Playoff roundup
- Updated: November 13, 2021
Piedmont blanks Lauderdale County; Alexandria, Jacksonville, Ohatchee, Oxford all fall, leaving county with 2 remaining in playoffs
FRIDAY’S COUNTY SCORES
CLASS 3A
Saks 36, Oakman 22
Piedmont 31, Lauderdale County 0
Winfield 56, Ohatchee 27
CLASS 4A
American Christian 49, Jacksonville 35
CLASS 5A
Parker 41, Alexandria 34
CLASS 6A
Pinson Valley 20, Oxford 0
By East Alabama Sports Today
PIEDMONT – Shutouts are hard to come by any time during the season, but they’re especially rare in the playoffs.
Piedmont scored its third shutout of the season, but just the sixth in the playoffs under coach Steve Smith when it blanked Lauderdale County 31-0 Friday night in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Bulldogs (10-2) now host undefeated Winfield (12-0) Friday in Round 3.
“I was not even aware of that until you said it,” Smith said of the playoff shutout. “It’s always good to get a shutout, though. It’s very difficult to be able to pull that off in the playoffs with the caliber of teams you’re going to see this time of year.”
It was the Bulldogs’ first playoff shutout since the opening round of 2019 (35-0 over J.B. Pennington). Each of the last three years the Bulldogs posted a shutout in the playoffs they went on to play in the state championship game (2019, 2018, 2015).
Omarion Foster had two interceptions to help the cause, giving him eight for the season. Landon Smart had 16 tackles, including five behind the line of scrimmage. Luke Reinhardt recovered a fumble. The Tigers’ deepest penetration into Piedmont territory was the 25 and Foster ended that with one of his picks.
The Bulldogs jumped on top with a time-consuming 10-play, 75-yard opening drive capped by Jack Hayes’ 3-yard run.
Hayes also had three touchdown passes in the game – two to Austin Estes and one to Gatlyn Gardner. Sloan Smith accounted for Piedmont’s other points with four extra points and 23-yard field goal that gave it a 17-0 halftime lead.
Hayes completed 10 of 20 passes for 165 yards and rushed for 76 yards on 14 carries. Estes had five catches for 112 yards.
Hayes, a junior, now ranks fourth on the AHSAA all-time list for career touchdown passes (109) and fifth on the all-time list for career touchdowns accounted for (146).
Piedmont 31, Lauderdale County 0
| Lauderdale Co. (10-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 – | 0 |
| Piedmont (10-2) | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 – | 31 |
P – Jack Hayes 3 run (Sloan Smith kick), 5:35 1Q
P – Austin Estes 57 pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 0:00 1Q
P – Sloan Smith 23 FG, 5:42 2Q
P – Gatlyn Gardner 18 pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 4:43 3Q
P – Austin Estes 36 pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 5:51 4Q
Parker 41, Alexandria 34
Khalifa Keith wears No. 1 for Parker and he was the No. 1 threat for Alexandria Friday night. The junior running back amassed 371 yards of offense and scored six touchdowns as the Thundering Herd handed the Valley Cubs their first loss of the season in the second round of the playoffs.
Keith rushed for 285 yards and five touchdowns and caught two passes for 86 yards and a score. He had seven runs or catches of 25 yards or more, four runs or catches of 50-plus.
The Valley Cubs (11-1) led 14-0 early in the second quarter and 17-12 at halftime. The lead changed hands five times in the second half until Keith gave the Thundering Herd (11-1) the lead for good with 6:40 to play.
Antonio Ross was Alexandria’s leading rusher with 138 yards and two touchdowns. Javais McGhee also scored two touchdowns for the Valley Cubs.
Parker 41, Alexandria 34
| Parker (11-1) | 0 | 12 | 15 | 14 – | 41 |
| Alexandria (11-1) | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 – | 34 |
A – Javais McGhee 14 run (Cleat Forrest kick), 3:01
A – Antonio Ross 1 run (Cleat Forrest kick), 9:56 2Q
P – Khalifa Keith 1 run (kick blocked), 8:01 2Q
A – Cleat Forrest 28 FG, 4:34 2Q
P – Khalifa Keith 59 run (PAT failed), 2:47 2Q
P – Khalifa Keith 72 run (Juwarren Minnifield conversion), 10:43 3Q
A – Antonio Ross 6 run (Cleat Forrest kick), 9:22 3Q
P – Khalifa Keith 35 pass from William Shelton (Treamel Almacen kick), 4:23 3Q
A – Javais McGhee 1 run (Cleat Forrest kick), 7:47 4Q
P – Khalifa Keith 3 run (Treamel Almacen kick), 6:40 4Q
P – Khalifa Keith 27 run (Treamel Almacen kick), 4:31 4Q
A – Cleat Forrest 26 FG, 1:26 4Q
| Park (41) | Alex (34) | |
| 44-359 | Rushes-yds | 44-238 |
| 9-13-1 | Comp-Att-Int | 6-19-1 |
| 163 | Passing yds | 179 |
| 9-105 | Penalties-yds | 11-65 |
American Christian 49, Jacksonville 35
TUSCALOOSA – ACA matched each of Jacksonville’s three touchdowns in the first half, then scored three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to take control.
The Patriots (11-1) took the lead for the first time on Sawyer Deerman’s 5-yard run, then they added two scores nine seconds apart to take a three-score lead.
Jacksonville got as close as 42-35 with 10 minutes left in the game on a Taj Morris run, but the Patriots matched it to keep the Golden Eagles (7-4) at bay.
Deerman threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores.
Jacksonville quarterback Jim Ogle completed 18 of 29 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Morris was the Golden Eagles’ leading rusher with 217 yards and three touchdowns.
American Christian 49, Jacksonville 35
| Jacksonville (7-4) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 – | 35 |
| American Chr. (11-1) | 7 | 14 | 21 | 7 – | 49 |
J – Kydric Fisher 24 pass from Jim Ogle (Mason Terrell kick), 9:17 1Q
A – Sawyer Deerman 58 run (Gabriel Henson kick), 8:59 1Q
J – Taj Morris 17 run (Mason Terrell kick), 6:28 1Q
A – Davis Dare 32 pass from Sawyer Deerman (Gabriel Henson kick), 11:25 2Q
J – Taj Morris 10 run (Mason Terrell kick), 2:04 2Q
A – Chance Henderson 36 pass from Sawyer Deerman (Gabriel Henson kick), 1:09 2Q
A – Sawyer Deerman 5 run (Gabriel Henson kick), 10:22 3Q
4:28 3Q
A – Fumble return (Gabriel Henson kick), 4:19 2Q
J – Q Long 29 pass from Jim Ogle (Mason Terrell kick), 2:47 3Q
J – Taj Morris 5 run (Mason Terrell kick), 10:08 4Q
A – Christian Davis 27 run (Gabriel Henson kick), 6:54 4Q
Winfield 56, Ohatchee 27
WINFIELD – Ohatchee scored more points against the Pirates than any opponent this season and more than its previous six opponents combined, but every time the Indians scored the undefeated Pirates had an answer and then some.
Ohatchee returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but Winfield responded with two straight scores. The Indians tied the game at 14, then the Pirates scored on three straight possessions to take a 35-14 halftime lead.
The teams traded scored to make it 42-27, then Winfield scored and then blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for the final margin.
The loss snapped Ohatchee’s six-game winning streak following head coach Scott Martin’s placement on administrative leave for a still unsettled situation, a streak that a should earn acting coach Chris Findley some consideration for local coach of the year and a shot at the permanent position
Pinson Valley 20, Oxford 0
PINSON VALLEY – The Indians returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and Oxford couldn’t find any offense to match it. It’s the first time the Yellow Jackets have been shutout in the playoffs since 1985 (Gardendale 36-0) and only the second time ever. Pinson beat them last year in the third round 34-2.
Vigor 34, Cherokee County 0
CENTRE – Sophomore running back Jacori Barnes ran for 107 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Anthony Mix ran for a score and threw for another in Vigor’s victory.
It was the Wolves’ second straight playoff shutout. They defeated West Blocton 40-0 in the first round last week.
“Defense wins championships,” Vigor coach John McKenzie said. “If they don’t score, they don’t win. Our defense is pretty good. They’ve got talent, and we’ve got talent all over the field.
“Coaching is easy with these guys. It isn’t anything I do. They want it. They work extremely hard. There’s nothing given to these kids. They work every single day to accomplish their goals, and their goal is to win state Dec. 3. They perform.”
Mix ran for 79 yards on seven carries. He also completed 4-of-10 passes for 47 yards. Senior running back Jermaine Coleman collected a game-high 140 yards on 12 carries for Vigor.
The Wolves drove 337 miles to play the game. That was 10 miles more than their total round-trip travel for the season to that point.
Cherokee County (7-4) was limited to 158 total yards (80 passing, 78 rushing). It was the first time the Warriors were shut out since their season opener at Piedmont, 27-0.
Junior quarterback Cade Hopper led the Warriors by completing 9-of-23 pass attempts for 80 yards. He also ran for 29 yards on nine carries. Senior running back Damien Ramsey finished with 17 yards on 11 carries. – Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
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