Calhoun County, AL – Donoho, first-year Falcons coach Smith taste winning for the first time in a while. Wellborn goes on the road to bag region victory. Oxford holds off Moody. Piedmont shakes off Saks in second half. Munford downs rival Lincoln. Westbrook Christian gets region victory. Handley, Ranburne, JCA victorious.
THURSDAY, Aug. 29
Hokes Bluff 21, Southside 13
FRIDAY, Aug. 30
Jacksonville 49, Alexandria 21, FINAL
Beauregard 8, Anniston 6, FINAL
Central-Clay 35, Benjamin Russell 28, FINAL
Cherokee County 42, Arab 21, FINAL
Sardis 34, Cleburne County 13, FINAL
Donoho 38, Ragland 19, FINAL
Westbrook Christian 35, Glencoe 10, FINAL
Handley 48, Dadeville 21, FINAL
Jacksonville Christian 43, Tabernacle 22, FINAL
Munford 30, Lincoln 3, FINAL
Locust Fork 58, Ohatchee 42, FINAL
Oxford 24, Moody 21, FINAL
Piedmont 34, Saks 13, FINAL
Spring Garden 34, Pleasant Valley 12, FINAL
Ranburne 23, Woodland 6, FINAL
Randolph County 48, Central-Coosa 8, FINAL
Childersburg 14, Talladega 12, FINAL
Wadley 62, Horseshoe Bend 15, FINAL
Wellborn 34, J.B. Pennington 24, FINAL
Open: Weaver, White Plains.
ANNISTON — First-year Donoho coach Bill Smith had a simple answer to the question, how did it feel to win?
“You don’t even know,” he said.
The Falcons got a rushing touchdown and two touchdown passes from quarterback Kai Cleckler and beat visiting Ragland 38-19 on Friday.
Donoho (1-1) rebounded from a season-opening loss at Gaylesville and avenged a 66-0 loss from 2023.
The Falcons, who went 0-9 in 2023, got their first win since beating Talladega County Central 48-18 on Oct. 6, 2022, ending a 13-game losing streak.
Smith got his first win as a head coach since his last Huffman team beat Woodlawn 56-26 on Oct. 15 of 2021. He went to long-struggling Talladega after that season, and the Tigers endured two winless seasons.
Donoho’s J.C. Cameron had a rushing touchdown and two touchdown receptions Friday, and Bruce Downey kicked a 35-yard field goal.
“The leadership and play of my seniors was tremendous,” Smith said. “I want to also brag on my assistant coaches, especially for what they did defensively this week. We were not the same team we were last week.”
Smith singled out assistants Marshall Clark, Denzel Roberts and Carl Harris. After the loss to Gaylesville, Donoho spent last week working on tackling.
“Tackling was awful against Gaylesville in Week Zero,” Smith said. “I take the blame for that. I’v been so worried about getting someone injured. This week, we did quite a bit of hitting and tacking, and it paid off.”
WELLBORN 34, J.B. PENNINGTON 24: Aziah Amberson rushed for two touchdowns and pass for one, and Wellborn won its season opener for the first time since beating Anniston in 2020.
The Panthers opened with losses to Anniston in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Wellborn (1-0) also got off to a winning start in the new, nine-team Class 3A, Region 6.
The victory at J.B.Pennington came after an hour-and-45-minute bus ride.
“We went over there, and it was a long trip,” Wellborn coach Jeff Smith said. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong in the first quarter.
“We kind of got it back together and won, and I’m proud of them. We had a lot of players grow up tonight.”
Amberson hit on four of seven passes for 111 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Carroll. Amberson also rushed for 83 yards and two scores.
Jackson Newton led all Panther rushers with 91 yards on seven carries.
Wellborn had 417 total yards and 19 first downs and came back from behind to lead 20-18 halftime. The Panthers went on to beat a 2023 playoff team that had 18 seniors.
OXFORD 24, MOODY 21: In a clash of Class 6A’s fifth-ranked team and 5A’s No. 5 team, Mason Mims completed 22 of 29 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown to help Oxford improve to 2-0.
“We knew Moody was a super talented team, and this was a great team win for us,” Oxford coach Sam Adams said. “We had guys like D.K. Wilson, Josh Stack and Jalin Taylor that contributed on both sides of the ball to help secure the victory.”
Taylor caught eight passes for 104 yards, and Wilson caught seven passes out of the backfield for 62 yards.
Caleb Wynn led all Oxford rushers with 40 yards and two touchdowns.
PIEDMONT 34, SAKS 13: Also in Class 3A, Region 6 play, Cole Wilson completed 12 of 19 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns as Piedmont (2-0) broke open a 13-13 game in the second half.
Wilson hit for touchdown passes of 59 and six yards to Ishmael Bethel, and Wilson hooked up with Rollie Pinto for touchdown passes of 46 and six yards.
Hayes Gunn added 93 yards on 19 rushes, including a 2-yard touchdown run to force a 13-13 halftime tie.
Saks (0-2) led 7-0 on Lajuan Curry’s 13-yard run in the first quarter and 13-7 on Zaden Mays’ 29-yard run in the second.
The Wildcats outrushed Piedmont 150 yards to 139, but Wilson’s passing helped the Bulldogs outgain Saks 324-162 overall.
MUNFORD 30, LINCOLN 3: Tank Edmondson rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns, and Munford opened with a victory over rival Lincoln.
The Lions (1-0) improved to 42-37-1 all-time against its Talladega County rivals.
B.J. Anderson accounted for 67 total yards, including 51 on the ground and one touchdown, and K.D. McCoy added 56 yards rushing.
“Really proud of the way our kids played tonight,” Munford coach Michael Easley said. “We played very physical for four quarters. Our defense played really good. Our D-line really dominated the game. Devin Elder played, probably, his best game of his career tonight. He, Jacob Borden, and Kalvin Castleberry stayed in their backfield all night and gave great effort getting to the ball.
“Really happy for our community. They love this rivalry and really enjoy this game every year.”
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN 35, GLENCOE 10: Brodie Blevins rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns and completed 12 of 18 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns as Westbrook (1-0) opened the season and Class 3A, Region 6 play with a victory.
The Warriors rushed for 283 yards, and Brodey Wood added 42 on five carries.
Bo Kilgo caught two passes, both for touchdowns, totalling 25 yards. Maximus Jones had two catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.
HANDLEY 48, DADEVILLE 21: Quarterback Cordan Patterson accounted for 181 yards total offense and two touchdowns, and Handley (1-1) rebounded from a season-opening loss to Central-Clay.
Patterson rushed for 111 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown run, and he completed nine of 11 passes for 70 yards, including a 28 yard touchdown toss to Daquavian Slaughter.
JaMarcus Daniel rushed for 72 yards, with touchdown trots of nine and three yards, and Taevion Houston returned an interception 29 yards for a score.
RANBURNE 23, WOODLAND 6: Crimson Champion rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and Ranburne (1-1) rebounded from a season-opening loss to Mt. Zion (Ga.).
Creed Young completed eight of 13 passes for 76 yards, and Brylee Cash kicked a 25-yard field goal.
Brody Morgan added 47 rushing yards and a touchdown, and the Bulldogs rushed for 228 yards.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 43, TABERNACLE 22: Noah Lee completed 12 of 20 passes for 203 yards and four touchdowns as JCA improved to 2-1.
Caleb Stallings rushed 12 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns and had a forced fumble and recovery.
Bryson Dowdey had eight catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Jesse Gannaway caught two passes for 79 yards and a score, and Skylar Crider caught an 11-yard touchdown pass.
