FRIDAY FOOTBALL RECAP (Week 0): Lee-Scott wallops ACA; MA dominates Tallassee; ECHS wins in OT
COMBINED REPORTS
Lee-Scott Academy 40, Alabama Christian Academy 20
AUBURN -- Brooks Zachry ran through the ACA defense for four touchdowns, putting the game out of reach late in the third quarter with a couple of scores as the Warriors defeated the Eagles 40-20 in the season opener on Friday night.
Christian Snipes ran for three touchdowns and accounted for 178 yards but the Eagles had trouble sustaining any consistent offense or keeping the Warriors off the scoreboard. Snipes scored on a 1-yard run midway through the first quarter to pull within 7-6, but Lee-Scott countered with three touchdowns to pull out to a 27-6 halftime lead.
Snipes scored his second touchdown on a 5-yard run midway through the third period, but the Warriors countered with two touchdowns for a 40-13 lead.
Snipes finished with 36 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, while completing 14 of 19 passes for 142 yards,
Micah Merritt led the Eagles in rushing with 42 yards on three carries. Ladarius Walters added 36 yards on eigfht carries. Ethan Dabney led the receiving corps with 59 yards on seven receptions, while Jackson Burton had three catches for 63 yards.
Defensively, Cooper Milner had six tackles to lead the Eagles, followed by Mekhi Gardner and Levi Summers with five tackles each.
Lee-Scott Academy (1-0) remains home to play Loachapoka next Friday, while Alabama Christian (0-1) returns home to play host to Goshen.
Montgomery Academy 59, Tallassee 3
TALLASSEE - The Eagles scored 42 first-half points in what was a surprising easy victory over Tallassee in the season opener for both teams Friday at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium.
The Eagles got two rushing touchdowns from Braden Gordon and Mac Benefield each while quarterback Reid McBride passed for 216 yards and two scores.
Ali Nelson and Mitch Corley also had rushing touchdowns for MA (1-0).
Tallassee (0-1) got its only points on a 44-yard field goal from Yuren Rodriguez in the third quarter. The Tigers suffered three turnovers in the loss.
MA will be back on the road next Friday to face St. James. Tallassee returns home to face Elmore County.
Elmore County 31, Dadeville 30 (OT)
ECLECTIC - Eli Thames’ 3-yard run for a touchdown followed by the extra point from Tate McNealy capped an overtime comeback win for the Panthers on Friday at Burt-Haney Field.
The Panthers forced overtime with a last-second field goal by McNealy from 26 yards out which tied the game in the final seconds. That was after Dadeville had taken the lead with its own field goal from Baker Phillips late in the fourth quarter.
After Elmore County took the lead in overtime, the Tigers scored on a Davis McKelvey quarterback sneak but they chose to go for two and the win. The Panthers defense knocked away a pass in the end zone to secure the win.
ECHS quarterback Gage Davis passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns while Thames rushed for 83 yards and a score. McNeely, Payton Thomas and Justin Brooks each had receptions for touchdowns.
McKelvey led the Tigers (0-1) with 114 yards passing and added 29 yards rushing with two touchdowns.
Conner Pike had an interception for the Panthers (1-0).
Billingsley 22, Greensboro 0
BILLINGSLEY -- Quarterback Kyle Boice accounted for 211 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears shut out Greensboro 22-0 at Mims Field on Friday night.
Boice had 16 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 4 of 9 passes for 69 yards with an interception.
Tailback Kaden Cotton added 110 yards on 14 carries, along with one reception for 53 yards. Kyson Thomas rushed for 40 yards on seven carries as the Bears rolled up 387 total yards in the win.
Defensively, linebacker Caleb Massey led the Bears with 16 tackles and a sack. Defensive end Danny Boice had 11 tackles and defensive lineman Jake Rawlinson had 10. Jaylen Cutler had an interception along with four tackles.
Friday’s shutout was the first for the Bears since 2021. It was the first shutout in a home opener since 1987.
Billingsley (1-0) travels to Fayetteville next Thursday, while Greensboro (0-1) will have a week off before playing host to Dallas County in two weeks.
Loachapoka 49, Prattville Christian 24
PRATTVILLE -- Prattville Christian’s Nolan Stuart threw four touchdown passes but Loachapoka scored three touchdowns late to pull away for a 49-24 win over the Panthers on Friday night at Panther Stadium.
Friday’s game marked the debut of new PCA coach Shane Moye and Moye’s Panthers kept the game close until the fourth quarter.
Stuart connected with Cody Chapman on a 41-yard pass to pull within a point after the Indians scored the game’s first touchdown, then threw another touchdown pass to put PCA in front 12-7. Loachapoka answered with a pair of touchdowns for a 21-12 halftime lead.
Quintez Cooks put the Indians on top 28-12 with a 3-yard run early in the third quarter, but the Panthers stormed back with Stuart’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Blake Bowman and his 18-yard scoring toss to Tyson Houston to trim the deficit to 28-24.
That was as close as the Panthers would get as Cooks added touchdown runs of 3 and 15 yards to help Loachapoka secure the season-opening victory.
Stuart completed 13 of 24 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns with an interception. Bowman had three receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Chapman had three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.
PCA (0-1) remains home to play McKenzie next week.
P. Julian 23, Paul Bryant 2
COTTONDALE - Quarterback Ernest Shuford passed for two touchdowns as the Phoenix opened the season with a win over the Stampede.
Shuford also added a 2-yard run for a score. He had a 53-yard touchdown pass for Orrion Harvest and added a 13-yard strike for a score to Anthony Jackson.
The Stampede gave the Phoenix its final points with a safety in the latter stages of the game.
The Phoenix (1-0) will be at home next Friday to face G.W. Carver.