Post-season playoffs begin
BY D. MARK MITCHELL
FOR THE OBSERVER
EAST ALABAMA — In playoff action, Auburn (9-0) will host Bob Jones (6-4) at Duck Samford Stadium this week. The Tigers are 2-0 all time verses Bob Jones. AHS coach Keith Etheredge is 45-15 in playoffs.
Central (7-2) travels to James Clemons (6-4) Friday. This is the first meeting betwen the two teams.
Russell County (8–2) will host Northridge (7-3) in Seale. RCHS head coach Dillon Griggs is in his first playoff appearance.
Beauregard (5-5) will host Eufaula (5-5) at Hornet Stadium. The Hornets are 0-8 all time versus Tigers. BHS coach Justin Jones is 3-2 in the playoffs.
Glenwood (9-0) will host Alabama Christian (6-4) in Phenix City for the first time. GHS head coach Ryan Nelson is 2-2 in the playoffs.
Beulah (6-4) plays at Houston Academy (9-1) for the first time. Bobcat head coach Mathew Johnson is 0-1 in playoffs.
Loachapoka (5-4) will host Ariton (5-5). Loachapoka is 1-2 against Ariton. Head coach Brandon Hall is in his first season.
Lanett (5-5) will play at Cottonwood (10-0). R.J. McDonald is in his first season.
Chambers Academy (9-1) will host Clarke Prep (1-9). Chambers County is 0-2 against Clarke Prep. Head coach Jason Allen is 26-16 in the playoffs, winning the state title in 2018, 2020 and 2023.
Springwood (8-2) will host Meadowview (2-7). The two teams are 4-4 against each other. Burch is 2-4 in the playoffs.
Beauregard ends season with loss
BY DAVID YOHN
FOR THE OBSERVER
BEAUREGARD — The Beauregard Hornets (5-5) faced the high-powered Russell County Warriors (8-2) on Nov. 1 and came up short, losing 35-23.
Beauregard fell behind 21-0 late in the second quarter, and by the same 21-point margin when the Warriors went up 35-14 early in the third quarter. While the Hornets fought back both times, the three-touchdown deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
“We dug ourselves too big of a hole to start with, but hats off to these young ‘uns,” said head coach Justin Jones. “The second half they came out and played. Ran the football. We knew the box was going to be loaded. When we got in our spread stuff, just couldn’t protect like we needed to do. Just couldn’t get it down the field vertically, but I thought we ran the ball really well. And defensively, just finally started making some plays.”
In the regular season finale, Beauregard looked to get its offense back on track after being blanked by Valley a week ago. The Warriors, by contrast, had won six of their last seven games and had scored 49, 61, 45, 42 and 77 points in five of those wins.
It appeared that Russell County would have a similar offensive output when they marched 66 yards in 11 plays to claim a 7-0 lead in just 3:30.
The Hornets did manage two first downs on their initial drive but could not overcome a sack that put their offense in a hole. Following a nice punt, the Warriors found themselves starting their second possession at their own 8-yard line. While the Hornets’ defense forced Russell County to punt, they could not contain the Warriors’ punter after he dropped the snapped and sprinted around the left end for a big 28-yard gain. Seven plays later, the Warriors found the end zone again, taking a 14-0 lead on the last play of the first quarter.
Beauregard benefited from a poor onside kickoff attempt when the Warriors’ kick did not travel the required 10 yards. The Hornets began their second possession at the Warriors’ 46-yard line but could not overcome a holding penalty and another sack. Again, Russell County was backed up deep in their own territory following the Beauregard punt.
The quick-strike Warriors offense moved out close to midfield after a long completion on first down. Though the drive stalled three plays later, Russell County flipped the field on Beauregard, pinning the Hornets deep in their own territory.
Beauregard could not muster any offense and had to punt the ball right back to Russell County. This time, the Warriors wasted no time finding the end zone as an open receiver in the flats turned a short pass into a 52-yard TD that pushed the Warriors’ lead to 21-0.
The Warriors recovered a bloop kickoff, but they were flagged for interference with the opportunity to make a catch. Beauregard capitalized this time, going 44 yards in eight plays to cut the deficit to 14. Senior running back Ka’jaden Holloway picked up 26 yards on three carries, and Cub Jones found Holloway for the score on a six-yard toss.
The Warriors’ workhorse running back, Devin Brown, took the ensuing kickoff back 50 yards to give Russell County one more opportunity to score just prior to halftime. Quarterback Bryson Riggins found Brown for a 20-yard completion and later scrambled seven yards into the end zone with just four seconds remaining in the half. The Warriors took all the momentum and a 28-7 lead to the locker room.
Beauregard got just what they needed to open the second half when Holloway electrified the homecoming crowd with a 74-yard kickoff return that gave the Hornets the ball at the Russell County 23 yard line. The Jones to Holloway connection on third down worked again, as the screen pass resulted in a 19-yard score. The home team rediscovered life, trailing 28-14 very early in the second half.
Two minutes later, however, Russell County scored their final TD of the night on a 33-yard strike in the end zone. The Hornets trailed by 21 points for the second time, but they refused to go quietly into the night.
Aaden Johnson hauled in a pass from Jones, and Jeffery Holloway picked up 25 yards on three carries. He could not find running room on fourth-and-one, however, so the Warriors took over deep in their own territory. Caleb Piner made a big play for Beauregard, tackling the Russell County runner in the end zone for a safety. With 3:24 remaining in the third quarter, the Hornets trimmed the lead to 35-16.
Following the free kick, Beauregard took advantage of another short field and cut the deficit to 35-23 after eight plays. Jones connected with Aundray Vann for 17 yards, and Holloway picked up 13 yards on the ground. The Warriors were guilty of a facemask penalty on that same play, and Holloway found the end zone from two yards out one play later.
With just over a quarter to play, the Hornets still had time to make the game even closer. Neither team could sustain a drive in the final stanza, however, so Beauregard quickly turned their attention to next week.
Despite an anticipated rematch between Beauregard and Andalusia in the opening round of the AHSAA playoffs, Charles Henderson High School was penalized for playing at least one ineligible player, resulting in the forfeiture of games in which the disputed player participated.
Consequently, Eufaula moved into the third playoff slot from region two and will now be the Hornets’ first-round opponent. The Hornets and Tigers will face off at Hornets Stadium on Nov. 8.
Jones emphasized that the Hornets are excited for the opportunity to compete in the postseason for the second consecutive season, regardless of who the opponent is. On senior night, the coach also reflected on his senior class.
“If it’s Eufaula we’re playing, it’s Eufaula. Let’s go,” Jones said. “This group of seniors have hosted two playoff games and three of their four years have made the playoffs. That’s a decent little run for that group that started out so small in numbers.”
Glenwood caps off perfect season with domination of Sylacauga
BY NOAH GRIFFITH | FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Against all odds, the Glenwood Gators finished off a perfect, 9-0 season in its first year since joining the AHSAA 3A classification.
Glenwood had already locked up the region title and the top seed in the playoffs, but Glenwood had its sights set on finishing strong after stumbling in its season finale versus Chambers Academy last season. On Friday night at home in the Swamp, the Gators sealed an undefeated campaign with a 42-14 victory over Sylacauga of 5A.
“You probably would’ve won a million dollars if you told somebody back in August we were going to go undefeated,” said head coach Ryan Nelson. “It was very important to me for our seniors and for this football program that finished this thing off undefeated. This is something that I’ve been wanting for a long time for this school.”
Facing a seemingly daunting schedule early in the season, Glenwood flipped the script and seized crucial momentum to burst down the doors into the AHSAA.
Week one saw Glenwood squeak past Valley of 5A, 21-20, on a late fourth-quarter touchdown. Week two was no easier, but the Gators notched a 49-22 win over Elba and became the only team this season to hold Alabama’s new all-time leading rusher, Alvin Henderson, under 200 yards. In all seven games since then, the Gators have won by 20 points or more, including notching a plus-122 scoring differential across six region games.
Over the course of the season, Glenwood has made strides in each unit. Despite notching two straight 60-point games in shootouts against Beulah and Randolph County, Glenwood allowed a combined 78 points in those contests. In the past three weeks, however, the Gators have held opponents to 14 points in each game while still maintaining its explosiveness on offense with five or more scores in each of those games.
One area Glenwood has improved upon is intensity out of the gate, and it did just that versus Sylacauga. The Gators jumped out to a 35-0 lead at halftime after two rushing TDs by senior Jermaine Brown, giving him 15 scoring runs as well as 1,293 rushing yards on the year. Senior quarterback Levi Pinder also hit one of his two passing TDs in the first half, bringing his total to 19 passing TDs compared to just three interceptions on the season.
Senior Kham Cooper also tallied scores on the ground as well as through the air to give him eight total TDs on the year. Junior wide receiver Cal Lawrence also hauled in his seventh receiving TD of the year, putting him in a tie with Mason McCraine for the most on the team.
Combined with lockdown coverage from senior defensive back Wesley McGrew, who swiped a clutch interception on 4th-and-5 in the first half, and a clutch sack to force a turnover on downs to close out the first half by senior Emory Davis, it was a successful night all around for the Gators.
“We did exactly what I wanted to do: come out here, get hot out of the gates and jump on them quick,” Nelson said. “We got great stops defensively – a couple inside the red zone. Offensively, we hit some big plays early, and that’s exactly what we were hoping to do. It allowed us to strike quick and get some of our guys out of the game.”
Glenwood will look to carry its historic start to its AHSAA tenure into the playoffs as it starts postseason play next week. On Friday, Nov. 8, the Gators will host the Alabama Christian Academy Eagles (6-4) out of Montgomery.
“I haven’t even looked at them yet. I didn’t want to until after this one,” Nelson said of ACA after the game on Friday. “I love our guys, I trust our guys and couldn’t be happier for them and this coaching staff. We’re going to put work in starting on Sunday and see what we can do Friday night.”
Southern Christian loses battle of the Patriots
Despite loss, team still headed to NFHA 8-man national tournament
BY JASON SCOTT
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Southern Christian traveled to Pinson on Friday to play East Central in the first round of the ACSC Semifinals. The Patriots of Southern Christian lost a 42-41 nail-biter to the Patriots of EC earlier this season. This game, however, would not be so close.
Offensively, SCA wasn’t able to get the motor running. Normally a dual-threat quarterback, Elijah Bailey struggled in the air, passing 11 times for 74 yards with 4 interceptions. On the ground, the Pats weren’t much better. Jagger Scott, the No. 2 rushing leader in 8-man football for the past several weeks, only had six carries for 106 yards, 88 yards on two punt returns and one touchdown.
It seemed at times the motor for the Pats just locked up altogether. With defenders breaking through the offensive line almost every other play, Bailey was chased down and sacked six times for big losses, something the Patriots are not at all used to from their junior QB.
“I feel like he (Elijah) did everything he knew to do,” said head coach Jason Scott. He has done a great job for us all year, it’s tough to watch the guy’s season end this way. Really a heart breaker. [Offensive coordinator] Coach Jeff tried every trick in the book, but just could not slow those East Central boys down.”
Defensively, the Patriots held their own. Normally scoring 40-50 points a game, the Patriots offense won many a game for the Pats, with the defense allowing 25 points on average. So only allowing 29 points was a pretty normal for the guys on the defensive side of the ball, just another day at work. Holding East Central to 4-and-out twice in the red zone, the defense kept Southern Christian in the game.
The 7-2 Patriot defense was led by junior linebacker, Jagger Scott, with 12 solo tackles and seven assists. Scott also broke up four passing plays for the Pats. Lawton Curran played big with seven hurries, seven tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and a perfectly recovered onside kick from Hahn. Jedd Scott, junior cornerback, had six tackles, seven assists, four passes defended, one pass deflected and a sack for a 7-yard loss. Other big contributors were Aiden Hahn with seven tackles, Robbie Phinney with a sack and five QB hurries and Nate Spratlin with six QB hurries.
The tell of the tape would be the non-stoppable defense of the East Central Patriots, holding SCA to only six points, a first this season for the boys in red, white and blue. But this is not the end of the line for the Patriots.
Southern Christian will travel to Panama City Beach, Florida, to play in the NFHA 8-Man National Tournament, facing the Coastal Hurricanes from Pembroke, Georgia, on Thursday. Southern was unable to clinch a chance at the ACSC state title but will try to earn the respect of teams from across the Southeast and bring home the Championship trophy from PCB. The Patriots are hoping to put the finishing touches on this outstanding season and have some fun on the beautiful white sand beaches while they are at it.
