FRIDAY NIGHT RECAP (Week 10): MA completes perfect season; Holtville, Park Crossing end with losses
Montgomery Academy’s Jarrett Friendly races to the end zone in the Eagles’ win on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
It was Senior Night at McLemore Field on Friday night, but the brightest star was a junior.
Ali Nelson rushed for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries and took his only reception 33 yards to the end zone to help Montgomery Academy to a 42-0 win over St. Anne Pacelli on Friday night.
“He did great,” Montgomery Academy coach Ethan McBride said. “When it comes to Senior Night, we really challenge our guys. You know your seniors are going to play well on Senior Night. We really challenge the other guys -- the juniors, the sophomores, the freshmen -- to go out there and put everything on the line for these seniors.”
Nelson took the message to heart. After all, his older brother Kingston was one of the seniors honored in pre-game ceremonies.
“It’s so important because my older brother is a senior and this is our last season where we’re teammates,”Nelson said, “so I’m trying to make this a memorable moment.”
The win gave Montgomery Academy a 10-0 record in the regular season, only the third time it has ever happened. (The 1987 state championship team was 9-0). The Eagles completed a 10-0 regular season in 2006 under John Tatum before losing in the quarterfinals and were 10-0 in 2020 under Robert Johnson before losing in overtime to Catholic in the semifinals.
“That’s never a goal of ours,” said McBride, a defensive coordinator on that 2020 team. “We’re always trying to play challenging games and obviously Pacelli is a talented team. For our guys to come out and execute, week in and week out, against a variety of opponents, I was really, really proud of our consistency.”
The Vikings were larger but had trouble sustaining a running game, managing just 88 yards on 31 carries.
“Their O-line averages about 280 (pounds) and they’re probably all 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4,” McBride said. “For us, it’s like let’s work some stuff and see what works against guys that are a lot bigger. We did that against JAG and had some success -- we played this a little differently and we were still successful. I’m just proud of our guys for not backing down.”
Montgomery Academy scored the game’s first touchdown on Nelson’s 33-yard reception on a Reid McBride screen pass. Nelson scored on runs of 19 and 3 yards, while Jarrett Friendly added two touchdowns on receptions of 23 and 38 yards.
“We noticed they weren’t doing good when the running back was going out on routes, so that was really our game plan,” Nelson said. “But it turns out they couldn’t stop the run.”
Friendly finished with 143 yards on six receptions. Knox Morrison added a 10-yard touchdown reception to help the Eagles complete its fourth unbeaten regular season in school history.
“I’ve thought about it a lot,” Nelson said. “I’ve texted my linemen about it. Our goal is to win a state championship. God willing, if we just keep working hard and preparing, we can do something special.”
Orange Beach 50, Holtville 14
HOLTVILLE - The Bulldogs managed just 210 yards of offense in what was the season-ending game.
Gavin Russom passed for a touchdown to Parker Pressley and rushed for another for the only Holtville points. Daishon Zeigler led the defense for nine tackles.
Holtville finishes the season with a 4-6 record.
Robertsdale 29, Park Crossing 10
The Thunderbirds ended their 2026 season on sour note, falling to the Golden Bears at Cramton Bowl on Friday.
The T-Birds trailed at halftime by five but two second-half touchdowns by the Bears were too much to overcome.
PCHS quarterback Qua Walker threw for a score on a 6-yard pass to Jaylen Sankey with 4:50 left in the first half and Tony Turner added what would be. the final points on a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Robertsdale quarterback Jacob Jones passed for a touchdown and ran for another to lead Robertsdale to its second win of the season. Creasy Ramos-McCovery added a 90-yard interception return for a score in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Bears (2-8) return to Cramton Bowl next Friday for the Class 6A first-round playoff game against G.W. Carver. Park Crossing’s season ends at 3-7, having lost their last four games.