FRIDAY NIGHT RECAP (Week 9): Carver topples Opelika for key region win; Prattville clinches title; Hooper gets eighth win; Stanhope earns playoff bid

COMBINED REPORTS

G.W. Carver 27, Opelika 14

The Wolverines bullied the Opelika defense with big pass plays and a rushing attack that earned 274 yards for an important Class 6A, Region 2 victory Friday at Cramton Bowl.

Elijah Tarver rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown to lead Carver to the win that sets up a key game next week against Enterprise.

Carver never trailed in the game, taking a 21-7 lead at halftime. Quarterback Jayden Tyus scored on a 30-yard run in the first quarter and followed up with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Derrian Ray with 8:04 left in the half.

Opelika got on the board with just under two minutes left in the half on a Jalen Nelson 17-yard run. But Carver answered right back on a 93-yard kickoff return by Mekhi Williams. Carver converted a 2-point try for the two-touchdown lead at the break.

Carver added to its lead with 1:53 left in the third on a Tarver 31-yard scamper for a 27-7 lead. The Bulldogs scored with 23 seconds left in the period on Austan Cristiaan’s pass to Jakari Walton for 28 yards for the final score.

Tyus finished with 148 yards passing on 11 of 16 attempts and an interception. He added 54 yards rushing with a touchdown. Tarver also had 46 yards in receiving yards. Williams added 62 yards on two receptions.

Atravyn Davenport had two interceptions for the Carver defense.

Nelson led Opelika (4-4, 4-3) with 84 yards rushing while Cristiaan had 136 yards passing on 11 of 26 attempts including two interceptions.

Carver (5-4, 4-2) holds a one-game lead over Enterprise and Opelika in the region standings with the Wolverines facing Enterprise on Thursday at 17 Springs in Millbrook, a game that was rescheduled from Oct. 9. A Carver win would secure the third seed in the region while a loss would create a three-way tie between the three teams.

Prattville 13, Vestavia Hills 0

PRATTVILLE - Will McKay passed for one touchdown and the Lions’ defense added another score to for a 13-0 win that secured the Class 6A, Region 3 title on Friday at Stanley-Jensen Stadium.

The region title is the first for the program since 2011.

McKay found DeShawn Hall for a score while Kolby King added the only other touchdown on a Pick-6 on a 14-yard return.

King finished with two interceptions in what turned out to be a defensive struggle.

Materrius Sankey rushed for 138 yards on 32 attempts. McKay finished 12 of 25 for 150 yards. Hall had five catches for 81 yards. The Prattville offense totaled 302 yards in offense.

Caleb Mitchell added seven tackles and a sack for the Prattville defense. Ricardo Parker had five tackles and a sack while Jason Crenshaw had four tackles including two for a loss.

Prattville (9-0, 7-0) will entertain Opelika in the season finale next Friday and then receives a first-round bye for the 6A playoffs.

Elmore County 41, Tallassee 14

ECLECTIC -- Tallassee scored the first 14 points of the game before Elmore County countered with 41 points to defeat the Tigers 41-14 at Burt-Haynie Stadium on Friday night.

Trent Morris threw touchdown passes of 54 and 33 yards to Milaki Griffin for a 14-0 lead before Elmore County rallied with Kasen Moe’s 18-yard pass to Beau Traylor and Tyler Payton’s 8-yard run for a 14-14 halftime tie.

In the third quarter, the Panthers pulled away with Moe’s 36-yard touchdown strike to Traylor and Payton’s 43-yard scoring run. In the fourth quarter, Karsen Haskins ran 4 yards for a touchdown and Moe connected with Donavan Aldridge for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

Morris led the Tigers with 64 rushing yards on 15 carries and 10-of-26 passing for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was intercepted three times.

Griffin caught three passes for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns,Abram Whittington and Braylon Rigsby each had two receptions for 27 yards and Hudson Timmerman had three receptions for 19 yards.

Moe completed 6 of 12 passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns for Elmore County, while Payton rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Traylor had three catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Elmore County (6-3) will close out the regular season with a game at Reeltown next Friday before traveling to Mobile to play Williamson in the first round of the state playoffs.

Tallassee ends the 2026 football season at 3-7.

Stanhope Elmore 28, Wetumpka 19

MILLBROOK - Dee Barnes rushed for 187 yards and scored three times to lead the Mustangs to a win over arch-rival Wetumpka, earning a playoff bid in the process.

Quarterback Davis Foshee passed for 102 yards with a touchdown on 7-of-11 attempts. He added 32 yards rushing for the Mustangs, who have won five straight after losing the first four games of the season.

Joseph Griffin led the Mustangs’ defense with 11 tackles.

Stanhope earned the fourth seed out of Class 6A, Region 2. With the loss, Wetumpka was eliminated from playoff contention.

The Mustangs (5-4, 4-3) close out the regular season at Hueytown next Friday. They will travel to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 6.

Wetumpka (5-5, 3-4) completed its season on Friday.

Marbury 41, Holtville 20

MARBURY --  Marbury closed out region play with a 41-20 win over Holtville on Friday, winning its eighth game of the season in a battle of Bulldogs.

Holtville quarterback Gavin Russom threw for 95 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

One of those pass completions was an 89-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Boone, who also had eight tackles and an interception on defense.

Marbury (8-1) travels to Demopolis to close out the regular season next week before returning home to play Citronelle in the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks.

Holtville (4-5) closes out the 2026 season at home next week against Orange Beach.

Alabama Christian 52, Pike Liberal Arts 21

TROY -- Micah Merritt rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Mason Henry threw for two more to help Alabama Christian to its sixth consecutive win in a 52-21 win over the Patriots on Friday night.

Alabama Christian (7-3) wrapped up the third seed in Class A Private Region 2 and will travel to Mobile Christian in the first round of the state playoffs in two weeks.

Mason Henry threw a touchdown pass to Beau Gainey, David Johnson added a field goal and Levi Summers returned an interception 60 yards to the end zone to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.

After a Pike Lib touchdown, Merritt scored on a 41-yard run with seven seconds remaining to give ACA a 24-7 lead entering the second quarter.

Bryson Dabney, Merritt and Mekhi Gardner all rushed for second-quarter touchdowns and Henry threw his second touchdown pass of the evening to Gainey for a 52-7 halftime lead.

Merritt finished with 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns on seven carries, Gardner had 16 yards and a touchdown on five carries and Dabney scored on his only carry of the night.

Henry completed 11 of 12 passes for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gainey caught three passes for 41 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Dee Howze had three receptions for 19 yards. Dabney added 35 receiving yards on two catches.

ACA will take a week off before returning to action in the playoffs.

Hooper 29, Southern Prep 23

HOPE HULL - Ayden Newman rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries to lift Hooper to its eighth win of the season on Friday at Davis-Henry Field.

Kingston White added 111 yards on 12 carries and a score for the Colts, who completed their best season since 1998 when Hooper went 9-2.

Hunter Bowman, Max Parker and Layton Davis each had five tackles for the Hooper defense while White recorded an interception.

Hooper completes the season at 8-2 and awaits the AISA playoffs, which begin Nov. 6. It will be the program’s first post-season play since 2023.