ALICEVILE, Ala. — The Aliceville High School football team came out on the right end of a “whomever scores last, wins” type of prep game Friday night.
A 6-yard touchdown run by Gerald Sterling in the closing minutes lifted Aliceville to a 49-46 victory against R.C. Hatch in an Alabama High School Activities Association Class 2A, Region 4 matchup at Memorial Stadium.
Alicevile scored two touchdowns in each of the final three quarters to enhance its playoff positioning. With two region games remaining, Aliceville is tied for second place with Lamar County. Aliceville will play host to region leader Oakman (7-1, 5-0) Friday night.
Sterling had 12 carries for 39 yards and two touchdowns. He added six tackles and two sacks. Darrion Manning had 16 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Oscar Sommerville had 13 carries for 50 yards and two touchdowns. He also had six tackles and a fumble recovery.
Also for Aliceville, Albert Hamilton added a 78-yard kickoff return for touchdown as Alicevile rallied from a 46-35 deficit.
De’Roderick Norfleet scored five touchdowns for Hatch (2-5, 1-4).
Aliceville finished with 209 yards of offense but forced four turnovers.
n Sulligent 28, Frances Marion 0: At Sulligent, Ala., The Blue Devils snapped a four-game losing streak in a critical Class 2A, Region 4 victory.
Juwan Metcalfe and Deion Jenkins topped the 100-yard rushing mark for Sulligent. Jamar Plant ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns. The 143-yard night by Jenkins, included a 92-yard touchdown run. A.J. Jones added a 12-yard rushing score.
Metcalfe ran for a team-high 168 yards on 10 rushes.
Sulligent (2-5, 2-3) kept playoff hopes alive by posting its first shutout of the season. Jessie Keller paced the defensive effort with nine tackles.
Sulligent will travel to Hale County (3-4, 3-2) for another region game Friday night. The Blue Devils enter their final two region games one game out of the final playoff spot.
n Marion County 56, South Lamar 7: At Guin, Ala., The Stallions dropped their seventh straight with a tough loss to the Class 1A, Region 5 leaders.
Dylan Wilson scored the lone touchdown on a 4-yard run for South Lamar (0-7, 0-5).
Ready Swanigan had four touchdowns for Marion County (7-0, 5-0). He ran for 98 yards and scored on runs of 40 and 58 yards. His special teams’ performance also included touchdowns of 60 and 65 yards.
South Lamar will play host to Berry (5-2, 4-1) in another region game Friday night.
n Pickens Academy 47, Meadowview Christian 19: At Selma, Ala., the Pirates finished a perfect run through Alabama Independent Schools Association Class A, Region 2 play.
For Pickens Academy (8-0, 6-0), Josh Lewis ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Joel Pratt also added two scores.
Lewis had 13 rushes for 166 yards for the Pirates. Lewis found Pratt on a 26-yard scoring play. Pratt finished with 91 yards, including two 2-yard scoring runs.
Garrett Estes added 19 rushes for 154 yards and another score. As a team, the Pirates rushed for more than 400 yards.
Defensively, Lewis had nine tackles, while Estes had seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Jamison McCrary also blocked a field goal.
Pickens Academy will play host to Patrician Academy on Friday night.
n Lamar County 42, Cold Springs 26: At Vernon, Ala., the Bulldogs (5-2, 4-1) secured a playoff spot with their fourth straight victory in Class 2A, Region 4.
For the Bulldogs, quarterback Dallas Cockerham was 4 of 5 for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Timothy Harton had three touchdowns, including a receiving score from Cockerham, a rushing score, and a 78-yard kickoff return for another score.
Landon Williams also had a receiving touchdown. Kendall Smith and Cockerham each added rushing score. Cockerham rushed 10 times for 72 yards, while Alex Wheeler ran nine times for 43 yards.
Willams also added a team-high 11 total tackles for Lamar County. Jeremy Denton had eight stops, while Cullin Carter had seven stops. Harton also had a fumble recovery.
Lamar County can clinch a first-round playoff game at home with a region victory at Marion (0-7, 0-5) and a loss by Hale County to Sulligent and a loss by Aliceville to Oakman next week.
n Pickens County 42, Hubbertville 19: At Fayette, Ala., the Tornadoes nailed down a playoff spot with a big victory in Class 1A, Region 5.
Despite seeing its region scoreless streak snapped a three games, the Tornadoes still had enough to improve to 7-0 and 5-0 in the region. Pickens County will play host to Marion County (7-0, 5-0) on Friday night for the region title.
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