VERNON, Ala. — The Lamar County High School football team won a shootout Friday night to remain alive in the Alabama High School Activities Association Class 3A, Region 4 race.
Behind a late touchdown from Cullin Carter, Lamar County defeated Hale County 35-28 in a back-and-forth thriller at George Bell Stadium.
For Lamar County (5-1, 2-1 region), Carter rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another score. Carter scored on runs of 6 and 32 yards. He also threw a 39-yard touchdown to Dyshun Williams.
“We hadn’t played a complete offensive game in a couple of weeks, so it was good to see that,” Lamar County coach Ken Adams said. “We really needed the win to stay in contention to host in the first round of the playoffs.
“We really won a tight game, and that is a sign of maturity.”
Alex Wheeler added a 4-yard touchdown run, while Williams scored on an 18-yard run.
Hale County (1-5, 0-4 region) received three rushing touchdowns (8, 3, and 36 yards) from Deacon Medders. Medders also hit Aaron Sheffield on a 40-yard scoring play.
Lamar County moved into a two-way tie for third place in the region. It has lost to co-region leader Aliceville, while it will play Gordon, the other region leader, Oct. 17.
Lamar County will play Friday at Green County (2-5, 0-4) in another region game.
n Aliceville 54, Greene County 28: At Aliceville, Alabama, the Yellow Jackets remained undefeated with the Class 3A, Region 4 home win.
Jay Steele rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns to pace Aliceville (7-0, 3-0). Jeremy McMullen led the Yellow Jackets with 175 rushing yards.
“Our offensive line had a great game,” Aliceville coach Charles Moody said. “That allowed us to pound the ball consistently. On defense, we were great. Anytime you can force four turnovers you have had a great night.”
Aliceville had four interceptions, including three by Stephen Dunner. Xavier Phillips returned an interception for a touchdown.
Aliceville will play Friday at Gordo (6-0, 3-0) in a battle for the region lead.
n Marion County 34, South Lamar 27: At Millport, Alabama, the Stallions fell victim to some big plays in AHSAA Class 1A, Region 6 play.
Marion County (4-3, 3-1) opened the scoring with a 94-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Pollard to Jacob Sanders. Pollard later added a 48-yard touchdown run, while Jared Wallace scored on an 82-yard kickoff return and on a 35-yard run.
For South Lamar (2-4, 1-2), Kyle Redmond rushed 12 times for 149 yards. He was 3 of 5 for 79 yards. Redmond had rushing scores of 5, 3, and 58 yards and a 91-yard punt return touchdown.
Dustin Ware led the Stallions with 12 tackles. Justin Cheeks added 11, while Austin Gilliam had 10.
South Lamar will travel to Lynn (0-7, 0-4) for another region game Friday night.
n Marengo Academy 40, Pickens Academy 0: At Carrollton, Alabama, the Pirates were shut out at home in an Alabama Independent Schools Association Class AA, Region 2 game.
Pickens Academy (2-3, 0-2 region) was held to a season-low 106 yards of offense. Chance Britt rushed 16 times for 43 yards. Joseph McGlawn was 6 of 17 for 55 yards with two interceptions. Lance Acker had three receptions for 16 yards, while Jordan Davidson had two for 32 yards.
Justin Barton led the Pirates with 12 tackles, while Daniel Powell had nine.
Hayden Huckabee rushed for two 40-yard rushing touchdowns and a 58-yard punt return score for Marengo Academy (4-1, 2-0 region).
Tyler Barkley had two rushing scores for the Longhorns, while Weldon Aydelott had one.
Pickens Academy will play a non-region game Friday at Bessemer Academy (6-0).
n Sulligent 49, Cherokee 14: At Cherokee, Alabama, the Blue Devils moved into sole possession of second place in the AHSAA Class 2A, Region 8 race with the road win.
Sulligent (3-4, 3-1 region) unleashed a powerful rushing game. The Blue Devils ran for 304 yards, with 233 of those yards coming from Nathan Gardner and Roman Glass. That duo also combined to score five touchdowns.
Sulligent built a 21-0 lead after one quarter thanks to Gardner’s runs of 67, 1, and 27 yards. Gardner scored again on a 27-yard run in the second quarter, helping his team to a 28-7 halftime advantage.
In the third quarter, Glass scored on a 6-yard run and Devin Barnett got the defense on the board with a fumble recovery in the end zone. C.J. McLemore threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Nolen to complete the scoring for the Blue Devils.
Cherokee (0-7, 0-3 region) received a 6-yard touchdown run from Donald Powell and a 2-yard run from Thomas Deaton.
Sulligent is open Friday night.
n Pickens County 51, Hatch 20: At Reform, Alabama, the Tornadoes remained the only undefeated team in AHSAA Class 2A, Region 4 play by winning big at home.
Darrien Latham scored three touchdowns to lead the Tornadoes (4-2, 3-0 region). Steffon McCoy and Tavarius Steele each had receiving touchdowns from Zach Thomas, while Rakwan Betts had a rushing score and a return score.
Pickens County will play Friday at Holy Spirit (0-7, 0-4 region) in another region game.
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