Alabama stars win
- Updated: December 11, 2021
Oxford’s Mitchell earns team MVP after pick-6 helps state team shut out Mississippi
By East Alabama Sports Today
HATTIESBURG. Miss. – Alabama’s All-Stars combined big plays from its defense and special teams with a dominating performance in the trenches to beat Mississippi 20-0 Saturday in the 35th Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.
Oxford defensive back Miguel Mitchell earned MVP honors for Alabama with an impressive performance at corner. His 52-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the second quarter.
The undecided senior who had committed to Vanderbilt but reopened his recruiting and now plans to sign in the February period, finished with five tackles and forced a fumble.
“It was fun to play with some of the best guys in the state,” Mitchell said. “Everybody knows each other, but we’ve never been around each other, playing with each other, playing with each other, so it was great to do that.
“I wasn’t really thinking about any awards … A bunch of guys were like you’re probably going to get it and it was great to win it. But I had a great week all together; it was a fun experience that I’ll remember forever. The day went great. I had a great time competing and just playing the game I love.”
The MVP award was well received at home. Mitchell’s younger brother, Ashton, made a big impact in the Yellow Jackets’ basketball win in Rainsville that was going on about the same time Miguel was playing in the football game. When told his brother was the MVP, Ashton broke into a big smile.
“I always want to be there to support my brother,” he said. “I’m glad to see him do stuff like that. We’re going to celebrate when I see him back home.”
Mitchell’s pick-6 came just 80 seconds after Fort Payne kicker Alex McPherson put Alabama ahead with a 31-yard field and gave his team a 10-0 lead. He simply made a play and brought it back to the house.
“I was kind of locked down on my receiver,” he explained. “The guy ran his route and I was on that. Our D-line was pressuring the quarterback, so he scrambled out and my guy tried to scramble out down the sideline and I just ran with him. The quarterback threw up a 50-50 ball and I just went up and made the play.
“I thought I was going to fall down, but I somehow stayed up and my team blocked for me and I took it in for a pick-6. It was pretty big.”
Alabama tacked on a 1-yard TD run by Theodore running back Kierstan Rogers with 3:32 left in the third period to build a 17-0 lead and McPherson closed out the scoring with 1:17 left with a Alabama-Mississippi Classic record 58-yard field goal.
McPherson finished with two field goals and punted four times for a 50.0 average – with back-to-back 57-yarders that backed Mississippi deep it its own territory twice. One kick was downed at the 1.
The Alabama defense held Mississippi to 55 yards rushing, 117 yards total and seven first downs. The shutout was only the second in the history of the Classic (1998) and the first by Alabama.
Trevon McAlpine of Saraland, T.J. Dudley of Montgomery Catholic and Jax Van Zandt of Thompson each had six stop on the defense. Van Zandt also recovered a fumble and Rodney Johnson of Gadsden City had an interception. Justice Finkley of Hewitt-Trussville had three tackles and sack and was named Alabama’s Special Achievement Award winner.
“I thought we had a good game all the way around,” Mitchell said. “I thought it was an all-around good game by everybody.”
McGill-Toolen’s Braylon McReynolds, whose amazing 31-yard run set up Rogers’ third-quarter TD, led all rushers with 98 yards on 13 carries. Pike Road running back Quinshon Judkins added 43 yards on 12 carries and Rogers had 22 on 10 attempts.
Quarterback Zach Pyron of Pinson Valley was 7-of-11 passing for 91 yards and Hoover’s Bennett Meredith was 4-of-8 for 47 yards. Calera receiver Kobe Prentice had four catches for 64 yards, Hewitt-Trussville’s Omari Kelly had two for 28 and Jarel Williams of Saraland had one for 12.
For Mississippi, no player rushed for more than 16 yards, and quarterbacks Zachary Wilcke of Hernando and Kabe Bennett of Oak Grove combined to complete 15-of-32 passes for 62 total yards and two interceptions. Malcolm Hartzog of Jefferson Davis County earned Mississippi MVP honors with nine tackles and an interception.
The AHSAA contributed to this story.
Cover photo: Oxford’s Miguel Mitchell returns an interception 53 yards for an Alabama All-Stars touchdown. (AHSAA photo by Marvin Gentry)
Alabama 20, Mississippi 0
| Alabama | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 — | 20 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 — | 0 |
A — Alex McPherson 31 FG
A — Miguel Mitchell 52 interception return (Alex McPherson kick)
A — Kierstan Rogers 1 run (Alex McPherson kick)
A — Alex McPherson 58 FG
| Ala (20) | Miss (0) | |
| 15 | 1st Downs | 7 |
| 39-158 | Rushes-yds | 24-55 |
| 11-21-2 | Comp-Att-Int | 15-32-2 |
| 138 | Passing yds | 62 |
| 1-0 | Fumbles-lost | 2-1 |
| 4-50.0 | Punts-avg | 4-35.0 |
| 4-30 | Penalties-yds | 1-4 |
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