Friday night roundup
- Updated: August 26, 2016
Games reported include Oxford-Gadsden City, Ohatchee-White Plains, PV-Gaston, Weaver-B.B. Comer, Clay Central-Ben Russell
By East Alabama Sports Today
GADSDEN — Ryan Herring has had some big wins in his coaching career, some have even come during his time at Oxford, but there aren’t many he’s as proud of as the one the Yellow Jackets got Friday night.
As many things as could have gotten the Jackets sidetracked on the long night, they maintained their focus long enough to get past Gadsden City 22-10 for their second win of the season.
On top of playing one of their all-time toughest opponents, the Yellow Jackets endured the stadium lights going out, a lightning delay and a delay to attend to injured teammate Desmond Cooley as well as the usual adversity that comes during the course of a game.
They never lost the lead and kept it together even when the Titans challenged them. They had four takeaways.
“I’m just happy for our kids,” Herring said. “All the coaches feel exactly the same way: We’re just so happy they get to experience a big win because they’ve been worked and worked hard since November. They put a lot of blood and sweat into all this, we just feel good for them because they deserve it.
“It’s one of the games you look at how you’ve worked and not you’ve got a payday. You’ve bee clocked in since November and it just feels good to see them finally get paid.”
Quarterback Abe Peoples ran for 50 yards and two touchdowns. Tyetus Lindsey Smith rushed for 62 yards and another score. Linebacker Kenney Britt Jr. had eight tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery and a batted pass.
“It says a lot about the kids,” Herring said. “There were a lot of things that happened during the game where they could have lost composure, lost focus, but they kept their heads on. It’s impressive now looking back at it.”
OXFORD 22, GADSDEN CITY 10
Oxford 8 7 7 0 – 22
Gadsden City 0 10 0 0 — 10
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 5 run (Tyetus Smith Lindsey run), 10:14 1Q
G – Jaelyn Fleming 3 run (PAT kick), 10:00 2Q
O – Abe Peoples 4 run (Keaton Borrelli kick), 4:42 2Q
G – Johnny Kilgo 24 FG, 0:15 2Q
O – Abe Peoples run (Keaton Borrell kick), 2:01 3Q
OHATCHEE 68, WHITE PLAINS 14
OHATCHEE – Austin Tucker rushed for 196 yards and five touchdowns and the Indians scored on nine of their first 10 possessions while setting a school record for points in a game.
The Indians, 2-0 for the first time since 2007, hadn’t won back-to-back games since the last two games of 2012. They haven’t won three in a row since 2011; they open region play next week at 3A newcomer Randolph County.
“One of our goals is not to lose at home and not lose a non-region game,” Ohatchee coach Scott Martin said. “We’re 2-0 and we’re well into that. It starts for real next week.“
The Indians rushed for 539 yards as a team and had six rushers with at least 45 yards; they’ve had 1,000 yards of offense in the first two games combined. Taylor Eubanks was their second-leading rusher Friday with 129 yards on only three carries.
Tucker and Eubanks scored all the touchdowns as the Indians hit on each of the first seven possessions. The only possession that didn’t result in a score was the one that ended the first half.
“Our kids came out and played really well from the first snap on,” Martin said. “We kept our intensity, I thought we were very physical, we took care of the stuff we needed to take care of regardless of opponent.”
OHATCHEE 68, WHITE PLAINS 14
White Plains 0 0 7 7 — 14
Ohatchee 21 28 13 6 — 68
O — Austin Tucker 22 run (Christian Fitch kick)
O – Austin Tucker 33 run (Christian Fitch kick)
O – Taylor Eubanks 59 run (Christian Fitch kick)
O – Taylor Eubanks 58 run (Christian Fitch kick)
O – Austin Tucker 2 run (Christian Fitch kick)
O – Austin Tucker 30 run (Gage Harrell kick)
O – Austin Tucker 40 run (Christian Fitch kick)
O – Cam McCombs 1 run (Gage Harrell kick)
O – Domonique Thomas 40 run (kick failed)
WP – Jaylon Jackson 87 pass from Ryan Bannister (Charlie Huey kick)
WP – Ryan Bannister 5 run (Charlie Huey kick)
O – Ryker Lambright 60 run (kick failed)
Team stats WP Ohat
First downs 11 17
Rushes-yds 49-176 40-539
Comp-Att-Int 1-6-2 1-1-0
Passing yds 87 9
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Punts-avg 5-23.4 1-34.0
Penalties-yds 4-20 4-35
PLEASANT VALLEY 30, GASTON 14
JACKSONVILLE – It was a big night for Dakota Jones.
The senior defensive back scored one touchdown on a long kickoff return, rushed for two more and had an interception as the Raiders improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2007.
Senior Dalton Payne scored their other touchdown on an 8-yard pass and Alex Parris led the defense with 17 total tackles.
The Raiders jumped out to a 21-6 lead. Gaston made it a one-possession game in the third quarter, but PV didn’t panic and eventually made the play that got them some insurance.
“Two-and-oh feels good, no doubt,” PV coach Jonathan Nix said. “Things got a little sloppy in the third quarter … but our kids are staying calm. I can tell these kids are growing.
“There was never any doubt on the sideline … the kids’ body language never felt like that. There was no doubt there. Part of the process is learning how to finish. We’re getting better at it. We’re learning how to finish. I can tell these kids are growing.”
WEAVER 49, B.B. COMER 8
SYLACAUGA – The Bearcats got seven touchdowns from seven different players and put 40 on the board for the second game in a row.
The Bearcats were 5-for-5 with four touchdowns through the air and they amassed more than 500 yards of total offense. Paul Hubbard and Dalton Hamby each threw two touchdown passes and Hubbard ran for another.
The Bearcats are 2-0 for the first time since 2011, the last time they had a winning season (7-4). The 49 points are the most they’ve scored in a game since going for 49 in Oct. 2013 at Cleveland. They scored 40 points or more four times last season.
“We really have a lot of team unity right now,” Bearcats coach Daryl Hamby said. “They’re really working as a unit.”
WEAVER 49, B.B. COMER 8
Weaver 21 14 7 7 — 49
B.B. Comer 0 0 0 8 — 8
W — Maurice Goodman 49 pass from Dalton Hamby (PAT kick)
W – Cody Ortiz 46 pass from Dalton Hamby (PAT kick)
W – Paul Hubbard 45 run (PAT kick)
W — Giovanni Mosley 8 run (PAT kick)
W – Tarik Hall 47 pass from Paul Hubbard (PAT kick)
W – Shamar Spinks 20 run (PAT kick)
W — Robert Gaines 91 pass from Jadon Calhoun (PAT kick)
B – Martayvous McElrath run (PAT pass)
CLAY CENTRAL 19, BENJAMIN RUSSELL 16
LINEVILLE – Junior Dawson Harry kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to give the Volunteers (2-0) their first-ever win over the Wildcats, who were playing their season opener.
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