‘Dega win streak
- Updated: October 3, 2024
Talladega scores 28 unanswered points, makes it two victories in as many weeks while ending recent futility against rival Munford.
This week’s football schedule
THURSDAY, Oct. 3
Talladega 28, Munford 14, FINAL
Donoho 33, Fayetteville 14, FINAL
FRIDAY, Oct. 4
Hokes Bluff at Alexandria
Anniston at Cherokee County
Central-Clay at Elmore County
Tallassee at Cleburne County
Cleveland at Coosa Christian
Glencoe at Weaver
Handley at Bullock County
Jacksonville at Springville
Jacksonville Christian at Clay County Christian
Ohatchee at Westbrook Christian
Pell City at Oxford
Locust Fork at Piedmont
Cedar Bluff at Pleasant Valley
Ranburne at Horseshoe Bend
Randolph County at Glenwood
Saks at J.B. Pennington
Southside at Mae Jemison
Appalchian at Spring Garden
Woodland at Wadley
White Plains at Ashville
Open: Lincoln, Wellborn.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
TALLADEGA — Something is changing with Talladega High School football, and it showed when the Tigers faced a two-touchdown deficit against county rival Munford on Thursday.
“We expected to win,” quarterback Zae Lyles said, “so we’re never going to give up.”
Lyles ran for two touchdowns as Talladega scored the final 28 points en route to a 28-14 victory in Mary Dumas Stadium.
The Tigers (2-5), fresh off of a 35-28 victory over Ashville last week, made it two wins in a row for the first time since 2019. They also ended Munford’s five-game winning streak in the series, and the Lions had won nine of the past 10.
Talladega leads the all-time series 18-9.
The Tigers entered Damien Dorsey’s first season as their head coach having suffered back-to-back winless seasons, which followed a one-win season in 2021. Dorsey took over a maturing team hungry to win.
“The kids understand, we’re honoring God with how we practice and how we play and what we’re doing,” Dorsey said. “The kids believe in themselves.
“I’ve just been understanding that, it’s the mind and the mental, and they believe now. That’s it.”
That belief came in handy when Munford’s Trae Jordan returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and Tank Edmondson added a 13-yard touchdown run to put the Lions (1-5) up 14-0 at 8:12 of the second quarter.
Jarondez Moten’s 16-yard touchdown run at 5:12 began the rally, and Talladega trailed 14-7 at halftime. The Tigers owned the second half.
“Everybody was still up,” Dorsey said. “Never give up. We knew we could come back. We’ve been doing it all year.
“Now, we have the resolve to go over the top and not just tie it up, but take the lead. We have the resolve.”
Dorsey said the victory over Ashville, which ended Talladega’s 26-game losing streak dating back to 2021, “did everything.”
“As you can see, it built us up,” Dorsey said. “It gave us momentum. The kids came to practice energized.”
Lyle’s tied the game with a 1-yard keeper at 5:20 of the third quarter, and he added a 48-yard touchdown scamper at 11:17 of the fourth.
Alex Taylor closed out the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run on fourth down and seven at 5:59.
“Our coaches, we’ve got a quote, ‘Do your job,'” said sophomore receiver/defensive back Malik Smith, whose night included an interception. “Everybody went out and did their job.
“He said win the turnover battle and use your head, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Munford has six starters out with injuries, but mistakes bedeviled the Lions, as well.
“It’s the same thing it’s been in a lot of games,” Munford coach Michael Easley said. “We shoot ourselves in the foot offensively, and we didn’t play very good, really, after the first quarter. We didn’t play good at all.
“The only thing that was worse than our play was our coaching. We did a horrible job coaching tonight, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and I hate it for some of our guys. We had some young guys out there play because the starters were out hurt.”
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