FRIDAY NIGHT RECAP (Week 6); ACA wins third straight; Prattville holds off Spain Park; Hooper beats Valiant Cross

COMBINED REPORTS

Alabama Christian 36, Wadley 30

Micah Merritt scored three touchdowns to lead Alabama Christian to its third consecutive win with a 36-30 victory over Wadley at Faulkner’s John Mark Stallings Field on Friday night.

Mason Henry rallied the Eagles with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Levi Summers with three minutes left to erase a two-point deficit and put ACA above .500 for the first time this season.

Merritt, who finished with 86 yards on 19 carries, ran 10 yards late in the first quarter and 2 yards with 18 seconds left in the quarter to erase an 8-0 Wadley lead and put ACA on top 14-8.

A 6-yard run by Merritt midway through the quarter and a 9-yard pass from Henry to Summers on the final play of the first half gave ACA a comfortable 28-8 halftime lead.

But Wadley would answer with three consecutive rushing touchdowns, adding two-point conversions after the first and third touchdowns to take a 30-28 lead with 10:49 remaining in the game, setting the stage for the Eagles’ game-winning drive.

Henry completed 17 of 22 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Summers had eight receptions for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Ethan Dabney had four catches for 55 yards.

Summers led the ACA defense with eight tackles. Keenan McCarthy added six tackles and Cooper Milner and Bryson Dabney each finished with four tackles.

Alabama Christian (4-3) will remain home next week to play Fort Dale Academy in a Class A Private Region 2 game before traveling the following week to play at St. James in a region matchup.

Hooper Academy 34, Valiant Cross 31

HOPE HULL -- Hunter Bowman threw 23 yards to Jeremy Griggs for a touchdown with five seconds left as an emotional Hooper Academy survived an upset bid from Valiant Cross in a 34-31 victory at Davis Henry Field on Friday night.

The Colts were still reeling from the unexpected death of a popular student earlier in the week and were struggling to find any rhythm, falling behind the Warriors before finally scoring late to secure their third consecutive win.

Bowman completed 9 of 16 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, with Griggs accounting for 118 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions.

Cohen Forster also completed his only attempt, a 35-yard touchdown pass. Jaylen Lamons had two catches for 54 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Ayden Newman rushed for 116 yards on 12 carries, while Kingston White added 52 yards and a touchdown on six carries.  

Hudson Allen led the Hooper defense with eight tackles.

The Colts (5-2) won for the fifth time in their first seven games, the best start since 2017. Hooper travels to Edgewood next week.

Valiant Cross (1-5) plays host to Autauga next week.

Prattville 35, Spain Park 28

PRATTVILLE -- The Lions remain unbeaten but had to withstand a furious test from Spain Park before securing a 35-28 win at Stanley-Jensen Stadium on Friday night.

Prattville (6-0) improved to 4-0 in 6A Region 3 play with three rushing touchdowns and a huge interception return for a touchdown by Jamichael Smith.

Will McKay completed 17 of 25 passes for 198 yards but was intercepted three times. Deshaun Hall led the receiving corps with seven catches for 86 yards. Christian Alexander added five receptions for 69 yards, CJ Brown had four catches for 23 yards and Kolby King added a 20- yards reception.

Marterrius Sankey rushed for 137 yards on 28 carries. Jason Crenshaw added 13 yards and a pair of touchdowns on four carries, Alexander had a 9-yard touchdown run and Brown had 33 yards on four carries.

Smith had four tackles in addition to his interception return, while King had three tackles and three assists and Elijah Brown had three tackles, an assist and a tackle for loss.

The top six teams advance to the 6A playoffs, but Friday’s win guaranteed the Lions will finish no lower than fourth in Region 3. Prattville and Thompson lead the region at 4-0, followed by Vestavia Hills and Hewitt-Trussville at 3-1. Hoover and Spain Park at 1-3 and Tuscaloosa County and Oak Mountain at 0-4.

Prattville will play host to Oak Mountain next week.  

Autauga Academy 53, Crenshaw Christian 0

PRATTVILLE -- Drez Lee rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries as the Generals shut out Crenshaw Christian 53-0 on Friday night.

Lee added an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown and had two tackles on defense, including one for loss.

Laythan Rybarczyk added 106 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, while making 5 of 6 extra-point attempts. He also had a tackle and a pass deflection on defense.

Zy Harvery added 33 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Kaleb Brown had two tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown and Ladarius Lockley had four tackles, including two for loss. Robert Davis had five tackles and a pass deflection, Monte Harvey had three tackles, including one for loss, and a fumble recovery and Charlie Esco had two tackles and a pass deflection.

Autauga Academy (4-2) travels to Montgomery next week to play Valiant Cross, while Crenshaw Christian (0-7) returns home to play host to Sparta Academy next week.

Holtville 40, Beauregard 22

BEAUREGARD -- Holtville pounded Beauregard for 514 total yards on the way to a 40-22 win in 4A Region 4 play on Friday night.

The win lifted the Bulldogs into a three-way tie for fourth place in the region at 2-2, along with Greenville and Elmore County. The top four teams in the region advance to the state playoffs.

Gavin Russom had 109 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns and also threw to Cole Parrisj for a touchdown.

Daishaun Ziegler led all rushers with 228 yards and three touchdowns.

Blake Irvin led the Holtville defense with three tackles.

Holtville (3-3) plays host to Greenville in a crucial Region 4 matchup next Friday, while Beauregard travels to Tallassee.

Stanhope Elmore 24, Rehobeth 0

REHOBETH - Dee Barnes scored twice and Tray Smith added a long touchdown run to lift the Mustangs to their first Class 5A, Region 2 win on Friday at Andrews Field.

It was the second-consecutive win for the Mustangs after dropping the first four games of the season.

Smith’s touchdown came on a 63 yard reverse. John Espy added a field goal for Stanhope (2-4, 1-3).

The Mustangs travel to Montgomery next Thursday to face Percy Julian.