Friday night roundup
- Updated: September 20, 2014
Jacksonville overcomes first halftime deficit to remain undefeated; Donoho’s shutout streak hits 16 quarters
Friday’s Calhoun County scores
Lincoln 48, Anniston 12
Alexandria 9, Springville 6
Donoho 21, Winterboro 0
Jacksonville 22, Cherokee County 7
Cedar Bluff 50, Jacksonville Christian 28
Ashville 8, Ohatchee 6
Opelika 45, Oxford 21
Glencoe 31, Piedmont 28
Westbrook Christian 24, Pleasant Valley 6
Saks 50, White Plains 7
Wellborn 42, Weaver 7
By East Alabama Sports Today
Jacksonville didn’t let something like being behind at halftime get it down.
For the first time this season the Golden Eagles trailed at halftime, but they took control in the second half and beat winless Cherokee County 22-7 to remain undefeated and continue their best start since 1999.
“Everything is a learning curve with this team,” Jacksonville coach Clint Smith said. “We’ve got so many kids who are in their first time on the varsity level … tonight was just another step, another thing, we encountered for the first time with these kids – and they answered the call.
“That’s encouraging. When you learn how to handle adversity and you start handling it well every time it shows itself, you have a little more confidence.”
The fifth-ranked Golden Eagles (5-0, 3-0) trailed 7-6 at the break. They had two red zone turnovers in the half and were stopped on a goal-line stand.
Tae Ackles put them ahead for good with an 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and then Sid Thurmond gave them some breathing room with a 42-yard punt return to set up his second touchdown of the game.
Thurmond finished with 168 all-purpose yards – 60 rushing, 20 receiving, 88 returning. Ackles rushed for 58 yards on 16 carries.
“I don’t think our kids ever doubted themselves,” Smith said. “It all goes back to the expectations this team has now. Because of the ranking and the publicity they’re getting it does add to the pressure … but there wasn’t any panic or anything negative at halftime. We came in, made some adjustments and the kids went back out and … found a way to win.”
Quarterback Quen Veasley completed 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards. He was intercepted twice – both on tipped balls. Nico Richmond caught four passes for 23 yards. Nick Gangwer led the defense with 10 tackles. Tristan Yates had eight.
“Being 5-0, that’s as good as we can be right now,” Smith said. “We’re excited and we understand we’ve got to keep working hard to get better each and every week. Our region only gets tougher from here.
“We’ve got that number in front of our name and when you’ve got that number in front you’ve got a target on your back. Everybody’s trying to knock you off. You have to give it your best all the time. You always have to be ready to play. All this is kind of new to them with a lot of things and they’re learning how to handle that.”
Saks 50, White Plains 7
Devin Harris is making Saks fans forget about Tre Smith. Harris was moved to quarterback after Smith graduated and left for Central Arkansas and the Wildcats haven’t missed a beat.
Harris accounted for five touchdowns for the second week in a row Friday and led No. 3 Saks (4-0, 3-0) to its 16th straight regular-season victory.
Harris ran for two touchdowns, threw for two more and scored a fifth on an interception return. His touchdown passes went to D.J. English and Darion Coleman.
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“We felt like he was our best option at quarterback,” Saks coach Jonathan Miller said. “He’s done a great job running our offense. He’s thrown the ball well, runs it well and gets the ball out to our guys in space.
“Tre was a great player and really elusive. Devin just really runs; he’s so fast.
Calvin Figueroa scored the Wildcats’ other touchdowns.
Wellborn 42, Weaver 7
Kevin Mixon rushed for 187 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Panthers won their second game in a row to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Mixon ran for two touchdowns and scored a third on a 76-yard punt return. Corri Tignor, Robert Montgomery and freshman Pat Harris had the Panthers’ other touchdowns.
Wellborn’s defense, meanwhile, held the Bearcats (2-3, 1-2) to 131 net yards. With the win, combined with other results around the region, the Panthers (2-2, 2-1) are now tied for second with Piedmont and Westbrook Christian.
Alexandria 9, Springville 6
SPRINGVILLE – A.J. Martin and Riley Shaw knocked down Springville’s Hail Mary pass in the end zone as time expired to preserve the Valley Cubs’ victory.
Jacob Heathcock put Alexandria (2-2, 2-1) ahead with a 1-yard plunge on fourth down with 5:42 left in the game.
Until then, it had been a battle for the field goal kickers. Alexandria’s Luke Tucker kicked a 24-yarder to open the scoring, then Springville kicked a 32- and a 38-yarder in the middle two quarters to take the lead.
Alton led the Cubs’ rushing attack with 116 yards on 12 carries. Keenan Woodruff followed his 220-yard showing last week against Lincoln with 69 yards on 17 carries Friday night.
Alexandria 3 0 0 6 — 9
Springville 0 3 3 0 — 6
A – Luke Tucker 24 FG
S – 32 FG
S – 38 FG
A – Jacob Heathcock 1 run (kick failed)
Donoho 21, Winterboro 0
Another game, another shutout.
Donoho (4-0, 3-0) remained one of only two teams in the state yet to give up a point as the Falcons made Winterboro their fourth straight shutout victim.
The seventh-ranked Falcons held the Bulldogs to 101 net yards. Axis Heathcock had 12 tackles, while Justin Foster had eight and Sam Garner seven. Maplesville is the only other team in the state that hasn’t allowed an opponent to score this season.
Donoho had 283 yards of net offense, most of it on the ground. Chandler Collins rushed for 124 yards and Justin Foster had 116.
Winterboro 0 0 0 0 — 0
Donoho 0 14 7 0 — 21
D – Chandler Collins 9 run (Mitchell Baker kick)
D – Justin Foster 3 run (Baker kick)
D – Foster 30 run (Baker kick)
Win Don
First downs 6 14
Rushes-yds 29-53 43-243
C-A-I 4-7-1 9-16-1
Passing yds 40 48
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2
Punts 7-34.6 2-26.5
Penalties 11-80 3-20
Lincoln 48, Anniston 12
LINCOLN – Anniston fell victim to the same speed that gave Alexandria so much trouble the week before.
Lincoln (3-1, 3-0) used numerous big plays to remain unbeaten in Class 5A Region 6. Jamario Howard scored three touchdowns, Danny Bradford scored two and Zavian Caldwell accounted for two.
“We just ran into a better team tonight,” Bulldogs coach Eddie Bullock said. “We played our hearts out, but big plays on their behalf turned this game in their favor early and we never could get any momentum going.”
Tae Miller scored both touchdowns for Anniston (2-2, 2-1), but they came after the Golden Bears built a 48-0 lead. Jermaine Ackles led the Bulldogs’ rushing attack with 77 yards on seven carries. Dobbins rushed for 69 yards and Lenuel Heard 58.
Jaylon Parker led the defense with eight tackles, while Jarvis Perry had six.
Anniston 0 0 6 6 — 12
Lincoln 14 20 14 0 — 48
L – Jamario Howard 42 fumble return (PAT good)
L – Howard 2 run (PAT good)
L – Danny Bradford 11 run (PAT failed)
L – Howard 20 run (PAT good)
L – Zavian Caldwell 10 run (PAT good)
L – Bradford 80 pass from Zavian Caldwell (PAT good)
L – Jamychol Baker 71 pass (PAT good)
A – Tae Miller 29 pass from Quintavious Dobbins (PAT failed)
A – Miller 38 run (PAT failed)
Ashville 8, Ohatchee 6
OHATCHEE — The Indians (1-3, 0-3) were done in by three more turnovers, a fourth-down stop inside the 5 and four Ashville fourth-down conversions that kept the chains – and clock – moving.
Ashville (2-2, 1-2) struck first with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Judson Mundy to Ryan Whisenhunt on fourth-and-6 and Mundy’s conversion pass to Hunter Huckbay.
The Indians answered in the third quarter on Taylor Eubanks’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Yates, but their two-point conversion attempt missed the mark. Yates caught four passes for 24 yards.
Austin Tucker rushed for 119 yards on 25 carries with Coleman McCombs picking up 33 yards on five carries.
“You can’t turn the ball over four times and expect to win,” first-year Ohatchee coach Scott Martin said. “It’s the same ol’ story, different verse. Unfortunately, it’s a bad script.”
The Indians have had 14 turnovers this season and gained no takeaways. On Friday, they were intercepted once and lost two fumbles.
Ashville 8 0 0 0 — 8
Ohatchee 0 0 6 0 — 6
A – Ryan Whisenhunt 30 pass from Judson Mundy (Hunter Huckbay pass from Mundy)
O – Dylan Yates 18 pass from Taylor Eubanks (run failed)
Ash Ohat
First downs 10 14
Rushes-yds 25-51 38-159
C-A-I 14-30-10 9-4-1
Passing yds 160 59
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2
Punts 4-33.8 5-32.6
Penalties 7-55 4-35
Cedar Bluff 50, JCA 28
JACKSONVILLE – JCA quarterback Daylon Brackett and Cedar Bluff running back D’Shawn Fife waged their own personal scoring battle, but in the end Cedar Bluff was just too much.
Brackett rushed for 126 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries for the Thunder (1-3, 1-2). He scored on runs of 1, 3, 39, 9 yards. Fife, meanwhile, scored three touchdowns on runs of 1, 36 and 59 yards– all in the first half as Cedar Bluff opened a 44-6 halftime lead.
The Thunder had 262 yards of total offense, but was set back by five sacks and three turnovers.
Cedar Bluff 19 25 0 6 — 50
JCA 0 6 8 14 — 28
C – D’Shawn Fife 1 run (PAT failed)
C – D.J. Chapman 12 pass from Joshua Decker (PAT failed)
C – Fife 36 run (Jake Mintz kick)
C – Donte Williams 13 run (Mintz kick)
C – Mintz 65 interception return (PAT blocked)
J – Daylon Brackett 59 run (kick failed)
C – Fife 59 run (kick failed)
C – 80 fumble return (PAT failed)
J – Brackett 3 run (Jayden Mitchell pass from Brackett)
C – Johnny Oglesby 18 run (kick failed)
J – Brackett 39 run (Brackett kick)
J – Brackett 9 run (Bracket kick)
Westbrook Christian 24, Pleasant Valley 6
JACKSONVILLE – Drew Lewiski rushed for 106 yards and threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Bean to highlight Pleasant Valley’s night.
Westbrook Chr. 0 7 7 10 — 24
Pleasant Val. 0 0 0 6 — 6
WC PV
First downs 13 10
Rushes-yds 135 121
C-A-I 9-15-2 4-14-0
Passing yds 152 63
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1
Punts 1-45.0 3-32.0
Penalties 7-35 4-25
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