From Special Reports
MOUNDVILLE, Ala. — Aliceville High School moved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Alabama High School Activities Association Class 3A, Region 4 play with a 20-14 road win over Hale County Friday night.
Jeremy McMullen rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown to lead the Yellow Jackets. After missing last season due to injury, the senior workhorse back is slowly regaining his form as he has now rushed for more than 400 yards and a team-high six touchdowns.
“Since this is my senior year, it is a special year for me,” McMullen said. “I love getting the ball in clutch situations. I’m trying to get a ring.”
Aliceville scored on its first two possessions to quickly build a 14-0 lead. Santiago Taylor hit Deonte Taylor on a 35-yard touchdown pass. That score was followed up by a 2-yard touchdown run from Jaterrius Steele.
Hale County (1-4, 0-3 region) closed within 14-7 at halftime. McMullen then had the back-breaking score early in the third quarter as his 3-yard run put Aliceville up on top 20-7. Later when his team needed a critical drive, McMullen earned two first downs to run out the clock.
“Jeremy coming back to what he once was has been huge for this team,” Aliceville coach Charles Moody said. “He has a team player and a leader. He led last year even though he couldn’t play. This year, we have two really good (McMullen and Steele) threats out of the backfield and that has changed how we look on offense.”
Hale County quarterback Deacon Medders completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to James Dare in the second quarter and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Sheffield in the third quarter.
Aliceville plays host to Pickens County (3-1) in non-region play Friday night. The Tornadoes were open this past weekend.
South Lamar 37, Meek 12: At Millport, Ala., the Stallions grab their first victory of the season in this AHSAA Class 1A, Region 6 matchup.
“We have been playing hard but just haven’t been able to break through,” South Lamar coach Shannon McGregory said. “Tonight, the offensive line played great and we ran the ball with authority.”
For South Lamar (1-3, 1-1 region), Kyle Redmond ran seven times for 129 yards and two touchdowns, while Hershel Smith added 15 rushing attempts for 91 yards and another score. Redmond scored on runs of 4 and 33 yards, while Smith found the end zone from 12 yards out.
Austin Bice added rushing touchdowns of 43 and 5 yards in the fourth quarter for South Lamar. As a team, the Stallions rushed for 310 yards.
“We still have several big region games in front of us, so it is great to be going in the right direction,” McGregory said. “It is a lot easier to come back to work after a win. We will make some corrections and keep working hard to get better. We want to be in a position to be playing for a playoff berth when the season ends.”
Austin Gilliam had 15 tackles for South Lamar.
Daniel Griffith scored on touchdown runs of 12 and 21 yards for Meek (1-3, 0-2 region).
South Lamar plays at Holy Spirit (0-5) in a non-region matchup Friday night.
Sulligent 42, Tharptown 0: At Sulligent, Ala., the Blue Devils won for the second time in three weeks in AHSAA Class 2A, Region 8 play.
Senior Nathan Gardner threw for one touchdown (20 yards to Dustin Summerville) and rushed for three scores (runs of 7, 26 and 1 yard) as Sulligent built a 28-0 halftime lead.
“We really came out focused and did a great job at the line of scrimmage,” Sulligent coach Dennis Robbins said. “We keep getting better each week. Now that we have won some region games, the kids are playing with even more confidence. Defensively, we were outstanding.”
Roman Glass also scored on runs of 14 and 18 yards for Sulligent (2-3, 2-1 region).
Tharptown (2-3, 1-1 region) was held to 121 yards of total offense and four first downs.
Skyler Hawkins (11 tackles) and Jonas Brock (10 tackles, sack) led the defensive effort for Sulligent.
“On defense, we were outstanding,” Robbins said. “We really got a lot of pressure in the backfield and did a great job of playing with the same type of intensity for the entire game.”
Sulligent plays at Lamar County (3-1) in a non-region game Friday night. The Bulldogs were off this past weekend.
Pickens Academy 22, Southern Academy 18: At Greensboro, Ala., the Pirates battled back to 2-2 with this non-region win in Alabama Independent School Association action.
A 73-yard touchdown run by Chance Britt in the early stages of the fourth quarter lifted Pickens Academy to the win.
Also for the Pirates, Joseph McGlawn and Landon Hattaway each scored on 1-yard runs. The Pirates trailed 12-7 at halftime.
Pickens Academy finished with 404 yards of total offense, including 306 rushing and 98 passing.
McGlawn completed 6-of-11 passes for 98 yards. Britt rushed 22 times for 164 yards, while Hattaway had 11 rushes for 80 yards and McGlawn had 13 rushes for 54 yards.
Justin Barton led the Pickens Academy defense with nine total tackles, while McGlawn had six stops and Daniel Powell had five.
For Southern Academy (2-2), Dylan Bamberg scored on runs of 1, 1 and 64 yards.
Pickens Academy is open this week.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.