CLASS 1A-5A FLAG FOOTBALL: Moody gets revenge in rematch to win title over Catholic
Catholic Haley Ishman jumps for a touchdown reception over Moody’s Abi Gray in Wednesday’s Class 1A-5A state championship at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
By TIM GAYLE
BIRMINGHAM -- Catholic’s flag football team dug itself an early hole with two turnovers.
The Knights weren’t able to overcome an early 20-point deficit in their championship rematch with Moody, falling to the Blue Devils 27-18 in the 1A-5A flag football championship at Protective Stadium on Wednesday.
“There were a lot of things we had to do from last year to this year to get to this point,” Moody coach Wren Moore said, “and (Moody players) exceeded every point. The difference between last year and this year was not the athletic ability of these girls, it was the things behind closed doors that was going to get us to this point and get us a Blue Map -- things like the unity, the teamwork, the communication and the maturity they’ve had to grow to get to this point. Everything clicked at the right time when they started figuring out that they had to get those little things to win.”
Catholic’s fourth-year program, which ended the season at 21-5, reached the finals for the third consecutive year, but a year after rallying past Moody for the 2024 state championship, the Knights couldn’t recover from a 20-0 deficit on Wednesday.
“It’s heartbreaking, but we know somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to lose,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said. “Being here for three years straight says something. Although we fell short, we had chances to make it happen. I couldn’t be prouder of these girls.”
The Knights relied on defense to reach the championship game but -- at least on this particular day -- a faster defense and a faster quarterback tested the Catholic defense. Most Valuable Player Serenity Rutledge rushed for 124 yards on 20 carries, completed 11 of 21 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns and led the Blue Devils on defense with eight stops.
“She’s an athlete and anybody watching the game could see that,” Toole said. “Not only a threat throwing the ball, but she moves really well. She’s quick, she’s strong, she’s hard to stop.”
Catholic’s opening possession ended on the second play with an interception by Abi Gray off of a tipped pass. Four consecutive runs by Rutledge moved the ball 23 yards to the Catholic 5 where Rutledge connected with Zoey Terry at the goal line for a 7-0 lead.
Catholic’s next possession lasted just four plays when a pass tipped by players from both teams fell into the arms of Cheyenne Moore, whose 48-yard interception return made it 13-0.
“It felt good,” Cheyenne Moore said. “I was already nervous so it just calmed the nerves.”
Three plays and a Catholic punt later, the Blue Devils were on the move again, using a 25-yard Rutledge completion and a 19-yard scramble to move the ball to the Catholic 14-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Rutledge found Sophie White behind the Catholic defense for a stunning 20-0 lead.
“It was very tough,” Catholic’s Avery Sadler said. “We just had to keep ourselves from getting down because we know we can come back.”
Sadler’s 1-yard run with 7:19 left in the first half capped an eight-play drive and trimmed the deficit to 20-6, but the Knights’ next possession ended on downs after reaching the Moody 30. The Blue Devils took the opening possession of the third quarter 66 yards in 12 plays as another Rutledge touchdown gave Moody a 27-6 lead.
“Us losing last year, we had something to prove this year,” Rutledge said/ “It was revenge.”
“I would say that motivation (was) fuel to the fire,” White added. “People didn’t have a lot of confidence in us.”
After building a 27-6 lead, Moody’s final three possessions picked up just two first downs and 34 total yards, but it was just enough to hold off the Knights. Hayden Fitts threw touchdown passes of 9 and 19 yards but it was too late against the Moody defense.
“Our main thing was defense was going to win this ballgame,” Moore said. “We knew we had to adjust little things on offense, but we watched film on their defense more than anything. We knew we weren’t going to be able to get that long ball the entire game so we worked on short passing and running the ball.”
Fitts rushed for 57 yards on 12 carries and completed 9 of 18 passes for 140 yards, with Ishman catching six of those passes for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Fitts led the defense with 11 stops, while Sadler had 10.
But it was the Blue Devils (22-3) hoisting the championship trophy at the end and Rutledge earning MVP honors.
“Two different feelings,” Rutledge said. “Losing last year, we had something to prove. But this isn’t possible without my teammates. In the offseason, we worked hard, we were dedicated. The sacrifices we made, it’s just a blessing.”
“Last year, we were at the same table and all my girls were crying,” Wren Moore observed. “This year, we’re at this table with a black (championship) hat and a Blue Map.”
Class 6A-7A Flag Finals: Central-Phenix City 46, Vestavia Hills 7
BIRMINGHAM - The Streak continues for Central-Phenix City.
Red Devils quarterback Mariah Harrison threw four first-half touchdown passes and added a rushing touchdown in the third quarter as the Red Devils (20-0) earned a 46-7 victory over Vestavia Hills on Wednesday at Protective Stadium in the Class 6A-7A girls’ title game as part of the Super 7 Championships.
Central earned its 57th consecutive victory.
Harrison finished 13-of-24 passing for 243 yards and added 80 yards rushing on seven carries. She ended the season 245-of-382 passing for 3,941 yards and threw 80 TD passes. Sevier had 43 TD catches this season with 97 catches and 1,596 receiving yards.
For Vestavia, quarterback Julia Rose completed 23-of-37 passes for 194 yards and a TD, giving her more than 7,075 passing yards and 122 TD passes this season. Rubin, who caught seven passes for 42 yards and one TD for the Rebels, finished with 200 catches, for 2,114 yards and 54 touchdown receptions. She also had 30 interceptions this season on defense.
Class 7A Finals: Thompson 48, Opelika 10
Thompson High School (11-3) captured its second straight Class 7A football title and sixth in the last seven years by defeating Opelika 48-10 on Wednesday night at Protective Stadium to cap Day 1 of the 30th annual AHSAA Super 7 Championships.
Thompson coach Mark Freeman coached his eighth AHSAA state title – two at Spanish Fort and six at Thompson – and tied the AHSAA record held of eight career titles held by Clay-Central’s Danny Horn and UMS-Wright’s Terry Curtis. Freeman also won four AISA titles at Bessemer Academy from 2002-07.
Thompson junior quarterback Trent Seaborn threw three first-half touchdown passes in Wednesday’s victory as the Warriors rolled to a 34-3 halftime lead. Seaborn, who has now quarterbacked Thompson to three title-game wins, surpassed 10,000 career passing yards in the first half as the Warriors rolled up 359 yards at halftime and 522 yards in the game. He is the fifth player in AHSAA history to reach 10,000 passing yards.
Seaborn was 16-of-27 for 259 yards and three touchdowns, pushing his career total to 10,088 yards and 103 TD passes heading into his senior year.
Freeman said the Warriors endured “an unusual year” that included three regular-season losses to the same three teams that defeated Thompson in 2024. “Those three losses definitely, for sure lit a fire underneath our tails,” Alo said.
Opelika coach Bryan Moore noted his Bulldogs defeated G.W. Carver in the regular-season finale to earn a playoff berth and then reeled off three playoff wins to advance to the Class 7A title game for the first time in school history.