CAMDEN, Ala. — For its first three seasons under coach Charles Moody, the Aliceville High School football team has been known for its explosive offense.
This season, the Yellow Jackets appear to have the defensive muscle to match.
Playing against a higher classification opponent for a second-straight week, Class 3A Aliceville shut out Class 5A Wilcox Central 33-0 in an Alabama High School Activities Association game Friday night.
“The defense has really been outstanding for two weeks,” Moody said. “In each of the first two games, we have given up less than 200 yards to the other team. This group really works well together, better than any the other teams we have had here. We have a lot of juniors and seniors on the defensive side of the ball, so we had a lot of confidence in that group.”
Aliceville (2-0) held Class 6A foe Paul W. Bryant to 106 yards in a 33-21 win in its season opener. The Yellow Jackets did even more Friday night, recording two defensive scores on the way to the team’s first shutout since a 56-0 victory against Marion on Oct. 25, 2013.
Jakari Garner had a 48-yard interception return for touchdown, while Jerquendez Hill had a fumble recovery in the end zone for another touchdown.
“Jakari is a junior, but he has really turned into a leader for the defense,” Moody said. “He has good hands and good instincts for where the ball is going to be. Our group of defensive backs really excelled for a second-straight week.”
Santiago Taylor threw two touchdown passes — a 44-yard touchdown to Jamar Richardson and a 19-yard touchdown to Cody Davis. Jeremy McMullen fueled the rushing game with 139 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run.
Aliceville will look for its third-straight victory against a higher-class foe when it plays host to Class 4A’s Northside (2-0) on Friday night. The Rams are averaging 45.5 points per game.
n Lamar County 46, Brilliant 20: At Brilliant, Ala., the Bulldogs moved to 2-0 with a dominating road win.
Quarterback Cullin Carter passed for a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown, and finished with 147 yards in his second career start.
“We really didn’t do a good job of finishing drives last week (in a 14-7 victory against South Lamar),” Lamar County coach Ken Adams said. “I thought this week we did a much better job of that. It was a balanced attack, and we were able to keep the focus and intensity up to finish some drives.”
Carter hit Dyshun Williams on a 49-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring. Carter followed with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Bryce Myles scored on a 24-yard run as the Bulldogs built a 19-6 lead in the first quarter.
Myles followed with a 22-yard touchdown to help give Lamar County a 26-6 halftime lead. In the second half, Alex Wheeler had an 8-yard touchdown run, Isaac Whittle had a 38-yard touchdown run, and Bryce Smith had a 67-yard touchdown run.
“Cullin did some good things running the offense,” Adams said. “You can tell he looked more comfortable. We were able to get the rushing game going in the second half. When you are trying to keep a lead, being able to run the ball and keep momentum is important. (After Brilliant cut its deficit to 33-20), it was really good that we were able to have two long drives to re-take control of the game.”
Kendall Galloway, Austin Spann, Williams, and Myles led the defense.
Lamar County will play host to American Christian Academy (1-1) this week. The Patriots knocked off Sipsey Valley 26-25 Friday night.
n Pickens Academy 18, Patrician Academy 13: At Butler, Ala., the Pirates won their season opener under second-year coach Josh Thacker in Alabama Independent Schools Association play.
Junior running back Chance Britt scored on a 4-yard run with 28 seconds left to lift the Pirates.
“It was a big win because of how we got it there at the end,” Thacker said. “Both defenses played well. We made some mistakes for the first game, but still a lot of positive things to build on. It was good to work that hard and for the kids to get the win.”
Patrician Academy (0-1) built a 13-12 lead with 7 minutes, 7 seconds remaining on a 3-yard run by Tristan Weatherly. Weatherly also scored on a 52-yard run in the first quarter.
Pickens Academy scored its other two touchdowns in the second quarter to build a 12-6 halftime lead. Senior quarterback Joseph McGlawn scored on a 25-yard run and threw a 48-yard touchdown to senior Lance Acker.
Pickens Academy finished with 236 yards, including 124 rushing. McGlawn was 8 of 13 for 112 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. McGlawn had 10 rushes for 57 yards, while junior Chance Britt ran 20 times for 49 yards.
“On defense, we played pretty well,” Thacker said. “Other than one big play on the first drive, we pretty much held them in check. Most of what they got came through the air. We did a really good job on the line at holding the running game down.”
Senior Justin Barton led the defense with nine tackles, while junior Daniel Powell added seven.
Pickens Academy (1-0) will play Friday at Tuscaloosa Academy (0-1). The Knights opened with a 38-31 home loss to Restoration Academy.
n Oakman 35, South Lamar 18: At Oakman, Ala., the Stallions remained winless despite a competitive effort against the Wildcats.
Junior quarterback Kyle Redmond threw for 116 yards and added two rushing touchdowns of 12 and 2 yards. The other South Lamar touchdown was a 25-yard run by senior Corey Betts.
“We gave up too many big plays on defense,” South Lamar coach Shannon McGregory said. “Our tackling was not really what it needed to be, and that was disappointing because it was better in the first game (in a 14-7 loss to Lamar County). On offense, we moved the ball but had a couple of mistakes in the red zone. We are still playing a lot of young guys, and the overall effort keeps improving.”
Oakman (2-0) received two touchdowns apiece from Ashton Gay and Christopher Austin. Gay had runs of 12 and 36 yards, while Austin had a 12-yard touchdown run. He also caught a 23-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brennan Hatley.
Cody Watts and Zach Perrigin were the top tacklers for South Lamar.
South Lamar is open Friday night.
n Greensboro 19, Pickens County 0: At Greensboro, Ala., the Tornadoes (1-1) saw their two-season 16-game winning streak snapped in loss to the Raiders.
Pickens County will play host to Thorsby (1-1) next week in its Class 2A, Region 4 opener.
n Hamilton (Ala.) 37, Sulligent 0: At Sulligent, Ala., the Blue Devils battled the Aggies to a 7-0 halftime deficit. Hamilton then broke the game open with three touchdowns in the third quarter.
Sulligent will play host to Hatton (1-1) on Friday night in its Class 2A, Region 8 opener.
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