OPELIKA —
Opelika’s girls’ and boys’ cross country teams participated in the AHSAA Class 7A, Section 2 meet at Auburn’s Kiesel Park last weekend. The Bulldogs’ top two qualifiers were Brantley Turnham, who finished second with a time of 16:49.32, and Chas Brewer, who placed third at 16:49.52. The final standings are listed below for the girls and boys. The top six qualifiers advance to the AHSAA State Meet, Saturday, Nov. 4, at Oakville Indian Mounds Park in Moulton, Alabama.
OHS GIRLS’ RESULTS:
22:01.61 – Paola Torres – 16th
22:09.64 – Violett Alcorn – 19th
23:02.26 – Caroline Couey – 29th
23:53.84 – Margaret Bice – 32nd
24:28.67 – Joanne Smith T – 36th
25:37.94 – Susan Gaston – 44th
26:24.22 – Carlie Moates – 48th
26:27.20 – Frida Cruz Valdez – 49th
27:01.06 – Ellie Kendrick – 52nd
27:45.38 – Maddie Taunton – 53rd
OHS BOYS’ RESULTS:
16:49.32 – Brantley Turnham – 2nd
16:54.47 – Chas Brewer – 3rd
19:06.08 – Michael Hart – 25th
19:14.01 – Trey White – 27th
19:35.63 – Zalen Shaw – 32nd
19:53.04 – Zane Sexton – 36th
20:06.43 – Ben Bell – 39th
20:51.01 – Burch Harris – 48th
20:51.42 – Amari Bynum – 49th
22:04.11 – Alexander Burgess – 54th
AHSAA
The AHSAA football playoffs begin Friday for 32 teams in class 1A through class 6A, and 16 teams in class 7A. The final two teams in each class will play in the Super 7 football championship at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. Six defending champions qualified for the playoffs: Sweet Water, Clarke County, Piedmont, Pike Road, Clay-Chalkville and Thompson.
One of the biggest highlights of the playoffs involve UMS-Wright head coach Terry Curtis, who is tied with Buddy Anderson for most wins (346 wins) by a high school football coach in Alabama. UMS-Wright will host Headland Friday night.
Locally, Dadeville, Auburn, Benjamin Russell, Beauregard, Lanett and Loachapoka made the playoffs.
The Alabama Independent School Association begins their football playoffs Friday night. Lee-Scott made history Friday night by finishing 10-0 in the regular season. Head coach Buster Daniel’s Warriors earned a bye to the semi-finals and will play the winner of the Valiant Cross/Monroe game, Nov. 10 at LSA’s Judd Scott Field. A win puts Lee-Scott in the Championship game at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl, Nov. 17.
OHS FLAG FOOTBALL
Opelika High flag football team opened the playoffs with a 25-0 win over Booker T. Washington last Wednesday at Duck-Samford Stadium.
In the first possession of the game, Opelika drove down the field and quarterback Cherdi Daniels scored on a run play. The Dawgs went up 6-0. On the third time on offense, Jasmine Smith got a handoff from Daniel and ran the ball in for a touchdown. The fourth possession resulted in another touchdown off of a run from Daniels once again. The extra point was good on a pass from Daniels to KayKay Dowell, which put the Dawgs up 19-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Daniels found Z Fanning on a long pass, who ran it into the endzone for a touchdown. The dawgs held strong on defense, not allowing Booker T. to get over half field for the entirety of the contest. With the win, the Bulldogs advanced to the second round of the playoffs, where they played Auburn at Duck-Samford Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 27.
The Bulldogs ultimately lost, 20-0, which brought their season to a close with a final record of 15-7.
OMS FOOTBALL
The Opelika Middle School eighth grade football team completed a successful season with a 7-1 record. The middle school Bulldogs beat Wetumpka, Millbrook, Prattville, Auburn, Smiths Station, Central and Valley. Head coach Dustin Ferguson praised the members of the team, on and off the field. Congrats OMS.D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1310, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.