Spain Park 35, Oak Mountain 28, 2 OTs
Harrison Baker threw two touchdown passes to Cooper Kelley in overtime to lead Spain Park past Oak Mountain, 35-28, in double overtime in a Class 7A, Region 3 game.
Evan Smith threw a 16-yard scoring pass to Noah Young in the first quarter, then ran for a 2-yard score with 1:05 to go in the first half to put Oak Mountain ahead 14-0.
Baker’s 64-yard pass to Jaylen Ward got Spain Park on the scoreboard with 3:26 left in the third quarter, 10:14 to go in the game.
Judah Tait ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 4:50 remaining to put Oak Mountain ahead, before Michael Callens scored from four yards out with 47 seconds to go in regulation.
Smith scored for Oak Mountain in the first overtime, but Baker hit Kelley to tie the game again. Oak Mountain couldn’t score in the second overtime and Baker hit Kelley again for the game-winner.
Smith had 79 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries to lead the Oak Mountain rushers. Callens had 64 yards on 14 carries for Spain Park.
Smith completed 5-of-9 passes for 100 yards. Baker hit on 26-of-33 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns.
Pinson Valley 44, Pell City 0
Barry White threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns as Class 6A No. 5 Pinson Valley rolled in a shutout at Pell City.
Keyonteze Johnson hauled in the game’s first two touchdown passes and finished with five receptions for 149 yards. Gaquincy McKinstry caught three balls for 83 yards and White’s other touchdown. Mike Sharp rushed for 112 yards and a pair of scores for the Indians (6-2, 5-1 Region 6), who led 34-0 at halftime. A.J. Smith also had a rushing touchdown.
The Panthers (2-6, 0-5) managed just 108 yards of offense and had as many punts (seven) as first downs.
Montevallo 56, Sipsey Valley 0
Malik Inabinette threw four touchdown passes and Deon Gilliland rushed for three more as the Bulldogs cruised to a home victory.
Jamarius Carter caught seven passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. J.J. Evans had the other two touchdown receptions, as Inabinette finished 15-for-27 for 273 yards. Gilliland ran for 132 yards on 14 carries and Joseph Anderson also had a rushing score for Montevallo (5-3, 3-2 Class 4A, Region 3).
The Bears (3-5, 1-4) turned the ball over four times and gave up a half-dozen sacks.
Helena 49, Jackson-Olin 21
Helena clinched its first region title in school history Friday night with a 49-21 win on the road over Jackson-Olin.
The Huskies (6-1) were led by Luke Stamba's three touchdowns and Marquis Johnson's two scores.
Johnson scored first for Helena on a 5-yard touchdown run and Stamba added a 24-yard touchdown score to put the Huskies up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Seconds into the start of the second quarter, Johnson caught a quick slant pass from Stamba and ran 50 yards to put the Huskies up 21-0. The Helena defense recovered a fumble on its own 6-yard line and Kobe Hughes scored a play later to improve the score to 28-0.
Jackson-Olin cut the lead to 28-7 after intercepting Helena with thirty seconds left until halftime.
A Zach Goodwin interception halfway through the third quarter set up Helena's first score of the half as Hughes ran in on the ensuing play.
Helena scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter to increase its lead to 49-7, as Antonio Ruiz and Will Griffith each caught passes for touchdowns.
Jackson-Oin scored twice in the last eight minutes of the game to cut the lead to 49-21, but the late efforts were too late.
Homewood 35, Carver-Birmingham 13
Homewood beat Class 6A Region 5 foe Carver-Birmingham 35-13 tonight.
The score was tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter, as Kameron Haynes scored for Homewood and then Cameron McKinney scored on a 65-yard touchdown pass on Carver’s first play of the game.
The only other score in the first half came from Homewood’s Len Irvine as he caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Pate Owen to put the Patriots up 14-7.
Homewood padded its lead in the second half with touchdowns from Trae Ausmer, Gaines and Charlie Goode (a 25-yard pick-six) to lead 37-7.
Carver (1-7) added a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the game when Jacolby Houston caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Young.
Homewood will play Jackson-Olin at home next week, while the Rams host Minor.
Fultondale 33, Hanceville 8
Fultondale rebounded from a lackluster first half to get a big 33-8 win over Hanceville and extend its winning streak to seven games.
After losing its opening night game to Maplesville, the Wildcats (7-1) have been dominant and energized as it races toward the Class 3A Region 5 title.
The only score in Friday night's first half was a safety from Fultondale in the game's opening minutes and the score remained 2-0 until four minutes remained in the third quarter.
And then Fultondale's offense came alive.
A field goal and pick-six put Fultondale up 12-0 at the end of the third quarter, and then the Wildcats added three rushing touchdowns to push the lead to 33-0. Those touchdowns included two from Eyren Boyd and a final one from Deonte Shufford.
Hanceville (2-5) scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with under a minute to play in the game.
Benjamin Russell 54, Calera 14
Hezekiah Hunter became the first Wildcat since 2015 to rush for more than 1000 yards in a season, racking up 148 yards and four touchdowns in three quarters of work as host Benjamin Russell won its first region game.
“I saw that they opened up the middle,” Hunter said. “They had an outside linebacker that was out further their end, so that left me inside with one linebacker. I could just break the first tackle and get free.”
The Eagles (1-7, 0-5) forged a 14-14 tie after one quarter thanks to a pair of Ashton Shoddie touchdowns, but piled up too many mistakes in the second half, including a pair of special teams turnovers and allowing a safety.
Gavin Edwards turned a short Carter Smith pass into a 32-yard touchdown and Brett Pitts also found the end zone for the Wildcats (4-5, 1-4 Class 6A, Region 3).
-- The Alexander City Outlook
Center Point 44, Moody 10
Jayson Jones ran for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just nine carries as Center Point kept pace in a crowded race for the Class 5A, Region 5 title.
Tamarkus Judkins returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown as the Eagles (7-2, 5-1) raced out to a 36-0 lead early in the third quarter. R.J. Orr, Jaylen Taylor and D’Ontae Eatmon each added rushing scores.
The host Blue Devils (3-5, 2-4) got a late 85-yard touchdown from Connor Rush.
Mortimer Jordan 56, Springville 20
Keondrick Hankins ran for 116 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries as the Class 5A No. 10 Blue Devils built a 29-point lead in the first quarter.
Daniel Parks threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Garrison McCleney for Mortimer Jordan (7-2, 5-1 Region 5). The Devils also got rushing touchdowns from Kortlan Marsh, Garrett Helm, Hunter Boren and Jamyrie May.
Kobye Payton scored twice in the second half for Springville (3-6, 0-6), including a 64-yard touchdown pass from Pearson Baldwin. Baldwin also connected with Jace Hayes for a score.
Pelham 14, Northridge 13
With eight seconds left in the game, Northridge kicker Aileen Charles came up a few inches short on a 38-yard field goal attempt for the win.
Pelham’s Gabe Gamble had touchdown runs of 3 and 18 yards in the first half. Charles kicked two second-half field goals.
The fans chanted “Let Aileen kick it” as Vickery called a timeout late in the fourth quarter. One of the region’s few female football players trotted onto the field, and Pelham called a timeout to ice Charles.
Northridge plays at Bessemer City and Pelham finishes their regular season at Helena.
-- The Tuscaloosa News
Oneonta 35, Anniston 34
The host Redskins rallied from an 11-point deficit after three quarters to force overtime, then won the game on Erik Vargas’ extra point following a David Hall touchdown.
Anniston (4-4 overall, 4-2 in Class 4A, Region 6) scored on the opening play of overtime but missed the extra point.
Oneonta tied the game in the fourth quarter thanks to a 22-yard touchdown pass from Braden Moore to Andrew McAlpine, followed by a 2-point conversion pass from Moore to Eli Buse. With the win, the Redskins (5-3, 5-1) secured second place in the region and a home game to begin next month’s playoffs.
Hewitt-Trussville 24, Tuscaloosa County 21
Hewitt-Trussville fended off a furious comeback for a 24-21 win over host Tuscaloosa County.
After the Huskies (5-4, 2-4 Class 7A, Region 3) built a 24-7 lead through three quarters the winless Wildcats got touchdowns on a run by Damien Taylor and a 13-yard scoring pass from Connor White to Christian Davis.
Tuscaloosa County (0-8, 0-6) had a chance for the win. White led the Wildcats to the Hewitt 14-yard line in the final minute but was intercepted in the end zone.
Huskies quarterback Jackson Holland was perfect through the first three quarters, completed 14 consecutive passes. He only threw one incompletion the entire game and finished 14-for-15 for 187 yards.
-- The Tuscaloosa News
Gardendale 35, Shades Valley 13
Quarterback Will Crowder threw two touchdown passes as the Rockets clinched a playoff spot.
L.T. Sanders also scored two rushing touchdowns, and Kaniji Chandler also scored a rushing touchdown.