County roundup
- Updated: October 15, 2016
Jacksonville wins to stay on track for title showdown with Cherokee County, Alexandria, Wellborn keep their playoff hopes alive, Weaver falls in shootout
Andrew Prestridge (2) goes up for one of Randolph County’s two interceptions against Weaver. Teammate Dontavous Davenport (9) returned an interception for a touchdown earlier in the game. On the cover, Weaver’s Matt Elston charges the end zone with one of Weaver’s two fumble returns for a touchdown. (Photos by Daniel Lee)
By East Alabama Sports Today
ALEXANDRIA 36, GUNTERSVILLE 25
Ninth-grader Nate McCollum’s 65-yard interception return for a touchdown with less than two minutes to go gave the Valley Cubs the breathing room they needed after Guntersville rallied from 22 points down to get within a field goal with five minutes to play.
The victory kept the Alexandria (4-4, 3-3) alive for a playoff spot out of Class 5A Region 7. If the Valley Cubs beat Crossville on the road next week and Arab beats Guntersville, they’re in; if Alexandria and Guntersville both win, there’s a three-way tie for third at 4-3.
The Valley Cubs also welcomed back a healthy Keenan Woodruff. The junior rushed for 225 yards on 17 carries and scored on runs of 40 and 55 yards on back-to-back possessions to give Alexandria a 28-6 lead with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
Woodruff also had a 69-yard non-scoring run and punted six times for a 35.8-yard average, including a 43-yarder on his first attempt.
The Valley Cubs only played their starters through the opening possession of the second half. Grayson Chaffin rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown; he also threw for the game’s opening score on a halfback pass. Quarterback Quentin Bowie had 55 yards on 10 carries.
The Wildcats (5-3, 3-3) rallied from 28-6 down to get within three with 5:03 to play and took possession at midfield for the potential game-winning score with 2:20 left. They marched into Alexandria territory, but McCollum thwarted the bid when he interception Major Henderson and raced all the way to the end zone for the crushing score.
Romeo Dye and Josh Tucker also had interceptions for Alexandria.
Alexandria 36, Guntersville 25
Guntersville 6 0 6 13 — 25
Alexandria 6 8 14 8 — 36
A – A.J. Martin 6 pass from Grayson Chaffin (pass failed), 7:34 1Q
G – Jackson Menefee 4 run (run failed), 1:24 1Q
A – Grayson Chaffin 7 run (Grayson Chaffin pass from Quentin Bowie), 0:27 2Q
A – Keenan Woodruff 40 run (Quentin Bowie run), 6:18 3Q
A – Keenan Woodruff 55 run (pass failed), 4:35 3Q
G – Pierre Henderson 55 pass from Major Henderson (run failed), 0:24 3Q
G – Myles Williamson 10 pass from Major Henderson (run failed), 7:38 4Q
G – Jackson Menefee 3 run (PAT kick), 5:03 4Q
A — Nate McCollum 65 interception return (Quentin Bowie run), 1:24 4Q
Team stats Gun Alex
First downs 18 10
Rushes-yds 26-92 41-351
Passing 23-32-3 2-4-0
Passing yds 337 24
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yds 4-20 8-60
Punts-avg 3-28.6 6-35.8
JACKSONVILLE 60, WHITE PLAINS 20
JACKSONVILLE — Perhaps the neatest thing in all of Jacksonville’s Senior Night festivities was the opportunity to give a senior lineman a chance to score.
The sixth-ranked Golden Eagles had their eighth win of the season well in hand when they threatened to score again with 1:08 left in the game. Coach Clint Smith inserted lineman K.J. Satcher in the backfield and let the big guy scored on a 5-yard run for the game’s final touchdown.
The win allowed the Golden Eagles (8-0, 6-0) to stay on track for a Class 4A Region 5 title showdown at Cherokee County (7-2, 6-0) next week.
Jacksonville opened a 34-0 halftime lead and it allowed Smith to clear the bench. The Golden Eagles used nine different rushers, three who threw passes, seven who caught passes and 23 who made tackles.
Taye Ackles was the leading rusher with 91 yards on nine carries. Nico Richmond had 59 yards and two scores on six carries. Colton Clark completed six passes for 93 yards, including touchdown strikes to Ackles and T.J. Carr.
Tahj Kirkland scored on a 42-yard interception return and Ronterius Wiggins scored on an 86-yard kickoff return.
Jacksonville 60, White Plains 20
White Plains 0 0 7 13 — 20
Jacksonville 14 20 20 6 — 60
J – Taye Ackles 42 pass from Colton Clark (PAT kick), 7:15 1Q
J – Nico Richmond 12 run (PAT kick), 2:39 1Q
J – Tahj Kirkland 42 interception return (PAT kick), 8:56 2Q
J – T.J. Carr 14 pass from Colton Clark (PAT kick), 8:11 2Q
J – Nico Richmond 19 run (kick failed), 0:40 2Q
J – Taye Ackles 44 run (PAT kick), 10:37 3Q
J – Rontarius Wiggins 41 run (PAT kick), 5:59 3Q
W – 1 11 run (PAT kick), 1:21 3Q
J – Rontarius Wiggins 86 kickoff return (kick failed), 1:11 3Q
W – 1 1 run (PAT kick), 9:53 4Q
W – 19 37 run (kick failed), 4:41 4Q
J – K.J. Satcher 5 run (kick failed), 1:08 4Q
RANDOLPH COUNTY 61, WEAVER 41
WEAVER – If you liked seeing points, this was the place to be.
The two teams combined for 15 touchdowns, scoring in all kinds of ways. The upshot of it all is Randolph County secured a playoff spot in its first year moving up to Class 3A Region 5, while Weaver still has some work to do.
Trent Lane and Seth Hannah each scored three touchdowns for the Tigers. Lane rushed 156 yards and all his touchdowns, while Hannah had two touchdown runs and a kickoff return. Aaron Knight rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Three of the first five touchdowns of the game were scored by the defense, including fumble returns by Weaver’s Matt Mathis and Matt Elston. Maurice Goodman caught two touchdown passes and Tyrik Hall ran for two scores.
The teams crammed six touchdowns into the final 8:33 of a 40-point second quarter. Weaver fought back from a 13-0 deficit to take a 20-13 lead and led 27-20 with 44 seconds left in the half, but only went into the lockers leading by one after giving up a touchdown on the ensuring kickoff. Fortunate for the Bearcats, Randolph County missed the go-ahead conversion try.
The 61 points were the most Weaver had ever given up in a game and the 102 points were the most combined points in Weaver history.
Randolph County 61, Weaver 41
Randolph County 13 13 21 14 — 61
Weaver 0 27 7 7 — 41
R – Dontavious Davenport 65 interception return (PAT kick), 10:15 1Q
R – Trent Lane 25 run (kick failed), 6:51 1Q
W – Matt Mathis 18 fumble return (kick failed), 8:33 2Q
W – Maurice Goodman 87 pass (PAT kick), 6:04 2Q
W – Matt Elston 60 fumble return (PAT kick), 4:24 2Q
R – Seth Hannah 1 run (PAT kick), 2:21 2Q
W – Maurice Goodman 1 pass (PAT kick), 0:44 2Q
R – Seth Hannah kickoff return (conversion failed), 0:31 2Q
R – Trent Lane 50 run (conversion failed), 11:39 3Q
R – Seth Hannah 12 run (Trent Lane run), 10:23 3Q
W – Tyrik Hall 13 run (PAT kick), 4:52 3Q
R – Trent Lane 17 run (PAT kick), 3:28 3Q
R – Aaron Knight 15 run (Aaron Knight run), 11:29 4Q
W – Tyrik Hall 8 run (PAT kick), 7:05 4Q
R – Aaron Knight 3 run (PAT kick), 1:43 4Q
WELLBORN 35, GLENCOE 28
The Panthers ended a difficult week with a victory that kept their Class 3A playoff hopes alive.
Wellborn trailed at halftime 14-12 despite holding the Yellow Jackets to 106 yards of offense, but rallied in the second half.
On Thursday, head coach Jeff Smith turned himself in to Anniston police to answer a harassing charge stemming from a post-game incident after the Panthers’ loss to top-ranked Piedmont the previous Friday.
Calhoun County schools superintendent Joe Dyar and Wellborn principal Chris Hayes found no wrongdoing on Smith’s part in their investigation of the case and Smith coached the team Friday night.
Jordan Montgomery, whose only focus through the controversy was on playing ball, rose above the distractions and rushed for 244 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. The Panthers had 421 yards of total offense as a team.
CEDAR BLUFF 41, JCA 12
JACKSONVILLE – Cedar Bluff sophomore running back Ivory Starr ran for three touchdowns in leading No. 8 Cedar Bluff closer to a showdown with No. 3 Spring Garden for the Class 1A Region 6 championship.
“We had a good many guys out tonight for various reasons, but we persevered and played well,” Cedar Bluff coach Jonathan McWhorter said.
Cedar Bluff (6-2, 5-0) jumped out to a 21-0 lead behind a pair of 4-yard touchdown runs by freshman running back Travon Clifton and Starr. Freshman quarterback Luke Hampton connected with junior receiver Lucas Tracy for a 2-point conversion following Starr’s first touchdown run.
Hampton found junior receiver Davion Fife for a 15-yard touchdown for the Tigers’ final score of the first half.
Jacksonville Christian (3-5, 1-4) got on the board on Jayden Mitchell’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Chase Cobb.
A pair of Starr touchdown runs from 15 and 54 yards in the third quarter pushed Cedar Bluff’s lead to 33-6. Mitchell tossed another touchdown pass to open the fourth-quarter scoring. Hampton’s 15-yard touchdown run, along with a Clifton 2-point conversion, capped the game’s scoring.
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