Crank up the tour bus
- Updated: August 20, 2021
Anniston gets payback on Wellborn in season-opener, first opening win since 2013; includes other local games
CALHOUN COUNTY AREA GAMES
Anniston 38, Wellborn 7
Cleburne County 43, Ohatchee 28
Donoho 25, Pleasant Valley 0
Douglas 43, Weaver 6
Jacksonville 41, St. John Paul II 0
Munford 42, Talladega 28
Piedmont 26, Geraldine 7 (jamboree)
Ranburne 28, White Plains 26
Saks 42, Sylvania 32
Thompson 55, Oxford 0
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
When the Anniston contingent sat at the front table to kick off the preseason Calhoun County Media Day and proclaimed to the world they were taking this season personal, this is about what they had in mind.
They were on a mission, they said, to pay back all the teams that took advantage of them during their 0-5 start last year – and then some. Judging from the second half of their first game, they mean what they say.
The Bulldogs’ Revenge Tour got off to a rousing start Friday night as they throttled Wellborn 38-7 for their first win in a season-opener since 2013 (Greenville).
“It was about just getting a win,” Anniston coach Rico White said. “Our three years here we hadn’t won the first ballgame. It has always been a struggle; came out slow. Came out this game slow the first half, but got inside and settled the guys down and they executed in the second half.”
Wellborn beat the Bulldogs last year 12-7 in a game Anniston hurt itself with turnovers.
Over the next five weeks, they play the other four teams that beat them – Ohatchee, Jacksonville, Cherokee County and Center Point – at the start of the season last year. You can’t beat them all unless you beat the first one.
“Every game is personal,” junior lineman RyQueze McElderry said. “Our vision is the state championship. Our vision is to go 15-0. We’re taking it one game at a time. We just beat Wellborn, now we have to get ready for Ohatchee.
“You saw the way we played last year then this year was a lot better. We exceeded our expectations. We won the game. It was a game we had to get back from last year. This year we won, first game of the season, we’re headed in the right direction. We’ve got to keep heading in the right direction.”
Quarterback Kam Sandlin rushed for two touchdowns. Running back Elijah Allen rushed for 159 yards, 136 on 16 carries in the second half as the Bulldogs found big yardage up the middle they weren’t seeing in the first. Jaylon Cunningham threw for the only touchdown of the first half on a 34-yard fleaflicker to Javon Thomas and scored four second-half conversions.
The Bulldogs pulled away with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 61-yard punt return by Jayden Lewis.
“We owed them,” Cunningham said. “They beat us last year and we drove it down their throat every play and throw. We’re going to owe everybody and we’re going to make it state and win it all.”
Anniston’s defense held Wellborn to 37 yards in the first half and stopped the Panthers twice on fourth down in the red zone. They held the Panthers out of the end zone until Omarian Curry broke off a 39-yard touchdown run against the second unit midway through the fourth quarter.
Until Curry’s run, Wellborn’s best chance to score came in the second quarter after it returned an interception to the Anniston 25. The Panthers got all the way to the 7, but Grayson Johnson was sacked on third and fourth down by Cameron Calloway and friends.
They also appeared to have sacked Sandlin for a safety, but the Anniston quarterback was ruled in the grasp and down well before the goal line.
“We have got a lot new faces, we have a lot of inexperienced players and they’ve got to play,” Wellborn coach Jeff Smith said. “And the more they play, the better they can get.
“If they’ll be mature and understand that they’ve got to go out there each and every week and work on improving then we’ll be a good team at the end of the year. That’s what’s got to happen. The first half we had some opportunities, weren’t able to cash in right there and that got us out of the game.”
Cleburne County 43, Ohatchee 28: Quarterback Kyler McGrinn accounted for 284 yards of offense and five touchdowns to lead Cleburne County to a 43-28 victory over visiting Ohatchee in the season-opener for both teams.
McGrinn rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He also completed 9 of 16 passes for 152 yards and three scores. Two of his touchdown passes went to Grayson Freeman.
Ohatchee quarterback Eli Ennis rushed for 197 yards on 29 carries and completed five of seven passes for 84 yards.
It was the Tigers’ first win in a season-opener since 2019 and Ohatchee first loss in a season-opener since 2013. It was only the second regular-season loss for the Indians since 2017.
Ranburne 28, White Plains 26: The Wildcats rallied from a 28-20 deficit to position themselves for a tie with 1:35 left, but Ranburne knocked away their two-point conversion pass — after an illegal substitution penalty thwarted the first attempt — and then recovered an onsides kick to run out the clock.
The Wildcats got in position when L.J. Burns turned back a Ranburne threat with an interception in the end zone. On the next play Walker Osteen goes 79 yards but is stopped short of the goal line. Burns punched it in from the 1 to make it 28-26.
“The kids battled back, played hard,” White Plains coach Chandler Tyree said. “Penalties and cramping were a big issue for us. Our kids weren’t winded, they weren’t tired, we just kept cramping.
“If we weren’t having cramps when we got the ball back at 20-14 we could have kind of took control of the game. I thought we played real good up front on both sides of the ball.”
Osteen had a big night for the Wildcats. He rushed for 201 yards, caught four passes for 53 yards and scored a touchdown. He also led the defense with 11 tackles.
Hayden Howard, making his first career start at quarterback, threw touchdown passes to Osteen and Wade Thompson. Dylan Barksdale rushed for 94 yards and a score.
Thompson had 10 tackles, William Pointer six, and Mason Busby, Kendrick Ball and Brandon Hahm all recorded sacks.
Douglas 43, Weaver 6: The Bearcats were looking to usher in the Gary Atchley era with a win. Instead, they suffered their 21st straight loss since 2018.
Anniston 38, Wellborn 7
| Wellborn (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 – | 7 |
| Anniston (1-0) | 6 | 0 | 8 | 24 – | 38 |
A – Javon Thomas 34 pass from Jaylon Cunningham (run failed), 6:58 1Q
A – Kam Sandlin 10 run (Jaylon Cunningham run), 6:51 3Q
A – Kam Sandlin 19 run (Jaylon Cunningham run), 9:29 4Q
W – Omarian Curry 39 run (Beau Neely kick), 6:14 4Q
A – Malachi Taylor 21 run (Jaylon Cunningham run), 4:35 4Q
A – Jayden Lewis 61 punt return (Jaylon Cunningham run), 2:50 4Q
| Well | Ann | |
| 1st Downs | 6 | 14 |
| Rush-yds | 41-128 | 42-215 |
| Passes | 0-4-0 | 2-6-1 |
| Pass yds | 0 | 36 |
| Fum-lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Punts-avg | 8-31.8 | 4-37.3 |
| Pen-yds | 1-5 | 10-84 |
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