FRIDAY RECAP (Week 6): Julian ends losing streak; Catholic earns shutout; Lowndes dominates Valiant Cross

COMBINED REPORTS

P. Julian 33, Rehobeth 6

Quarterback Ernest Shuford passed for two touchdowns to lead the Phoenix to their second win of the season and keeping their playoff hopes alive on Homecoming Night at Cramton Bowl.

Shuford passed for 144 yards on of 11-15 attempts. He added 22 yards rushing for Julian, which broke a five-game losing streak and winning its first Class 6A, Region 2 contest of the year.

Rob Manora and Germarion Jones each had touchdown receptions while Jones added a 23-yard run for a score.

Demone Porter added a rare 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Rehobeth’s lone TD came in the final minutes on Elijah Holmes 39-yard run.

The Phoenix (2-5, 1-3) plays Thursday against Wetumpka in a must-win for a playoff bid. Rehobeth (2-4, 0-3) plays host to Park Crossing on Friday.

Vestavia Hills 54, Prattville 28

VESTAVIA HILLS -- Will McKay passed for a pair of touchdowns and Tristen Blackmon ran for two more, but the Lions couldn’t keep pace with the Rebels in Prattville’s region loss to Vestavia Hills on Friday.

Prattville fell into a four-way tie for third place in Class 7A Region 3 at 2-2, along with Vestavia Hills, Hoover and Hillcrest, but Vestavia Hills and Hoover own head-to-head tiebreakers with the Lions. Thompson leads the region at 4-0, a game ahead of Prattville’s next opponent, Hewitt-Trussville.

McKay completed 19 of 30 passes for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns but was intercepted three times. Brayden Graham had four receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown, while DeShawn Hall had three catches for 24 yards and a touchdown.

Blackmon, meanwhile, rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Defensively, Darren Washington led the Lions with five tackles. Trey Rawlinson had four tackles, including two for loss, and Graham had one tackle, an assist and an interception.

Prattville (3-3) returns home to play host to Hewitt-Trussville next Friday.

Catholic 42, Carroll 0

OZARK -- Catholic made the most of last week’s open date as a well rested group of Knights rolled up 316 yards of offense and posted a shutout in Friday’s 42-0 region victory over Carroll.

CJ Sankey completed 11 of 14 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns in his best game as a Knight. He connected with Zay Jackson-Ligon for 10 yards and a touchdown for the game’s first points, then completed passes of 28 and 39 yards to Elijah Nunnelly and Justin Outlaw, respectively, for a pair of second-quarter touchdowns that helped Catholic to a 28-0 lead.

Caden Ishman added a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown to give the Knights a 35-0 lead at the half.

Jackson-Ligon, who had eight carries for 88 yards, added a 3-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter for the game’s final points as the two teams played with a running clock in the second half.

Peyton Finch-Ford added 56 yards on 10 carries for Catholic, while Outlaw had three receptions for 54 yards.

Defensively, Myles Gourdine had a pair of interceptions and Carter Anderson also had an interception. Caden Dees had three sacks and blocked a field goal.

The 5A Region 2 victory was huge for Catholic (3-3), which took over third place in the region standings at 2-1, trailing Eufaula (4-0) and Andalusia (3-0). Charles Henderson is fourth at 2-2, followed by Headland at 1-2.

The Knights travel to Headland next week.

Carroll (0-7) suffered its 11th consecutive loss dating back to last year’s win over Pike County. 

Houston Academy 21, Alabama Christian 14

DOTHAN -- Houston Academy took advantage of a pair of blocked punts, converting them into touchdowns for a 21-14 victory over the visiting Eagles on Friday night.

The first blocked punt was recovered by Houston Academy on the ACA 3-yard line, leading to the game’s first score midway through the second quarter. The Raiders added another touchdown in the final two minutes for a 14-0 halftime lead.

Christian Snipes scored on a 2-yard run midway through the third quarter to trim the deficit to 14-6, but the Raiders regained the momentum with another blocked punt, recovering at the ACA 28-yard line to set up a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Snipes added a 3-yard touchdown run with 6:55 remaining but the Eagles could get no closer.

Snipes completed 6 of 19 passes for 117 yards, including three completions to Beau Gainey for 60 yards and two more to Teilan Tyson-Long for 18 yards.

Defensively, Noah Shack led the Eagles with nine tackles, followed by Ladarius Walters, Mekhi Gardner and Aidan Whiten, all with seven tackles each.

The loss damaged ACA’s playoff hopes, with Montgomery Academy in first place in 3A Region 2 at 4-0, followed by Trinity (3-1) and Wicksburg (2-1). ACA and Houston Academy are both tied at 2-2 for the fourth and final spot in the playoff bracket, but HA (4-2) owns the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of Friday’s win.

ACA (3-3) travels to Wicksburg next week for another big region matchup.

Beauregard 27, Holtville 0

BEAUREGARD -- Holtville struggled to find any offense in a 27-0 loss to Beauregard on Friday night.

Bulldog tailback Dashaun Zeigler was held to 23 rushing yards and quarterback Jacob Burgess was held to 75 passing yards.

Brock Godwin and Dylan Farris each had 27 yards to lead the receiver corps.

Tyler Hackett led the Holtville defense with 11 tackles, including a sack.

Holtville (2-4) dropped into a fifth-place tie with Marbury in the region standings at 1-2. The Bulldogs play host to Central-Clay County next Friday.  

Lowndes Academy 54, Valiant Cross 6

HAYNEVILLE -- Braydn Stokes passed for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Jeremy Hardy rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns as Lowndes Academy got back on the winning track with a 54-6 romp over Valiant Cross at Mac Champion Stadium on Friday night.

Stokes completed all four pass attempts, connecting with Huston Hampton for a pair of touchdowns as the Rebels built a 34-0 lead in the first quarter.

Hardy ran 17 yards for the game’s first touchdown, followed by a Hampton touchdown reception and a 95-yard touchdown run by Hardy for a 20-0 lead. Crawford Dansby added a 3-yard scoring run and Hampton pulled in another touchdown pass for a 34-0 lead.

Hardy added a 6-yard touchdown run for a 41-0 halftime lead.

After a Valiant Cross touchdown pass, the Rebels responded with a Cooper Carver fumble return for a touchdown and a 48-6 lead.

Carver led the defense with five tackles. Dansby also had five tackles.

Lowndes (6-1) can clinch the Class AAA Region 2 title next Friday at Morgan Academy. Valiant Cross (1-6) is off next week, returning to action on Oct. 17 at Lakeside.