Football Friday: Aug. 26, 2022
By WVUA 23 Sports Reporter Drew Pavan
WVUA-23 recaps Week Two of the High School football season. Enjoy highlights from:
Tuscaloosa Academy vs ACA
ACA defeats Tuscaloosa Academy 35-0.
By: Grace Brister
American Christian Academy closed out Tuscaloosa Academy Friday night 35-0 for week 2 of the season.
This was the first time the Knights and the Patriots played one another in 30 years.
ACA’s Kai Young made a pass to Davis Dare who ran the ball 52 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game.
Halfway into the first quarter, Young passed the ball to Connor Sute who dove into the end zone to put the Patriots up 14-0.
ACA’s Bubba Lester found the ball and ran it 67 yards to score another touchdown for the Patriots.
Dare got the ball and ran it in for another ACA touchdown. The Knights tried to take him down, but he stayed on his feet to push himself into the end zone.
Next Friday, ACA will face Holt High School, and Tuscaloosa Academy will face Aliceville High School.
East Central Christian vs North River Christian
North River Christian defeats East Central 67-61.
By: BriAsia Kelley
The North River Christian Academy Chargers defeated the East Central Homeschool Patriots 67-61 in their first win of the season.
This is the first time North River and East Central have faced one another.
During the final kickoff of the second quarter, the Patriots punted the ball straight into the hands of Chargers’ own Zach Williams for a touchdown.
On the next drive, East Central comes up short with a pass being intercepted by North River’s Sam Davis, ending the drive.
East Central strikes back with a long pass to Evan Vincent for a Patriots touchdown.
North River gets the ball back ending the drive early with a short pass to Samuel Johnston. Johnston runs the ball into the end zone for a Chargers touchdown in the middle of the third quarter.
The Patriots kept the game close throughout the night, but it was not enough to hold the Chargers to their second loss of the season.
North River (1-1) will travel to Russell Christian (2-0) next week. East Central (0-2) will host Trinity Christian (0-2), hoping to gain their first win of the season.
Woodlawn vs Central
Woodlawn defeated Central 22-7.
By: Sam Holley
Woodlawn (2-0) picked up its second win of the 2022 season against the Central Falcons (0-2).
This game started off slow with no score in the first quarter as both defenses came to play.
Woodlawn would get on the board first, Asher Hawkins broke through for a nine-yard touchdown and the Colonels would convert the two-point conversion to give the Colonels an 8-0 lead going into the half.
Central would respond however, Jarrell Hodges would take a punt return to the house to cut the deficit to one.
The Colonels’ defense was lights out the rest of the game and the Falcons couldn’t sustain success on offense.
Final Score: Woodlawn 22 Central 7
Next up for the Colonels is a bye week but they will travel next week against Mountain Brook (2-0). That game is scheduled for Sep 9 at 7 p.m.
As for the Falcons, they’ll be looking to bounce back against Paul Bryant (0-2). That game is scheduled for Sep 2 at 7 p.m.
South Lamar vs Holy Spirit
South Lamar beats Holy Spirit 41-13.
By: Sam Holley
South Lamar (1-1) got its first win of the 2022 season on the road against Holy Spirit (0-2). The Stallions were led by Senior running back Charles Neal, who finished with 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Early in the first quarter, Neal broke through the Saints defense and got the game started with a 68-yard rushing touchdown.
After an exchange of punts, Neal found the endzone again, taking it 32 yards to give the Stallions an early 14-0 lead.
On the next possession, Holy Spirit fought back, Saints quarterback Kalen Oswalt connected with William Collins from 13 yards out to cut the deficit to seven.
Ultimately, the Saints were outmatched in this one and had no answer for the Stallions running game.
Final Score: South Lamar 41 Holy Spirit 13
The Saints will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Hubbertville (1-1). That game is scheduled for Sep 2, at 7 p.m.
As for the Stallions, they’ll look to carry their success into Berry Fayette (0-1) next week against the Wildcats. That game is scheduled for Sep 2 at 7 p.m.
Brilliant vs Pickens County
Pickens County Dominates Brilliant 52-0.
By: Jason Williams
The Pickens County Tornadoes defeated the Brilliant Tigers 52-0 on Friday night.
After coming off of a loss to Aliceville the Tornadoes decided to take their anger out on the Tigers. Senior running back Elijah Merriweather got the scoring started with two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter.
He brought one in from 41 yards out and another from 16. Kemaurion Plott added a touchdown on the ground as well to make the score at the end of the first quarter 22-0.
The second quarter would end up being a mixture of playmakers getting in the endzone for the Tornadoes. Both Plott and Merriweather made appearances in the endzone again in the second quarter for the Tornadoes. Santonio Jones also took a 30-yard screen pass and got a touchdown on the board.
The Tornadoes dominated on the defensive side of the ball as well. They were led by senior defensive lineman Christian Byrd who had three sacks, seven tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery.
While the Tornadoes did blow out the Tigers it should be noted that they didn’t have the cleanest game as they totaled 11 penalties throughout the game.
The Tornadoes improve to 1-1 on the season and next week will be taking on the Sumiton Christian Eagles.
Brilliant fall to 0-2 and will be taking on the Marion County Red Raiders next week.
Hale County vs Greensboro
Hale Co. Wildcats go on the road to defeat Greensboro Raiders, 32-16
By WVUA 23 Sports Reporter Kenneth Kelly
This past Friday, the Hale County Wildcats traveled to Greensboro to get their first win of the season in a one-sided game against the Raiders.
Hale County dominated most of the game and came out with a 32-16 victory over the Greensboro Raiders.
On the game’s opening drive, the Wildcats’ defensive back Eric Hamilton picked off the Raiders quarterback on a tipped ball.
Hale Co. capitalized on the turnover as the next-possession quarterback Antwain Zinnerman threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver TJ Hatch to put the Wildcats up 7-0.
Wildcats’ running back, Santonious Brown, helped capitalize with a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter and a 3-yard rushing touchdown at the end of the second quarter.
For most of the game, the Raiders struggled with penalties and missed opportunities on both sides of the ball. This helped Wildcats go into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
The Raiders tried to fight their way back into the game in the second half. It proved to be too little too late as Hale County was able to match every score and come out with the victory.
The Wildcats will travel to Montevallo in their first region game of the season, and the Raiders will open up region play against Saint James at home next week.
Bibb County vs Gordo
Bibb Co. beats Gordo 56-21.
By: WVUA 23 Sports Reporter Alex Boothe
The Bibb County Choctaws went on the road and left Gordo with their first win of the season over the Gordo Greenwave, 56-21.
Opening drive, Quarterback Brax Garrison decides to tuck and run it in himself to put Gordo on the board first. After the two-point conversion, the Greenwave go up 8-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Colby Collums breaks off a huge return for the Choctaws that put them in red zone territory. That would set them up for a touchdown run to make it 8-6 Gordo.
Next Gordo drive, Brax Garrison would throw a beautiful ball to wide receiver Ethan Wilder for the touchdown and make the extra point to go up 15-6. Bibb County needing an answer, they hand it off to Running Back Jaison Taylor to bust into the endzone to close the deficit to 15-12 Gordo.
Bibb County would rely on Taylor again, handing it off for another touchdown to give Bibb County their first lead of the game 19-15.
The Choctaws would not look back after halftime, going on and dominating the rest of the game to a 35- point victory.
Next up for the Choctaws is another road trip. This time to the West Blocton Tigers. The Gordo Greenwave will look for a bounce-back victory next week at home against the Winfield Pirates.
Armwood (Fla.) vs Hillcrest
Hillcrest beats Armwood (Fla.) 35-24.
By Jack Hutchens & Christian Jones
Hillcrest High school defeats Armwood High school traveling from Seffner, Florida to go 2-0.
Hillcrest quarterback and Southern Mississippi commit Ethan Crawford starts the game out strong with a one-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
Armwood certainly did not travel eight and a half hours to just lay down though. They tried to fight back as quarterback Rudolph Jones connects with Wide Receiver Malik Brown for a score.
Hillcrest ended the game by dominating the second half winning 35-24. Ethan Crawford had all five of the Patriots’ touchdowns.
-Tuscaloosa County vs Bessemer City
-Brookwood vs West Blocton
-Hueytown vs Clay-Chalkville
All the highlights – plus scores, cheerleaders, and ‘Band of the Week’.
