From Special Reports
ALICEVILLE, Ala. — Aliceville High School completed its undefeated run through Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Class 2A, Region 4 play with a 54-29 win over Billingsley Friday night.
Aliceville improved to 9-1 overall and 6-0 in region play. The Yellow Jackets have won eight straight games. Aliceville will play host to a first-round playoff game on Nov. 4.
Aliceville held a 20-8 lead before exploding for five touchdowns in the fourth quarter. As a team, Aliceville cranked out 407 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
Demontez Hinton led the ground game with 18 rushes for 189 yards and three scores (runs of 42, 6 and 6 yards). Deonte Taylor also ran three times for 35 yards and scored three times (runs of 18, 7 and 10 yards). Darien Spencer scored on an 8-yard run.
Santiago Taylor completed 3-of-7 passes for 81 yards, with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Nicquavious Craig. Javon Phillips added a 56-yard interception return for another score.
Deonte Taylor and Malik Bonner each had seven tackles, while Craig had six tackles. Taylor was also in on six tackles for loss.
Aliceville ends the regular season by playing host to Hillcrest (4-5) Friday night.
Sulligent 35, Lamar County 21: At Sulligent, Alabama, the Blue Devils clinched a playoff berth in AHSAA Class 2A, Region 8 play.
In the final region standings, Lamar County (6-3, 5-1 region) and Sheffield (7-2, 5-1) tied for first. Lamar County earns the top seed in the region, while both teams will host a first-round playoff game on Nov. 4.
Red Bay (7-2, 4-2) and Sulligent (5-4, 4-2) finished tied for third. Red Bay will be the No. 3 seed, while Sulligent will be the No. 4 seed. Both of those teams will travel for first-round playoff games on Nov. 4.
Sulligent rushed for 379 yards and forced four turnovers. For the Blue Devils, Tryeke Metcalfe scored on touchdown runs of 3 and 1 yards. Marco Mastin also added a 7-yard rushing score.
On defense, Sulligent had a 12-yard interception return touchdown by Hunter Lockhart and a 70-yard interception return touchdown by Cornelius Bankhead.
Lamar County received two touchdowns from Isaac Whittle on a 62-yard interception return and 63-yard run. The other score was a 28-yard pass from T.J. Eskridge to Jon Kilpatrick.
Whittle finished with 86 rushing yards on 10 tries. Mark Duncan had two receptions for 98 yards, while Kilpatrick had two receptions for 45 yards.
Joseph White had a team-high 14 tackles for Lamar County, while Seth Wheeler had 12 tackles. C.J. Wise had a fumble recovery.
Sulligent will play host to South Lamar (5-4) Thursday night, while Lamar County will play host to Winfield (6-3) Friday night in the final regular-season games for both teams.
Pickens County 61, Berry 14: At Berry, Alabama, the Tornadoes finished undefeated in AHSAA Class 1A, Region 5 play with the easy road win.
Pickens County improved to 7-2 overall and 6-0 in region play. The Tornadoes will play host to a first-round playoff game on Nov. 4.
Caleb Bonner led the way for Pickens County with 12 rushes for 198 yards. Bonner scored six touchdowns on runs of 25, 8, 21, 11, 68 and 16 yards. Zac Thomas scored on a 7-yard run, caught a 5-yard pass from Elliott Petty, scored two two-point conversions and kicked three extra points. Jacaurian Washington added a 37-yard rushing score.
Pickens County finished with 397 yards and forced three turnovers. The Tornadoes led 33-14 at halftime.
Pickens County will play host to Gordo (9-0) Friday night in the final regular-season game.
South Lamar 49, Brilliant 7: At Brilliant, Alabama, the Stallions nailed down a third-place finish in the AHSAA Class 1A, Region 5 standings.
South Lamar is now 6-3 overall and 4-2 in region play. The Stallions will play a first-round playoff game on the road on Nov. 4.
South Lamar plays at Sulligent (5-4) Thursday night.
Clarke Prep 43, Pickens Academy 37: At Carrollton, Alabama, the Pirates were officially eliminated from playoff consideration in Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) play.
Pickens Academy (4-5, 0-4 Class AA, Region 2) will play host to Kingwood Academy (2-7) Friday night to end the season.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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