Tasting victory
- Updated: September 10, 2022
Ross, Valley Cubs turn back Golden Bears for first win of season; Handley blanks White Plains, Oneonta rallies to edge Cherokee County
By Mark Everett Kelly
For East Alabama Sports Today
LINCOLN – Antonio Ross scored on a 7-yard run with 1:13 remaining in the game to cap an intense second half and lift Alexandria to a 28-21 region win over Lincoln for its first win of the season.
Ross scored three touchdowns in the game and his third came after Bears quarterback Montavius Weed tied the game on a 55-yard run with 8:34 to play. Ross rushed for 178 yards on 32 carries.
Weed accounted for all three Lincoln touchdowns. In addition to his long touchdown run, he also scored on a 2-yard run and threw a 10-yard pass to Camera Hampton. Weed completed 16 of 27 passes for 332 yards and rushed for 77 yards on 12 carries.
Lincoln dominated the first half in yards (127-76) and the number of plays (29-20). However, their longest drive into Valley Cubs territory failed when Jaylon George (10 carries, 28 yds in 1st half) gained just one yard on fourth-and-2 at the 6. George had 28 yards on 10 carries in the first half.
The momentum turned after the Golden Bears’ defense forced their third three and out, forcing Alexandria to punt the ball from deep in their territory with just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter.
On first-and-10 from his own 44, Weed lost the football, falling right into the hands of Alexandria defensive end Da’markus Williams, who sprinted 46 yards for a TD. An illegal block negated the return but gave the Valley Cubs a first down at the 35.
On the next play, Ty Barker connected with Takoreion Downie for a 35-yard touchdown, which shocked the crowd. Despite holding the Valley Cubs to just one first down and 41 yards behind some outstanding play from linebacker Hunter Delaney, the Golden Bears trailed 7-0.
Both teams put on memorable second-half performances, filled with inspirational efforts, clutch plays, and character that can only be defined when playing with your back against the wall.
Antonio Ross gained 140 of his rushing yards and scored all three touchdowns for the Valley Cubs in a bruising second-half performance.
“We used technology to make halftime adjustments so we could see what they were doing to us,” said Alexandria head coach Todd Ginn, avoiding the Valley Cubs’ first 0-3 start since 2010.
Weed and WR Brandon Estelle Jr (10 receptions, 264 yards) rallied the home team from down 14 points late in the third quarter with big play after big play, leaving fans of both teams in awe of their talent. Weed finished 16-of-27 passing for 332 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Brandon Estelle Jr. had 10 catches for 264 yards.
“We gave up too many big plays,” said Ginn, who won for the 23rd time in his last 28 games. “I thought we stopped the run really well tonight (allowed 3.2 YPR on 33 carries, minus Weed’s 55-yard TD run), but overall we gave up too many big plays. We gotta fix that.”
Trailing 21-7 and facing third-and-14 on his own 32, Estelle’s leaping grab near midfield ended with him taking the ball down to the 4 for a 66-yard gain. Weed’s 1-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 21-14.
After Alexandria self-destructed on its next possession with three penalties, the Golden Bears’ quarterback tied the game with his 55-yard run to tie the game at 21 with 8:34 remaining. Weed ran for 77 yards on 12 carries and two scores.
Great players arrive during big moments, and Ross showed why he is one of the best in the state. The senior running back ran 10 times for 63 yards, including 18 yards on a huge third-and-9 from the Valley Cats 39 with just over five minutes left. Alexandria and Ross ran the clock from the 8:28 mark to 1:13, capped with his 7-yard TD run to take a 28-21 lead.
Lincoln’s dynamic duo rallied the home team again as Weed connected with Estelle for an 18-yard gain on fourth-and-7 and a 30-yard gain on third-and-6, moving the ball inside the Valley Cubs’ 10. The home crowd watched Weed’s pass travel out of the end zone on the final play, leaving them disappointed but not discouraged.
For Ginn, his players’ lessons in winning games like this help their confidence.
“These young guys, they get a win, play hard like they did tonight, it’s going to help us a lot,” he said.
Alexandria 28, Lincoln 21
| ALEX | LINC | |
| 18 | 1st Downs | 21 |
| 45-228 | Rushes-yards | 34-160 |
| 4-8-0 | Comp-Att-Int | 16-27-0 |
| 60 | Passing Yards | 332 |
| 0-0 | Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 |
| 5-36.4 | Punts-avg | 3-29.3 |
| 8-85 | Penalties-yds | 8-60 |
| Alexandria (1-2) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 – | 28 |
| Lincoln (2-2) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 – | 21 |
A – T.K. Downey 45 pass from Ty Barker (Cleat Forrest kick), 3:34 1Q
A – Antonio Ross 2 run (run failed), 6:13 3Q
L – Montavius Weed 1 run (Mason Hill kick), 2:09 3Q
A – Antonio Ross 17 run (Antonio Ross run), 1:35 3Q
L – Camare Hampton 10 pass from Montavius Weed (Mason Hill kick), 11:53 4Q
L – Montavius Weed 55 run (Mason Hill kick), 8:34 4Q
A – Antonio Ross 7 run (Cleat Forrest kick), 1:13 4Q
Handley 48, White Plains 0
ROANOKE — Jay Haynes followed up his near-record setting night the week before with 119 yards rushing and another long touchdown run and all three of quarterback Cannon Kyles’ completions went for long touchdowns giving Larry Strain another victory over the team he coached before taking the Handley head coaching job.
Strain coached the Wildcats in 2014 and has beaten his former team all three times they have met since.
Haynes had the second-best rushing night in the history of the state last week at Jacksonville, 476 yards with five touchdowns runs of more than 50 yards. His biggest run of the night against White Plains went for 77 yards and a touchdown late in the first quarter.
Kyles completed only three passes in the game, but all three went for scores — 19 yards to Haynes, and 61 and 37 yards to Jamerqui Lewis.
The second-ranked Tigers (4-0) scored three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to open a 42-0 halftime lead, then Taevion Houston returned the second-half kickoff 72 yards for the final score of the game.
Quarterback Dylan Barksdale completed six of 17 passes for 52 yards and rushed for 39 more for White Plains. Montez Burns was the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 62 yards on 21 carries.
| HAND | WP | |
| 10 | 1st Downs | 10 |
| 32-210 | Rushes-yards | 42-128 |
| 3-9-0 | Comp-Att-Int | 7-20-0 |
| 116 | Passing Yards | 53 |
| 3-2 | Fumbles-Lost | 3-3 |
| 3-35.7 | Punts-avg | 9-20.1 |
| 9-80 | Penalties-yds | 9-85 |
| White Plains (1-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 – | 0 |
| Handley (4-0) | 21 | 21 | 6 | 0 – | 48 |
H – Ayden Robertson 21 run (Landon Bozeman kick), 7:18 1Q
H – Jay Haynes 19 pass from Cannon Kyles (Landon Bozeman kick), 4:26 1Q
H – Jay Haynes 77 run (Landon Bozeman kick), 1:10 1Q
H – Jamerqui Lewis 61 pass from Cannon Kyles (Landon Bozeman kick), 11:41 2Q
H – Jamerqui Lewis 37 pass from Cannon Kyles (Landon Bozeman kick), 9:47 2Q
H – Daquavian Slaughter 19 run (Landon Bozeman kick), 5:58 3Q
H – Taevion Houston 72 kickoff return (kick failed), 11:47 3Q
Oneonta 17, Cherokee County 14
ONEONTA – Damarion “Fluff” Bothwell caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Landon Abernathy for the go-ahead score with 1:21 to go, then ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Redskins their first lead since the first quarter and they held on to hand Cherokee County its first loss of the season.
The Warriors (3-1) had built a two-score lead heading into halftime, but Bothwell scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to spoil the Warriors’ chances of staying unbeaten.
After Bothwell’s go-ahead score, the Warriors had one final chance to regain the lead. They moved the ball inside the Redskins 45 with 49 seconds remaining, but Oneonta’s defense held on a fourth-and-10 with 24 seconds left to clinch it.
The eighth-ranked Warriors erased an early 3-0 deficit on Cade Hopper’s quarterback draw for a 43-yard touchdown run and Will Frampton’s extra point . The extended the lead to 14-3 with 4:09 remaining in the first half on a 60-yard Jacob Cornejo touchdown run.
After a scoreless third, Oneonta finally found its offense behind Bothwell in the fourth. His first score came on a 15-yard run up the middle with 7:14 left. The try for two failed, but the Redskins were
just a score away from taking the lead.
| CHER | ONEO | |
| 14 | 1st Downs | 13 |
| 38-221 | Rushes-yards | 37-128 |
| 5-13-0 | Comp-Att-Int | 8-16-0 |
| 14 | Passing yards | 100 |
| 1-1 | Fumbles-lost | 1-1 |
| 4-28.0 | Punts-avg | 4-24.3 |
| 7-50 | Penalties-yds | 10-80 |
| Cherokee County (3-1) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 – | 14 |
| Oneonta | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 – | 17 |
O – Aaron Espinosa 27 FG
C – Cade Hopper 45 run (Will Frampton kick)
C – Jacob Cornejo 60 run (Will Frampton kick)
O – Fluff Bothwell 16 run (run failed)
O – Fluff Bothwell 69 pass from Landon Abernathy (Fluff Bothwell run)
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