From Special Reports
ALICEVILLE, Ala. — Aliceville High School clinched a berth in the Alabama High School Activities Association (AHSAA) Class 2A playoffs with a dominating 44-6 win over Hatch Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets won their fifth straight to improve to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in region play. Aliceville can secure a first-round playoff game at home with a win in either of its final two region games against Thorsby or Billingsley.
For Aliceville, Nicquavious Craig led the way with six rushes for 107 yards and three touchdowns. DeMontez Hinton ran 10 times for 143 yards with two touchdowns.
Craig scored on runs of 8, 60 and 32 yards. Hinton scored on runs of 84 and 14 yards. Javon Phillips scored on a 3-yard run.
As a team, Aliceville rushed for 340 yards on 37 carries. In the air, Santiago Taylor completed 5-of-8 passes for 103 yards. Taylor hit Phillips on a 37-yard touchdown. Phillips led all receivers with 58 yards on three catches.
Albert Wells led the defensive effort with 10 total tackles, while Malik Bonner was in on eight stops. Bonner also had four tackles for loss.
Nathanial Latham added an interception for Aliceville, which led 20-0 at halftime. Hatch (2-4, 1-2) broke up the shutout in the final minutes.
Aliceville plays at Thorsby (1-5, 1-2) in another region game Friday night.
Lamar County 21, Red Bay 20: At Red Bay, Alabama, the Bulldogs escaped with another dramatic win in AHSAA Class 2A, Region 8 play.
Lamar County (5-2, 4-0 region) will be open this week. In two weeks, Lamar County plays host to Sheffield (6-1, 4-0) with the region title on the line. The Bulldogs have already secured a playoff berth and can wrap up a first-round playoff game at home by beating either Sheffield or Sulligent in the final region game.
Lamar County had already won close region games against Phil Campbell (21-19) and Mars Hill Bible (24-18).
Lamar County built a 14-7 halftime lead thanks to an 8-yard run from Taye Buchanan and a 2-yard run from Ric Rogers. The Bulldogs stretched that lead to 21-7 on a 17-yard pass from Rogers to Dalton Avent.
Lamar County with 150 passing yards and 144 rushing yards, while committing two turnovers.
Red Bay (5-1, 2-1) scored twice in the final six minutes, including an 81-yard touchdown pass. However, the game-tying extra point attempt was no good.
Sulligent 35, Mars Hill Bible 8: At Florence, Alabama, the Blue Devils made it two straight wins inside AHSAA Class 2A, Region 8 play.
The Blue Devils built a 14-0 halftime lead and doubled that advantage with two scores in the third quarter. The Panthers (2-4, 0-4) found the end zone in the fourth quarter.
For Sulligent, Tyreke Metcalfe led the way with 13 rushes for 132 yards and a 48-yard touchdown. Ethan Carter ran 15 times for 74 yards with a 1-yard score. C.J. McLemore (2-yard run) and Devin Burnett (6-yard run) also had a rushing touchdowns.
As a team, the Blue Devils ran for 307 yards.
In the air, McLemore was 7-of-10 passing for 82 yards, with an 11-yard touchdown to Hayden Nolan. Nolan had three catches for 52 yards. McLemore also rushed for 42 yards on nine tries.
Sulligent (3-3, 2-1) will play host to Hatton (1-6, 0-3) in another region game Friday night.
Pickens County 61, Brilliant 0: At Reform, Alabama, the Tornadoes continued to breeze through AHSAA Class 1A, Region 5 play.
In its three region wins, Pickens County has won by a combined score of 169-6.
For Pickens County, Demetric Windham scored on a 75-yard punt return and 80-yard fumble return. Caleb Bonner added two rushing touchdowns. Zachary Thomas also had an 80-yard touchdown run.
Pickens County (4-2, 3-0) plays at South Lamar (5-2, 3-1) in a battle for the region lead Friday night. Hubbertville is also on top of the standings with a 3-0 region mark.
South Lamar 53, Marion County 0: At Guin, Alabama, the Stallions prepared for their huge AHSAA Class 1A, Region 5 showdown with the easy win over the Red Raiders.
For South Lamar, Buster Griffin scored two touchdowns. Griffin also led the defensive effort with four tackles and an interception.
Jace Johnson led the Stallions with 12 rushes for 100 yards.
South Lamar (5-2, 3-1) plays host to Pickens County (4-2, 3-0) with the winner in great shape for home-field advantage in region play Friday night.
Newton County Academy 34, Pickens Academy 21: At Decatur, the Pirates could not overcome a slow start in this non-region contest.
For Pickens Academy (3-3), Hamner Allen was 7-of-10 passing for 177 yards with two touchdowns. Lee Acker caught three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Riley Harcrow led the defensive effort with 16 total tackles.
Pickens Academy (3-3) plays at Southern Academy (3-3) in an Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) non-region contest Friday night.
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 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.