Trinity’s Josh Watkins is chased by Jackson defensive lineman Shaquille Scott in Saturday’s Champions Challenge at Cramton Bowl. (Photo by Chris Dunn)

Combined Reports
(August 22, 2010)

It may not have been a season debut to remember for the Trinity Wildcats, but coach Randy Ragsdale wasn’t complaining after a 30-8 loss to Jackson High School in the 2010 Champions Challenge at Cramton Bowl on Saturday.

“I know we got better tonight,” Ragsdale said. “We were able to practice against a better team that’s more physical. They were a great football team and I congratulate coach (Jeff) Kelly and his squad.”

Jackson totaled 292 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns on the ground in the win. The Aggies, last year’s Class 4A runner up, finished with 419 yards with a 9-of-12 passing effort for 127 yards.

Trinity, which is replacing nine starters from last year, was held to single digits in first downs in the first half and had minus-17 yards rushing. Josh Watkins and the passing game got going in the second half.

“When you get a chance to play a team like (Jackson), it helps you get better,” Watkins said. “We are a work in progress right now but we will be a better team after this.”

The Wildcats’ only points came late in the game on a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Alan Wood to Walker VanHooser for 69 yards. Watkins and Wood combined to complete 29-of-43 passes for 263 yards in the loss.

Joseph Jackson led all rushers for the Aggies with 93 yards on 14 carries. He also had three catches for 52 yards. Ladarius Richardson added 71 on five tries with on run covering 47 yards. Six different backs had runs of 13 yards or longer for the Aggies.

Watkins was 25-of-35 for 163 yards and Wood finished 4-of-8 for 100. Mark White, who set the AHSAA single-season record last year as a sophomore with 106 receptions, caught 10 passes for 85 yards Saturday.

William Stabler’s eight tackles led Trinity’s defense. Weston Epperson added seven and Will Patty had two sacks. Cortez Williams led the Aggies with six stops. Kyle Poelinitz had a sack for 19 yards.

Auburn handles Spain Park

The Tigers, 13-1 last season on the way to the Class 6A semifinals, dominated the Jaguars on defense, limiting Spain Park to just six first downs, 71 rushing yards and 18 passing on the night. Coach Tim Carter’s offense rolled up 257 total yards, including 208 rushing despite nine penalties for 57 penalty yards.

Quarterback Cameron Echols rushed for 87 yards on eight carries and scored twice on runs of 3 and 1 yards. He had one run of 58 yards to set up one score. Echols also completed 4-of-9 passes for 40 yards.   Marcus Harris added 46 yards on nine runs and scored once on a 1-yard run in the second period.

Mason Wachter booted a 37-yard field goal to start the scoring for Auburn with two minutes left in the first period. Just 1:21 later Rodney Joiner picked off Spain Park quarterback Reid Reinagel’s pass at the Jaguars 22-yard line and scored the game’s first touchdown to make it 10-0 heading into the second period.

Reinagle was 2-of-5 passing for 18 yards and was sacked three times for 19 yards in losses. Backup Nick Mullens was 0-of-5 passing and was sacked once.   Steven Silvo led Spain Park with 32 yards rushing on two tries. He had the long play of the night for the Jags with a 21-yard run. Alex Robinson added 28 yards on 12 carries.

Destin Challenger led all defenders with 13 tackles for Spain Park. JaMichael Payne had six for Auburn and Josh Brown had five. The Tigers had 14 stops that led to 36 yards in losses for Spain Park.

Prior to the contest, Spain Park assistant coach Kenneth Hand, whose son Army Specialist Andrew Hand was killed July 24 while serving in Afghanistan, was presented a special letter of condolence from Major General Donald Campbell Jr. of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. The letter was presented by Lt.Col. Kevyn Bryant at the 50-yard line as both teams stood lining each 40 yard line.

Auburn opens the regular season next Friday against Valley while Spain Park travels to Georgia to take on  Grayson High School.

Older Blackmon gets best of younger in Opelika’s win

Opelika turned two Greenville turnovers into touchdowns Friday night as the Bulldogs downed the Tigers 34-6 to claim the first game victory of the 2010 al.com Champions Challenge.

Opelika head coach Brian Blackmon, the older brother of Greenville head coach Ben Blackmon, watched the Bulldogs dominate the line of scrimmage as the offense rolled up 19 first downs and 324 total yards.

It was two defensive plays that put the 6A team over the top, however. Leading 7-0 in the first quarter after Cameron Hill’s 15-yard scoring run at 9:32 on the clock capped Opelika’s first scoring opportunity of the night, defensive back Deanthony Huguley came up with the first defensive gem. He picked off a deflected pass at the Tigers’ 33-yard line just a minute after the first TD and sped untouched into the end zone for the second Opelika TD. William Black, who booted all four extra-point kicks he tried on the night, made it 14-0.

Greenville settled down in the second quarter and drove 80 yards on nine plays to notch its only touchdown. The TD came on Jamall Hamilton’s 17-yard run with 4:28 left in the half.

Opelika drove 83 yards on nine plays and took a 21-6 lead when Daniel Pritchett bulled in for a touchdown midway through the third quarter. That’s when the defense stepped up again. Kent Riley recovered a Greenville fumble at the Tigers 12-yard line to set up Hill’s 1-yard run for his second TD of the game. Hill finished with a game-high 133 yards on 15 carries for the Bulldogs.

The final score came on quarterback Calvin Bryant’s 23-yard run with 8:47 to play.

Bryant finished with 40 yards on five carries and was 2-of-3 passing for 49 yards. Starting quarterback Pritchett was 8-of-10 passing for 82 yards. Paul Rowe had three catches for 28 yards and set up the first TD with a 22-yard punt return. Trevor Todd added two receptions for 49 yards including one covering 38 yards from Bryant.

Patrick Bedgood led Greenville with 58 yards rushing on seven carries. Dontae Lee add 42 on nine tries. Riley, who had eight net yards on 12 runs, was 6-of-14 passing for 97 yards. He had 28 yards in losses due to the fast-rushing Opelika defense.

Jay Johnson caught two passes for 62 yards with one going for 45 yards.

 Defensively, Terrance Thompson led Greenville with nine tackles and Tijaun Rudolph added seven. Kurt Hale and Tyler Peppers had six tackles each for Opelika. Jamario Alford also had five with one 14-yard sack and another tackle resulting in a nine-yard loss.