The AHSAA

MONTGOMERY – Six WEIS coverage area football teams won their Week 2 battles, and all six had at least one player to receive Spotlight recognition from the Alabama High School Athletic Association on Tuesday.

Sand Rock went on the road and upset Class 2A, No. 8 Westbrook Christian on Friday, aided by the efforts turned in by Jacob Cornejo and Tru Graham.

Cornejo ran for 190 yards on 15 carries, including a 44-yard touchdown. He also posted five tackles on defense in the Wildcats’ 32-13 victory.

Meanwhile, Graham intercepted a pair of passes, including one returned for a touchdown. He also ran for a 30-yard touchdown in the Wildcat win.

Sand Rock (2-0) travels to Gaston (0-3) this Friday.

Staying in Class 2A, Chaz Pope and Cam Welsh both ran for 144 yards and both had a 3-yard score in the fourth-ranked Panthers’ 28-0 victory at West End of Walnut Grove.

Pope also completed 6-of-11 pass attempts for 65 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown toss to Cooper Austin in the fourth quarter. Austin also had an interception on defense.

Spring Garden (2-0) hosts Locust Fork (1-1) on Friday.

At Springville, the Cherokee County Warriors notched a 35-21 victory over the Tigers behind the efforts of Lamycal Mitchell and Damien Ramsey.

Mitchell ran for 158 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns (11 and 4 yards) and caught a 17-yard touchdown pass. Ramsey also had 21 carries for 152 yards and a score. He caught two passes for 66 yards, with one going for a 55-yard touchdown.

Cherokee County (1-1) hosts Anniston (3-0) this Friday.

In Class 1A, Cedar Bluff quarterback Jacob Burleson rushed 70 yards with the winning touchdown with 2:29 remaining to give Cedar Bluff a 33-26 win over Valley Head. He finished the night with 81 yards rushing on 23 carries and completed 4-of-13 passes for 114 yards with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Bucky Leek. Leek ran for 96 yards on 16 carries and caught three passes for 83 yards.

It was the first win at Cedar Bluff for new coach Alan Beckett.

The Tigers (1-1) travel to Sumiton Christian (2-0) on Friday.

Staying in Class 1A, the Gaylesville Trojans posted their first shutout since their 2018 season opener with a 30-0 blanking of Appalachian.

Hunter Penney ran for 148 yards on just seven carries and scored a touchdown. He also tallied five tackles and an assist on defense.

Michael Reynolds led the Trojan ‘D’ with 12 stops, including six tackles for loss with an assist and a sack. He also rushed for 67 yards on 11 carries.

The Trojans (2-1) travel to Coosa Christian (2-1) on Friday.

Class 3A, No. 2 Piedmont’s Austin Estes made his mark on special teams in the Bulldogs’ 28-12 win at No. 10 Saks. He returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the first half. Estes also returned a punt 54 yards in the second quarter that set up another Piedmont touchdown.

Piedmont (2-0) hosts Glencoe (0-2) on Friday.

In other statewide action, five different players scored touchdowns Friday night at T.R. Miller High School of Brewton beat Cottage Hill Christian Academy 36-6 to become the first school in AHSAA history to win 700 varsity football games. The milestone triumph sent the Tigers’ football program into this week’s AHSAA Football Spotlight.

It seemed natural the touchdown bounty was spread around in this win. The 700 wins are also spread around several generations of T.R Miller football players – many who have seen.

Quarterback Miller Hart connected with Nolan Atkinson on a 6-yard touchdown pass to put the Tigers up 7-0. Terrance Battles scored on a 1-yard run. D.J. Fountain on a 7-yard run, Takyi Askew on a 3-yard run, and Craig Blevins on a 3-yard run.

Hart’s dad Jim Hart quarterbacked the 1991 state championship team and his grandfather was the defensive coordinator on the staff. And of course, the current QB’s name is “Miller.”

The Tigers (2-1), coached by Brent Hubbert, are now 700-327-20 overall – a winning percentage of 68.2% – highest of any school in the AHSAA all-time Top 10. The program began in 1926 and is currently in its 96th season. T.R. Miller has had 74 winning seasons during that span with six state championships.

Fayette County is 699-359-35 heading into its game with Curry this week. Oneonta is third all-time with a 695-360-33 record, followed by Deshler (679-260-33); Thomasville (663-339-49); Colbert County (663-381-23); Demopolis (659-324-42); Enterprise (659-330-34); Bessemer City/Jess Lanier/Bessemer (659-330-34); and Alex City/Benjamin Russell (654-363-26) to round out the current Top 10.

Hubbert, 20-9 and in his third season at T.R. Miller, is 203-50 overall winning three Class 1A state titles back-to-back from 2014-2016 at Maplesville. He understands the family importance in any dynasty. His dad Jim Hubbert retired from coaching with a 171-51 record – most of those wins at Maplesville. He guided the Red Devils to the 1996 state crown.

T.R. Miller won five state championships under the direction of Jamie Riggs, who retired from coaching ranked fourth all-time in the AHSAA with a career record of 316-101-0, was 293-62 in 27 seasons as the Tigers’ head coach from 1989-2015.

“We did something at Maplesville that I brought with me to T.R. Miller,” said Hubbert. “I always asked our seniors to bring a picture of someone who had played at Maplesville in the past and on that night, those men would join the players before the game.

“Last Friday, we invited anyone who had ever been a member of a T.R. Miller football team to join us before the game in the locker room. And I asked Coach Riggs to speak to our kids.

“It was really a lot of fun listening to the older players talking about their own teams. They still remember who may have jumped off sides on the goal line in the 1950 season, or mentioned who needed to be watched closely when the team spent the night in a motel room.”

He said he sees a lot of similarities between his old school and town (Maplesville) and T.R. Miller and Brewton, both pulp-wooding communities.

“People ask me what is the big difference and I tell, four stoplights,” he said.

A total of 218 of the Tigers’ 700 wins have been shutouts. T.R. Miller has been 306-112-3 at home, 268-134-8 on the road and owns a 91-34 playoff record in 40 appearances – second only to Hoover (102-23-1 in 36 appearances).

The school has six state championships with the 2A title in 1969 (Coach Mack Wood), a 4A crown in 1984 (Coach Mike Sasser), 4A state championships in 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2002 (Coach Jamie Riggs). The Tigers finished as state runner-up five times (1986, 1990, 1995, 1996 and 1998) and has had seven additional state semifinal appearances, according to data researched by the AHSFHS.org.

The T.R. Miller milestone edged out another milestone win for one of the AHSAA’s newest football-playing high schools – St. Michael Catholic High School of Fairhope. The Cardinals became competing at the varsity level in 2018 and lost its first 18 region games.

That all changed last week when quarterback Josh Murphy completed 15-of-20 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns as the Cardinals (2-0) beat Jackson 24-21 for the school’s first-ever Class 4A, Region 1 victory.

The win was also the first for new head football coach Philip Rivers, who left the NFL after 16 seasons as a starting quarterback and took over as head coach for St. Michael after his retirement at the end of the 2020 season.

Murphy was red-hot completing his first five passes of the game and 11-of-15 in the first half for 243 yards and both TDs. He connected on a 66-yard pass to Calvin Caron and a 34-yard touchdown to Micah Farrell to give St. Michael a 24-14 lead at halftime.

Teammate Ezra Sexton added s 4-yard TD run and 28-yard field goal in the first half. Farrell finished with four catches for 102 yards, and William Ford had six receptions for 92 yards.

Jackson quarterback Walter Taylor III fired TD passes of 80 yards to Jamarion Sampson ad 71 yards to Tylen Campbell to close the game to 17-14. Taylor finished 10-of-21 for 288 yards.

“These kids played their hearts out,” Rivers said to al.com reporter Darron Patterson. “We knew what kind of team Jackson was, and we challenged them to come out and compete hard. That’s exactly what they did. The offense and defense played their hearts out all night long. I’m just so proud of them.”

Both teams play next weekend at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. St. Michael plays Williamson on Thursday, while Jackson plays Vigor on Saturday in a noon.

Other top performances reported include:

MILESTONES
D.J. JACKSON PRESERVES RARE 2-0 WIN: Intercepted three passes as the Tigers of Coach Scott Rials won a defensive game, 2-0 over Blount. It was Baldwin County’s first win over Blount since 1989. It was also the most memorable 2-0 football victory in the AHSAA since Autaugaville’s 2-0 win over Cottonwood in Class 2A semifinals in 1985 to snap a 10-gme win streak.

Ironically, the safety was the only points Cottonwood allowed in the playoffs – outscoring opponents in the previous three games 73-0. After the 2-0 loss, the Bears reeled off 27 wins before losing again.

WEAVER ENDS 21-GAME LOSING SKID: In his first season as the Bearcats’ head coach, Gary Atchley directed Weaver to a 20-7 Class 3A, Region 5 win over Glencoe to snap a 21-game winless streak. It was the Bearcats’ first victory since Nov. 2, 2018. Weaver got TD runs from Jayden Sturkie and Jackson Williams and a TD pass from freshman quarterback Caden Goodson to Jeffrey Miles in the win.

“This win was so much more than just about me and the players,” Atchley said told reporter Greg Warren. “It meant a lot to this community. I told these guys the fans were going to give you another chance and they showed up tonight, and they saw a team getting after somebody. It was just special. It was a special night.”

COLE BLAYLOCK, UMS-WRIGHT: Led UMS-Wright to a 52-0 win over LeFlore – the 250th coaching win by head coach Terry Curtis at the Mobile private school. Blaylock had 14 carries for 110 yards and TD runs of 5, 8 and 52 yards.

Curtis, in his 23rd season, is currently 250-55 at UMS-Wright with eight state championships. He is 327-91 overall with head-coaching stops at Mobile’s Shaw and Murphy high schools as well.

Curtis currently is the winningest active football coach in the AHSAA – since Vestavia Hills’ Buddy Anderson retired at the end of the 2020 season. He finished his 43-year head-coaching career with a 343-160-0 record as the Rebels’ coach.

MAPLESVILLE TIES SCORING RECORD: Defensive standout Britton Worrall led a defense that limited Barbour County to just one first down and forced six Jaguars fumbles in a 69-0 win. Worrall scored one of eight Red Devils first-quarter TDs on a fumble return as Maplesville built a 55-0 lead by the end of the period.
Jakavian Jackson got the scoring started with a 43-yard TD run on the second play of the game. Homewood set the scoring record for a single quarter previously with 55 first-quarter points in a 75-13 win over Ramsay in 2012.

KAM SANDLIN, ANNISTON: Ran for one TD and completed two TD passes to Antonio Kite as the Bulldogs downed Jacksonville 22-9 and improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2009. The TD passes covered 43 and 40 yards. Sandlin’s TD run covered six yards.

RUSHING
EMMANUEL HENDERSON, GENEVA COUNTY: The Bulldogs’ standout running back and University of Alabama commitment rushed for 342 yards and scored all four touchdowns in the Bulldog’s 28-12 win over Cottonwood. He scored on runs of 65, 35, 54 and 72 yards. The game was his fourth career 300-plus rushing performance and second best of his career.

BRADEN THOMAS, PLAINVIEW: Had 27 carries for a career-high 304 yards and scored three touchdowns and three 2-point conversions to pace the Bears (1-0) to a 56-40 victory over Pisgah. He also had eight tackles on defense. He now has 508 yards rushing in two games for Plainview this season.

GAVIN BROWN, CORNER: The workhorse running back had 41 carries for 242 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 2 and 26 yards to lead the Yellow Jackets past St. Clair County 21-13.

TAVEN CURRY, ROBERTSDALE: Carried 28 times for 240 yards and three touchdowns carries as the Golden Bears rallied in the second half to beat Citronelle 21-6.

TIMOTHY McREYNOLDS, GENEVA: Totaled six touchdowns and earned 271 all-purpose yards as the Panthers outlasted Booker T. Washington 47-36. He rushed for 213 yards and caught 58 yards in receptions, had TD runs of 1, 5, 5, 14, 17 and 30 yards.

JORDAN MOULTRIE, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Had just six rushes for 191 yards and two touchdowns – a 52 and 93 yards – both coming in the first half as the Red Devils beat Smiths Station 56-0.

BRYCE DOWDLAN, B.C. RAIN: Rushed for 190 yards and three scores on 23 carries as the Red Raiders topped Satsuma 35-7. He also had three receptions for 53 yards and fourth TD.

JAYLON DOZIER, ABBEVILLE: Piled up 185 rushing yards and three touchdowns (43, 95 and 2 yards) on offense and earned five tackles and a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Yellow Jackets’ 48-18 win over Zion Chapel.

JERMAREY LAWSON, VINCENT: Rushed for 180 yards and two TDs on 20 carries and returned a kickoff 80 yards for another score in a 36-35 loss to Ranburne. He also scored a 2-point conversion and had an interception on defense.

KHALIFA KEITH, PARKER: Totaled 27 rush attempts for 174 yards and all six Parker touchdowns in a 40-30 win over Fairfield.

JAMES HAMMONDS, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Picked up 174 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Huskies’ 48-17 win over Spain Park.

JAYLON GUILFORD, STRAUGHN: Totaled 165 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns as Straughn downed Bullock County 41-20.

LOGAN PATE, GUNTERSVILLE: Ran for 158 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries in a 34-19 win over Fairview.

EIAN BAIN, VALLEY HEAD: Picked up 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns (17 and 60 yards) on 19 carries in a 33-26 loss to Cedar Bluff. He also ran for a 2-point conversion and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the Tigers.

NICK BURRELL, MOODY: Rushed for 130 yards and one TD on 15 carries in the Blue Devils’ 43-12 win over Hayden.

GLENN PATRICK, FAIRHOPE: Totaled 101 yards rushing on 15 carries and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, as the Pirates rallied to top Daphne in the War on the Eastern Shore 38-31 in overtime.


PASSING
HAYDEN GARRISON, CHELSEA: Completed 19-of-28 passes for 325 yards and three scores and ran four times for 92 yards and a fifth score to account for all five TDs in a 42-35 setback to Briarwood Christian. He had 417 total yards.

RAYSHAWN HARDY, BOB JONES: Rushed for 158 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries, and completed 12-of-22 passes for 238 yards for 396 total yards in a 35-28 overtime loss to James Clemens.

ERIC HANDLEY, FAIRFIELD: Was 15-of-26 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns and added four runs for 31 yards and a score in a 40-30 setback to Parker.

BRAYDEN KYLE, DECATUR HERITAGE: Passed for 274 yards and four touchdowns and ran for fifth TD in a 41-10 win over Phillips.

CALEB NIX, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Led the Red Devils to a 56-0 win over Smiths Station completing 14-of-22 passes for 248 yards and four TDs. His scoring tosses covered 27, 9, 15 and 56 yards.

J.T. BLACKWOOD, HARTSELLE: Connected on 18-of-23 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 36 yards and a score in a 35-14 win over Cullman.

TAMETRIUS POGUE, THEODORE: Was 16-of-19 passing for 252 yards and four touchdowns as the Bobcats defeated Alma Bryant 71-0.

LOGAN SELLERS, LEROY: Completed 16-of-21 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears beat Orange Beach 49-29.

TRACE THOMPSON, ETOWAH: Passed for 243 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils past Oneonta 33-0.

CALEB McCREARY, MONTGOMERY CATHOLIC: Completed 10-of-13 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns in a 65-7 win over Dadeville.

CAULIN THOMAS, SLOCOMB: Was 6-of-10 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Red Tops past Northside Methodist Academy 37-0. He added 35 rushing yards and managed five tackles on defense, including one for a loss, and also recovered a fumble in the win.

CHRISTOPHER VIZZINA, BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN: Was 14-of-20 passing for 174 yards and two TDs and rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and on 19 carries as the Lion (3-0) beat Chelsea 42-35 in overtime.

K.J. JACKSON, SAINT JAMES: Accounted for five touchdowns, three passing and two rushing, as the Trojans beat Alabama Christian 35-21. He totaled 209 passing yards.

ALEX YOUNG, PLEASANT GROVE: Was 9-of-13 passing for 192 yards and three touchdowns as the Spartans beat Cordova 46-18. He also rushed for 63 yards on three carries and scored one TD.

IVERSON HOOKS, PARK CROSSING: Led the Patriots (3-0) to a 42-7 win over Carroll-Ozark with a 12-of-14 passing performance for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He also had seven rush attempts for 53 yards and three scores.

A.J. WALLACE, MOODY: Was 11-of-18 passing for 168 yards and five touchdowns in a 43-12 win over Hayden. He also rushed for 115 yards on nine carries.

GIO LOPEZ, JAMES CLEMENS: Passed for 184 yards and a touchdown and ran for 43 yards and a score in a 35-28 overtime win over Bob Jones.

WILL LANKFORD, PELHAM: Completed 8-of-14 passes for 170 yards and five touchdowns. Three were caught by Jake Fox, who had TD catches of 70, 53 and 15 yards, the last one providing the winning margin.

CARTER LAMBERT, BOAZ: Four of his five pass completions went for TDs in as 53-0 victory over Crossville.

PARKER MARTIN, FAIRVIEW: Was 12-of-17 passing for 131 yards and a TD and rushed for 135 yards and two scores in a 34-19 loss to Guntersville. He had a 61-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. He tops all Cullman County schools with 27-of-38 pass completions and seven TDs – with just one interception on the year.

PASS RECEIVING
OMARION FINCH, ETOWAH: Grabbed six pass receptions for 216 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-0 Blue Devils’ win over Oneonta. He also punted four times for a 42.4-yard average.

MATTHEW ROZIER, SPARKMAN: Hauled in 10 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns in a 47-26 win over Albertville.

RYAN PEPPINS, THOMPSON: Caught three passes for 168 yards with TDs of 87 and 70 yards both in the first quarter – as the Warriors rolled to its third straight shutout win with a 58-0 decision over Tuscaloosa County. The two-time defending Class 7A state champion Warriors (3-0) of Coach Mark Freeman have outscored its three opponents this season 168-0.

JAREL WILIAAMS, SARALAND: The Spartans’ wide receiver caught eight passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns as the Spartans rallied to defeat McGill-Toolen Catholic. He caught the game-winning TD pass from Gabe Reynolds with 33 seconds left.

KARMELLO ENGLISH, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Hauled in six catches for 130 yards and three TDs (27, 9 and 56 yards) as Central downed Smiths Station 56-0.

ETHAN BEARD, SAINT JAMES: Caught four passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-21 win over Alabama Christian.

KOBE PRENTICE, CALERA: Hauled in five pass receptions for 115 yards and two TDs in a 34-30 loss to Pelham. He also ran 48 yards for a third TD.

JAY BUTLER, BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN: Had six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in a 42-35 overtime win over Chelsea.

AIDEN ROBINSON, MOODY: Had two pass receptions, both for touchdowns, in a 43-12 win over Hayden.

DEFENSE
JOSEPH ROBERTO, HELENA: Contributed 18 tackles with six tackles-for-loss, four sacks and a forced fumble in the Huskies’ 20-10 win over Wetumpka.

LUKE HODGE, ONEONTA: Managed 18 tackles in the Redskins’ 33-0 loss to Etowah.

ISAAC LARA, J.B. PENNINGTON: Set off a chain of five Tigers’ touchdowns in the second quarter by picking off a fumble in midair and racing 60 yards for a TD as J.B. Pennington went on to beat Vinemont 49-6. The fumble return broke a 0-0 tie.

MICHAEL FORNEY, HOLTVILLE: Totaled 12 tackles in the Bulldogs’ 36-14 win over Elmore County.

NELSON HALL, OPP: Had 12 tackles in a 27-0 win over New Brockton and got plenty of help from fellow Bobcats’ defenders Cole Jennings and Zack Hill, who had 11 tackles each.

AUSTIN YELDER, LEE-MONTGOMERY: Led a strong defensive effort with 11 tackles as the Generals downed Eufaula 17-10.

DAREN MENCER, CARVER-BIRMINGHAM: Managed 11 tackles and two pass break-ups in the Rams’ 14-6 loss to John Carroll Catholic.

GRAYSON BELL, GENEVA COUNTY: Totaled 11 tackles and teammate Isaiah Hutcherson had 10 stops in the Bulldogs’ 28-12 win over Cottonwood.

NIGEL WALKER, MONTGOMERY ACADEMY: Finished with 11 tackles, three sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown to lead the Eagles to a 45-26 win over Hale County.

JACK THOMAS, ALABAMA CHRISTIAN: Had 10 tackles in a 35-21 loss to Saint James.

BRANDON PURIFOY, VIGOR: Led the Wolves’ defense with nine tackles, including a pair of tackles for a loss, and recovered a fumble in a 41-6 win at W.S. Neal.

TANNER CHAMBERS, LEEDS: Had eight tackles and two interceptions with 53 yards on returns, setting up the game-winning drive as the Green Wave beat Lincoln 19-13.

JONES BEAVERS, MOUNTAIN BROOK: Had two interceptions as the Spartans (3-0) downed Woodlawn 49-0.

DEE PROTHRO, CLEBURNE COUNTY: Had seven tackles, including two sacks, as the Tigers (3-0) beat White Plains 20-3 – giving Cleburne County its first 3-0 start since 2007.

WILL DUKES, SCOTTSBORO: Recorded eight tackles in a 24-7 loss to Oxford.

SPECIAL TEAMS
DAMIAN THOMPSON, MAR HILL BIBLE: The sophomore returned a kickoff 81 yards on the first play of the game for a touchdown, added 30-yard interception return for a TD later in the quarter and scored on a 38-yard punt return in the second period to total 228 all-purpose yards in the Panthers’ 37-0 victory over Sheffield.

BRAYLYN FARRINGTON, CALERA: Returned a second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in the Eagles’ narrow 34-30 loss to Pelham. He also had nine catches for 140 yards.

ASHTON BROWN, VALLEY HEAD: Returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and caught a 37-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of the Tigers’ 33-26 loss at Cedar Bluff.

TREVOR MORRIS, G.W. LONG: Returned a kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown and had touchdown runs of 8 and 24 yards in the Rebels’ 35-16 win over Elba. He finished with 98 yards rushing on 16 carries.