THURSDAY PREPS: Pike Road dominates Julian in region win

Omari Smith grabs a screen pass and races downfield in Pike Road’s win over P. Julian on Thursday at Cramton Bowl. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Pike Road got off to a fast start behind the running of Jordan Holmes and cruised to a 43-0 region  victory over P. Julian with the passing of Gunnar Gibbs as the Patriots dominated another region opponent at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.

The Patriots (4-1) have outscored three Class 6A Region 2 opponents by a combined score of 135-6, so the outcome was never in doubt as the Phoenix (1-4) have been outscored 139-22 in their three region games to this point.

But just to make the point, the Patriots lined up Holmes in Wildcat formation, flanked by tailback Ja’Michael Jones and receiver Omari Smith and let Holmes do his thing, running 17 yards, then 16 yards, then the final 12 yards, followed by a two-point conversion run for an 8-0 lead 37 seconds into the game.

“We thought they were going to play us in some man coverage and load the box so we were trying to get Jordon out on the perimeter a little bit and start fast (tempo),” Pike Road coach Granger Shook explained. “Ja’Michael and ‘Powo’ (Smith) pose some possible issues in the backfield with Jordan so you pick your poison there.”

Holmes wouldn’t touch the ball again on offense -- he did have a 23-yard punt return early in the third quarter -- but he didn’t need to as the Patriots scored on their next five possessions while Julian mustered just four first downs and 51 total yards in the first half.

But while the Patriots were dominant, they often looked sloppy, lulled into mistakes by their overmatched opponent.

“We were sloppy at times,” Shook said. “I got on to my boys at halftime about that. I never expect them to be perfect, execution wise, but I do expect them to have perfect effort and there were some plays where I don’t think the effort was where it needed to be, which caused us to reach and hold or reach and grab a facemask. 

The Patriots were penalized 10 times for 75 yards, but Pike Road’s offense overcame the mistakes and the defense was rarely threatened by the Phoenix.

Smith grabbed a 24-yard strike from Gibbs to cap a three-play drive and the Patriots converted a fourth-down run out of punt formation to keep alive a drive as Gibbs threw a 27-yard pass to Elias Holtzclaw for a 22-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The next possession resulted in a 12-yard run by Jones and Smith followed with his second touchdown grab, this one for 11 yards over the middle and a 36-0 lead at the half.

Holmes’ punt return set up a 64-yard drive in the third quarter as Quinton Robinson accounted for all the rushing yards, scoring on a 1-yard run.

Pike Road will step out of region play next week with a game at Class 7A Opelika, which promises to be tougher, but Shook said he likes the continued development of his offensive line, which features just one returning starter from last year’s team.  

“I think they’ve grown close together,” he said. “We’ve got four new starters up front and only one senior up front, so definitely some cohesion had to take place. They’re jelling better. There’s good competition up front. I like where that group is going.”

Julian will play 7A JAG next Friday at Cramton Bowl. 

VOLLEYBALL

Montgomery Academy 3, Catholic 0

The Eagles won their fourth consecutive match on Thursday with a sweep of the Knights in the Catholic gym.

Montgomery Academy junior Morgan Springer had a career-high 17 kills in the match along with seven digs. Kaci Armistead had 33 digs and six aces, Lizzie Campbell had 10 digs, Rehmat Sidhu had 36 assists, seven digs and a pair of aces, Bennett Britt had 10 kills, 14 digs and an ace, E.G. Hines had nine kills and eight digs and Addison Kitchens had nine kills.

Montgomery Academy (25-3) will travel to Alabama Christian on Tuesday for its next match.

Hooper Academy 3, Edgewood Academy 0

HOPE HULL -- The Colts won their sixth straight match on Thursday, sweeping Edgewood 3-0 in Darrell Self Gym.

For the Colts, Libby Bressler had 33 assists, eight digs and three aces, Henlee Garvin had 13 kills, a block and 10 digs, Jenna Conway had seven kills, eight blocks and three digs, Ellie Pugh had nine kills, six blocks, three digs and an ace and Katie Robinson had seven kills, five digs and an ace.

Hooper (11-2) remains home to play host to Bessemer Academy on Monday.

Prattville Christian 3, Lee-Scott Academy 0

AUBURN -- The Panthers went on the road and swept Lee-Scott on Thursday, defeating the Warriors 25-16, 25-22 and 25-22 in the Lee-Scott gym.

For the Panthers, Baylee Rogers had 31 assists, two kills, two digs and five aces, Olivia Rossi had 11 kills and two digs, Leah Cate Wilson had 11 kills, two digs and a pair of blocks. Maren Diefenderfer had 10 kills, three blocks and two aces, Anniston Robison had a kill, 14 digs and an ace, Morgan Fowler had 14 digs, Aiden Williams had seven digs and an ace, Kenadie Minor had four digs and an ace, Christiana Franklin had a pair of blocks and Marion Lewis had a block.

PCA (18-7) travels to Hoover to compete in the annual Heffstrong Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

FLAG FOOTBALL

Catholic 31, Smiths Station 25 (2OT)

SMITHS STATION -- Avery Sadler scored on a 5-yard run in the second overtime period to give the Knights a 31-25 win over Class 7A Smiths Station on Thursday.

Charley Frank completed 21 of 31 passes for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns while playing for the sixth consecutive game in place of the injured Hayden Fitts. The eighth grader also rushed six times for 22 yards and a touchdown.

The game went back and forth throughout regulation before Smiths Station scored twice in the fourth quarter to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, the Knights held the home team scoreless in the second overtime period to secure the win.

Haley Ishman had 11 receptions for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while contributing five tackles and an interception at defensive back.

Sadler had four catches for 36 yards, Ellis O’Connor had four receptions for 25 yards and Frances Rogers had four receptions for 68 yards.

Molly Dwyer and Maggie McNeely led the defensive effort with eight and seven stops, respectively.

The Catholic win offset a great performance by Smiths Station’s Brooke Norred, who completed 23 of 43 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Reagan Thomas led the receivers with 85 yards and a touchdown on five catches.

Catholic (8-4) returns home to play host to Class 7A Enterprise on Tuesday afternoon.