Piedmont, AL – Thursday roundup: Piedmont, Munford, PV pick up big region wins; JCA remains unbeaten in 8-man
By Al Muskewitz
When the AHSAA broke up Class 3A, Region 5 for its latest realignment, sending Piedmont and Ohatchee farther north and the other three Calhoun County teams in the region south, it was thought one of the great leagues in the state was gutted for good. The policymakers didn’t do the Bulldogs any favor, sending them to a league that had four other playoff participants from the year before. And if those teams that stayed thought they were going to have it easy because they didn’t have Fyffe, they were mistaken.
The league figured to be quite a gauntlet, but the defending state champion Bulldogs have beaten two of those playoff teams each of the last two weeks – Sylvania for their first win and Plainview Thursday night 34-21 – to make a statement about who was going to be top dog in the region. “I think there are eight teams in this region, all of which are vying for a playoff spot, so any time you can get a win in the region against any of these teams is going to be huge towards establishing a pecking order for the playoffs,” Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. “We lost some good teams, but we picked up some good teams. I don’t know it’s safe to say it got stronger or got weaker necessarily.
“This was a game tonight that it appeared we were in control of and then, boom, they hit a big play, boom, we turn it over, they get it and score ahead and here we are having to recover an onsides kick to hold on. That’s the way it’s going to be in this region, I think, week in and week out. I don’t know that anybody’s head and shoulders good enough to just go out there and have a cakewalk every week.” Every time something good happened for the Bulldogs’ defense in the game, Chance Murphy was usually in the middle of it. The junior defensive end blocked an extra point, batted down a third-down pass and recovered a late onsides kick — all in the second half — to help the Bulldogs win.
“We just do our job on defense and I was just doing my job and it so happened to come to me a lot,” he said. Murphy’s blocked PAT kept the Bears from narrowing the gap and his onsides recovery came after the visitors drew within 28-21 with 7:35 to play. After the onsides recovery, Jack Hayes drove the Bulldogs 52 yards in six plays, rushing for all but one of the yards and scoring on a 24-yard burst for an insurance touchdown with 3:43 to go. Hayes accounted for all five touchdowns to move within two of passing Lanett’s Kristian Story to become the AHSAA’s all-time leader in that category, including two through the air to pass Bo Nix for second on that career list. He needs seven to set the career touchdown passes record. [*** read more]
Munford mauls Talladega
TALLADEGA – The Munford Lions bounced back from a loss to Anniston with a crushing 56-17 win over the Talladega Tigers. It pushed their overall record to 2-1 and 1-1 in Class 4A Region 4. Talladega leads the all-time series 17-9, but the Lions have dominated lately, winning nine of the last 10 games. The Tigers won the first 16 games of this series, but the tide has shifted in the last 20 years.
“You’re probably looking right now at Anniston and Handley as the top two guys and everybody else is racing for 3 and 4,” Munford coach Michael Easley said. “At least that’s the mentality I want everybody to have at this point. “You kind of look at it on paper before the season and kind of figure that three region wins will get you in. Well, there’s one, and that’s what I talked about with the kids. The first thing you want is to lock up a playoff spot. The second thing you want to do is play for seeding. We talked about we need three to get in, so lets start chopping away. We got one tonight, so that’s a big deal.”
The game was never in doubt as the Lions bolted to a 49-6 halftime lead. Then Riley Brown started the second half with a 75 yard kickoff return to make it 56-6 and with the clock running continuously the Lions only had five more offensive snaps in the second half. Munford quarterback Sylvester Smith ran for two touchdowns in the first half, including on their first play from scrimmage, and threw for two more to Brown. Smith had 170 yards of total offense in the game, rushing for 83 yards on eight carries. Sophomore running back Tank Edmundson scored a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 115 yards on seven carries.
Munford returns home for another key region game against Cleburne County next week, while Talladega travels to Jacksonville. That’s another game that will go a long way in our region to figure out that 3/4 spot,” Easley said. – Brant Locklier
PV has happy Homecoming
JACKSONVILLE – On Homecoming Night, Pleasant Valley rewarded its fans with an explosive running attack and just about a perfect second-half performance in swamping winless Holly Pond, 48-19. The Raiders scored 27 unanswered points to pull away from a 21-19 halftime lead.
“I’m proud of the kids and how they responded.,” PV coach Jonathan Nix said. “We made good adjustments at halftime, and I think that paid off a lot.” The Raiders (2-1) ran for 397 yards and six touchdowns, led by junior Holt Bentley, who rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries. Bentley ignited the Raiders’ second-half dominance with a 60-yard touchdown runs run on the first play from scrimmage. The defense also contributed, holding Holly Pond (0-4) to just 63 yards in the second half, thanks to critical tackles by senior Dason Vick and two interceptions by senior Tristian Green. – Mark Everett Kelly
JCA wins again
JACKSONVILLE – Freshman quarterback Noah Lee completed 23-of-43 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns as Jacksonville Christian beat Tabernacle in eight-man football, 58-52, to remain unbeaten. Travis Barnhill accounted for five touchdowns for the Thunder (4-0). Lee has yet to be intercepted this season.
