A Perfect 10

October 30, 2021  
By Al Muskewitz  
East Alabama Sports Today  

Alexandria completes undefeated regular season, denies Piedmont region title; Bulldogs fall to No. 3 in its tiebreaker

PIEDMONT — There seemed to be a lot of debate during the week as to which team Friday night’s Alexandria-Piedmont blockbuster was worth the most.

The prevailing opinion was it meant more to No. 2 Piedmont, which had to win the game to secure the No. 1 seed and region championship in the grinder that is Class 3A Region 5.

But Alexandria had a lot to play for, too. Sure, the third-ranked 5A Valley Cubs had already locked up their region title and could have skated into the playoffs, but they were playing for an undefeated regular season and a measure of revenge after Piedmont denied them that reward last year.

Behind the most versatile player in the county, Javais McGhee, the Valley Cubs took home the biggest prize, winning 25-20 on a wet, raw night at the Field of Champions.

“You saw how we were playing,” Alexandria coach Todd Ginn said. “We didn’t play subs. And they beat us last year and that don’t sit well with our community, it doesn’t sit well with me it, it doesn’t sit well with our players.

“This game was just as important to us in my mind as it was to them. We really wanted it. I think that’s probably why we came out a little bit pressing. Last week against Leeds everything’s loose and we should’ve been loose tonight, but I think these boys want to win so bad they pressed a little bit. The tells you it means something to them.”

The win completed the first undefeated regular season for the Valley Cubs (10-0) since 2006. It’s the first undefeated regular season in this Ginn’s coaching tenure; his father Larry’s teams did it seven times, a piece of trivia that caught the son a little off-guard.

“I didn’t know that,” he said. “To hear he did it seven times … Dad had a run in the 90s that was just unbelievable. I hope we get back there one day.”

The loss sends Piedmont (8-2) to third in its region tiebreaker. The Bulldogs will open the playoffs on the road for the first time since 2006 next week at Sylvania. 

As a result, Saks wins the region – its first region title since 2017 and first in 3A since 2013 – and Ohatchee is No. 2.

“Winning the region championship is a huge accomplishment for our team,” said Saks coach Jonathan Miller, who scouted first-round opponent Plainview while silently pulling for his alma mater (Alexandria) to win. “We are excited about competing in a very tough 3A North bracket.”

Bulldogs coach Steve Smith accepted his team’s fate. The region has finished in a three-way tie each of the last four years and each of the previous three the Bulldogs won the tiebreakers to get the No. 1 seed and proclaim themselves region champs. It just didn’t fall their away this time.

“We’ve played on the road in the playoffs before,” Smith said. “It’s just we haven’t played on the road in the first round in a while.

“I feel very, very comfortable with our team playing anybody anywhere in Class 3A. We’ve just got to come back and regroup. It’s no different than going on the road in the second round or the third round. We’re just going on the road in the first round this time.”

The Valley Cubs won despite twice being intercepted at the goal line on consecutive possessions in the second quarter and mired under a hail of penalty flags (18 for 176 yards – 18 fewer yards than Piedmont accumulated on offense). Three of the penalties came in an almost comical third-quarter exchange that wiped out consecutive scoring plays before McGhee finally put an end to the madness and went 59 yards to extend the lead.

With the Bulldogs keeping a close eye on Antonio Ross, who burned them with a couple long runs in last year’s game, McGhee got the Cubs moving to the tune of 355 total yards. He rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown, passed for 95 yards and two first-half scores (48, 47 yards) and caught two passes for 47 yards and a touchdown (32 yards).

It was the third time this season he has scored a touchdown rushing, receiving and passing. He has scored at least two touchdowns in each of the last eight games.

“I trained all summer for this,” McGhee said. “I knew I was going to come into the season playing everywhere. I trained all summer long, even in basketball season. When I’m playing basketball, weekends I’m training for football. I just work hard.”

He was such a factor that after Piedmont’s Trent Young recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone to cut the margin to 25-20 with 2:55 to play, McGhee recovered the onsides kick after it bounced off a teammate and he touched the ball every play thereafter while the Valley Cubs ran out the clock. 

“I’ll tell you, the son-of-a-gun can play football,” Ginn said. “Colleges call and ask about him and at the beginning of the year he was a defensive guy –they were wanting him at corner – but now I stay guys this son-of-a-gun can do some things offensively that a put the defense in a bind.”

The Cubs’ defense held the Bulldogs to 67 yards rushing and 194 yards of offense. Piedmont junior quarterback Jack Hayes threw for one touchdown, moving into fifth place on the state’s career TD passes list (104), and ran for another.

His 138 touchdowns accounted for now are tied for seventh in the state all-time and he is just one TD pass behind fourth-place Brodie Croyle on that list.

Alexandria 25, Piedmont 20

A – Jake Upton 48 pass from Javais McGhee (Cleat Forrest kick), 7:54 1Q
P – Austin Estes 77 pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 4:04 2Q
A – Antonio Ross 47 pass from Javais McGhee (kick blocked), 1:16 2Q
A – Javais McGhee 59 run (run failed), 4:17 3Q
A – Javais McGhee 32 pass from Austin West (run failed), 7:47 4Q
P – Jack Hayes 6 run (Sloan Smith kick), 4:18 4Q
P – Trent Young fumble recovery in end zone (pass failed), 2:55 4Q

Javais McGhee By The Numbers: ‘1’ Versatile Player