijah Bailey, and with 97 yards to go Bailey went to work. He chewed up yardage in scramble after scramble, getting flushed out of the pocket by the Warrior defense, then making them pay for doing it. Bailey ran 10 times for 180 yards, averaging 18 yards per carry.
Lighthouse scored on the next drive but was unable to pull off the two-point conversion, which set the tone for the rest of the game for the Warriors, who did not score again.
The Patriot defense held the line against the Warriors for the remainder of the evening. Defensively, Scott (17 tackles, two fumbles recovered), Lawton Curran (15 tackles and a sack), Bailey (13 tackles), and Jedd Scott (11 tackles and six passes defended), stood firm against the triple option and RPO attack of Lighthouse.
Next, Southern Christian will travel back to Pelham this week to avenge the wounds left by a 42-41 regular season loss during Week 7 to East Central. Southern Christian plans to upset the No. 2 seed in the ACSC semi-final this coming Friday.
Under the lights — Week 10
