REFORM, Ala. — Patrick Plott has stood on the sidelines as head coach at Aliceville and Pickens County high schools and understands the county rivalry between the programs.
Plott had his Pickens County Tornadoes prepared Friday night as they kept their unblemished record intact, dispatching Aliceville 40-6.
“This is one of those games where you can drop all the records and what’s been done before,” Plott said. “We knew both teams would come in and get after each other. Our guys just came out focused and ready to play.”
The Tornadoes (5-0) had 300 yards of offense, including 207 rushing, and scored on their first three possessions.
“I told them coming out that we needed to get off to a fast start,” Plott said. “We hadn’t started fast yet this year and we did get a fast start but then kind of spurted throughout the second and third quarter.”
De’Marko Hall had a strong outing, scoring three touchdowns three ways. Hall scored on a 13-yard run, on a 20-yard reception, and on a 70-yard interception return.
“I was just pumped up,” Hall said. “I caught my first touchdown then played good defense on the next possession and scored another touchdown on the interception. I had an incredible night against a rivalry team.”
Hall finished with three carries for 56 yards and made three catches for 41 yards. He also had an interception and a fumble recovery.
Jamarcus Brown paved the way for the Tornadoes, carrying 11 times for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Devont’e Simon was 6 of 14 for 93 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Pickens County built a 19-0 lead in the opening quarter. Simon hooked up with Lajuan Doss for a 43-yard pass on the opening play of the game to set up his 2-yard touchdown run five plays later.
Later in the quarter, the Tornadoes stopped a fake punt at their 20-yard line. Pickens County needed only one play, as Simon connected with Hall on a 20-yard scoring strike to go up 13-0.
On the Yellow Jackets’ next possession, Hall again came up big picking off Chistopher Crowell and returning it 70 yards up the left sideline to go ahead 19-0 with 2 minutes, 19 seconds to play in the first quarter.
“I read the play from the beginning,” Hall said. “I saw (the receiver sticking) so I planted my foot, got under the ball and took it to the house.”
The game would remain that way until 25 seconds remained in the third quarter. Pinned at its 9, Aliceville had a high shotgun snap that was recovered by defensive lineman Terrien Steele in the end zone for the touchdown. Dalton Perkins’ extra point gave Pickens County a 26-0 advantage entering the final quarter.
Another Yellow Jacket miscue on the next drive led to more points for Pickens County. The defense forced a three-and-out but a 7-yard punt gave Pickens County the ball at the 13.
Hall needed only one play to score from there racing on a toss sweep to the left across the goal line.
Hall’s 43-yard run two possessions later led to the Tornadoes final touchdown. He set up a 4-yard touchdown dive by Brown three plays later to go up 40-0 with just under four minutes to play.
Aliceville’s only points came on the ensuing kickoff when Demario Lanier broke loose for an 80-yard return.
The Yellow Jackets (2-3) finished with 273 yards but were turned away in three different drives inside the 10-yard line and committed two turnovers for scores.
“I’m very proud of my defense,” Plott said. “We preached it all week to our defense that we had to have a good game from them and they showed up tonight.
Crowell was 12 of 34 for 168 yards and two interceptions for Aliceville. Lanier was his favorite target making four grabs for 38 yards while Gerald Sterling hauled in three passes for 66 yards.
Marquise Colvin was the Yellow Jackets’ leading rusher with four carries for 32 yards.
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