Down to the wire
- Updated: October 23, 2021
Saks, Piedmont, Ohatchee finish in three-way tie for first in 3A Region 5, await outcome of next week’s Piedmont-Alexandria game to determine seeds
FRIDAY’S 3A REGION 5 SCORES
Glencoe 49, Pleasant Valley 0
Ohatchee 52, Weaver 13
Piedmont 47, Wellborn 16
Saks 21, Hokes Bluff 7
| STANDINGS | |||||
TEAM | OV, REG RECORD | REGION WINS | REGION LOSSES | REGION REMAIN | NRW |
| Piedmont | 8-1, 6-1 | Saks, Glencoe, Weaver, PV Hokes Bluff, Wellborn | Ohatchee | 11 | |
| Ohatchee | 6-3, 6-1 | Wellborn, HB, PV, Piedmont, Glencoe, Weaver | Saks | 0 | |
| Saks | 9-1, 6-1 | Wellborn, Ohatchee, PV, Weaver, Glencoe, Hokes Bluff | Piedmont | 14* | |
| Wellborn | 5-4, 4-3 | PV, Glencoe, Hokes Bluff, Weaver | Ohatchee, Saks, Piedmont | ||
| Hokes Bluff | 3-6, 3-4 | PV, Glencoe, Weaver | Ohatchee, Wellborn, Piedmont, Saks | ||
| Weaver | 1-8, 1-6 | Glencoe | PV, HB, Piedmont, Saks, Wellborn, Ohatchee | ||
| Pleasant Valley | 1-8, 1-6 | Weaver | HB, Saks, Wellborn, Piedmont, Ohatchee, Glencoe | ||
| Glencoe | 1-8, 1-6 | PV | Weaver, Piedmont, HB, Saks, Wellborn, Ohatchee |
By East Alabama Sports Today
HOKES BLUFF –– Saks coach Jonathan Miller isn’t quite sure what his plans are next Friday night.
His Wildcats have the last date of the regular season open – and it’s much needed, too, as banged up as they are – so the coach has options. He can go scout potential playoff opponents (he’s already played two of them) or he can go cheer on his alma mater in a game that has tons of meaning for the Wildcats.
Saks upheld its part of the three-way finish for first in Class 3A Region 5 with a 21-7 victory over Hokes Bluff that was more a matter of survival for the Wildcats than anything.
Now, all eyes turn to Piedmont. If the Bulldogs beat Alexandria, Miller’s alma mater, in their regular-season finale next week, Piedmont will be the No. 1 seed and Saks will be the 2. If Alexandria wins, Saks will be the 1 by virtue of having more wins over the non-region opponents they’ve defeated. Ohatchee would be 2 and Piedmont 3 by virtue of their head-to-head meeting..
“Yes, we will be rooting for them,” Miller said. “The big thing for whoever gets the 1 is they have the potential to have a couple home games the first couple rounds.”
But the Wildcats had to take care of business against the Eagles for any of it to matter and they did even though it was a a slow go.
Sean Parnell passed for 117 yards and rushed for two touchdowns and Jalen McCants rushed for 127 yards and the first touchdown of the game after a scoreless first quarter.
Jordan Bradley scored Hokes Bluff’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Tucker Griffin was the Eagles’ leading rusher with 130 yards.
Saks (9-1, 6-1) has now won seven in a row after dropping its region opener to Piedmont.
“We didn’t play great that night,” Miller said. “Certainly Piedmont had a lot to do with it, but I just don’t think we played up to our standard. It was early in the season, so we were able to regroup. The kids understood what we had in front of us. They knew we still had a shot if things fell the right way.”
They’re looking for one more domino to fall next week. And if that one falls the right way, they would have their first region title since 2017.
Saks 21, Hokes Bluff 7
| Saks (9-1, 6-1) | 0 | 8 | 6 | 7 – | 21 |
| Hokes Bluff (3-6, 3-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 – | 7 |
S – Jalen McCants 2 run (Sean Parnell run), 1:23 2Q
S – Sean Parnell 3 run (run failed0, 9:23 3Q
S – Sean Parnell 2 run (Athiwat Promaj kick), 8:34 4Q
HB – Jordan Bradley 4 run (Leon Chen kick), 3:20 4Q
| Saks (21) | HB (7) | |
| 17 | 1st Downs | 14 |
| 37-173 | Rushes-yds | 44-162 |
| 5-8-0 | Comp-Att-Int | 2-9-0 |
| 117 | Passing yds | 9 |
| 0-0 | Fum-lost | 0-0 |
| 1-28.0 | Punts-avg | 2-23.0 |
| 5-40 | Pen-yds | 3-25 |
Piedmont 47, Wellborn 16
PIEDMONT – Jack Hayes ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more as Piedmont completed its part in a three-way tie for first place in the region, but the Bulldogs need one more victory next week to claim the region’s No. 1 seed to the playoffs, the true measure of the region champion to coach Steve Smith.
If the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1) beat Class 5 Region 6 champion Alexandria in their final regular-season game next week at the Field of Champions, they will claim the No. 1 seed in the region by virtue of most wins by their defeated non-region opponents. If they lose the game, they’ll fall to No. 3 and play their first playoff game on the road.
“We really don’t worry about it, to be honest with you,” Smith said. “We know we have an outstanding opponent coming in with Alexandria, 9-0 and top 3 in 5A. It’ll be a great playoff type atmosphere.
“Last year’s game came right down to the wire and coach (Todd) Ginn does a great job for them. We’re just excited to play that game. It’ll be a good lead-in to the playoffs, wherever we may have it.”
Wellborn took the early lead on Jesse Lewis’ 2-yard touchdown run and Xavier Parker’s two-point conversion with 9:28 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs answered with a 3-yard TD run by Hayes, but they didn’t take the lead until Brayden Morgan’s 17-yard run and Sloan Smith’s PAT with 2:46 left in the first quarter.
A 43-yard Estes punt return set the Bulldogs up in the red zone and two plays later Hayes went in from 16 yards out to make it 20-8.
Omarion Foster’s 28-yard interception return made it 27-8 and Hayes’ 62-yard touchdown pass to Estes gave the Bulldogs a 34-8 halftime lead. Trevor Pike’s interception at the 1 killed Wellborn’s ensuring drive and the Bulldogs ran out the clock.
Parker Thornton scored two third-quarter touchdowns for Piedmont, while Kevin Clark scored on a 3-yard run for Wellborn (5-4, 4-3). The loss snapped the Panthers’ five-game winning streak.
Hayes completed 11 of 18 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his career total touchdown passes to 103. Estes caught four passes for 105 yards and had 202 total yards. Thornton was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher with 50 yards on seven carries.
The Bulldogs held Wellborn to 233 total yards. Brody Epps led the defense with 12 tackles, Landon Smart had 11 and Noah Reedy had eight, including three behind the line of scrimmage.
“I thought we played well,” Smith said. “We had a little lull at the end of the first half where we had a couple off possessions and didn’t move it well, but I thought we played well most of the game. The defense really played lights out tonight.”
It’s the fourth year in a row the region has ended in a three-way tie. The Bulldogs have gotten the benefit of the tiebreaker each of the previous three years.
Piedmont 47, Wellborn 16
| Wellborn (5-4, 4-3) | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 — | 16 |
| Piedmont (8-1, 6-1) | 20 | 14 | 13 | 0 — | 47 |
W – Jesse Lewis 2 run (Xavier Parker run), 9:28 1Q
P – Jack Hayes 3 run (conversion failed), 6:51 1Q
P – Brayden Morgan 17 run (Sloan Smith kick), 2:46 1Q
P – Jack Hayes 16 run (Sloan Smith kick), 0:17 1Q
P – Omarion Foster 28 interception return (Sloan Smith kick), 11:51 2Q
P – Austin Estes 62 pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 5:57 2Q
P – Parker Thornton 9 pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 9:05 3Q
W – Kevin Clark 3 run (Xavier Parker run), 3:01 3Q
P – Parker Thornton 16 run (kick failed), 0:34 3Q
Ohatchee 52, Weaver 13
OHATCHEE – Devin Howell scored on two long runs and Eli Ennis scored on two long runs and a punt return – all in the first quarter – as Ohatchee won its fourth in a row to finish in a three-way tie for first.
The Indians (6-3, 6-1), who started the season 0-2, could land the No. 2 seed out of the region and a first-round home playoff game if Alexandria beats Piedmont in a non-region tiebreaker next week. If Piedmont wins that game, the Indians are No. 3.
Howell scored on runs of 30 and 36 yards in the first 4:20 of the game. Ennis scored on runs of 22 and 36 yards 1:43 apart and on a 40-yard punt return t the end of the quarter for a 32-0 Ohatchee lead.
Earlier this week Ennis was named to the North squad in the North-South All-Star Game.
“He was pumped,” acting Ohatchee coach Chris Finley said. “And I’m super pumped for him to get to show what he can do.”
Wyatt Reaves scored on a 6-yard run and Brody Freeman from two yards out in the second quarter to put the Indians up 45-6 at halftime. Carson Tittle scored their last touchdown on an 8-yard run in the third quarter.
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