CARROLLTON, Ala. — The Pickens Academy football team will carry a lot of momentum into a playoff-deciding game next week.
Jacob Acker rushed for two scores, threw for anther, and returned an interception for a touchdown Friday night to lead Pickens Academy to a 47-0 victory against Flint Hill Christian in an Alabama Independent School Association Class AA, Region I game.
“We played pretty well,” Pickens Academy coach John Gartman said. “We led 34-0 at halftime and had about 400 yards rushing. I think they had maybe 25 for the game. It was pretty one-sided.”
Acker had three carries for 95 yards. He also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Joel Pratt and returned an interception for a touchdown.
Pickens Academy (4-3, 2-3 region) had 398 rushing yards and 431 total yard offense. Flint Hill Christian had only 44 yards total offense.
John Morgan Owens had 12 carries for 129 yards, Garrett Estes had five carries for 92 yards and a touchdown, Sam Beechler had a 3-yard touchdown run, and Andrew House had a 5-yard touchdown run.
Gartman, who is in his first season as head coach at the school, likes how his team has progressed and feels it is ready to make the trip to Eufaula, Ala., to face Lakeside Academy in a game that likely will determine the fourth playoff team from the region.
“We have been aiming for it for a long time,” Gartman said. “The players have known it is coming for a few weeks. The last few weeks we have played teams that we are better than and we could afford to look past (them) some. I think the kids are focused on it. We have already prepared for it, and we have a mature group of kids. I think they will be ready to go next Friday.”
Pratt led the way with seven tackles, while Hunter Booth and Bryant Turner added six tackles each. Acker had three tackles. House had two sacks, Forrest Lewis, and Pratt had sacks. Brad Lowery made 5 of 7 extra points.
n Colbert Heights 19, Lamar County 14: At Vernon, Ala., Eric Hudson and Ken Hill rushed for touchdowns, but the Bulldogs (3-4, 3-2 AHSAA Class 2A, Region 8) lost a key region game at home.
Hudson rushed for 96 yards on 30 carries, while Hill had 57 yards on 13 carries. Lamar County rushed for 187 yards on 49 carries. Hudson completed 3 of 7 passes for 67 yards without an interception. Hill was 0 of 2 with an interception.
Cory Hill led the way with four solo tackles, while Alex Denton had three. Justin Perkins and Brantley Stanford (forced fumble) each had a sack, while Lemetrius Williams (recovered fumble) and Chess Moore shared a sack.
n Maplesville 39, Pickens County 27: At Reform, Ala., Deion Curry had two touchdowns and made six solo and 10 overall tackles, but the Tornadoes could overcome the Red Devils in their AHSAA Class 1A, Region 4 matchup.
The Tornadoes (5-3, 3-2 region) are the first team this season to score points against the Red Devils (7-0, 5-0).
Curry (20 carries, 78 yards) scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter and on a 16-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also was 6 of 15 for 155 yards, but he threw three interceptions.
James Adams scored on a 28-yard run in the third quarter for Pickens County, which committed two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter that Maplesville converted into 21 points.
Demarco Hall also threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Reginald Washington in the fourth quarter.
Tim Simpson, who had 34 rushing yards, had four solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Kiloe Cole also had seven solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Demarko Hall had an interception.
n Hale County 20, Aliceville 8: At Moundville, Ala., Hunter Scott threw two touchdown passes to help the Wildcats (improve to 6-2 and 4-2 in AHSAA Class 3A, Region 4.
Scott threw a 34-yard pass to Jefferson Chandler in the second quarter to give Hale County the lead for good. He added a 15-yard scoring strike to Joshua Jordan in the third quarter to cap the scoring.
Marquis Mayhew scored on a 14-yard run in the second quarter for Aliceville (4-3, 3-2), which committed four turnovers. One of those miscues led to Hale County”s first touchdown.
Mayhew paced Aliceville with 125 rushing yards on 22 carries. Marquise Colvin added 49 rushing yards on 12 carries, while Jarvis Dancy had 39 rushing yards, but he was 4 of 20 for only 26 yards and had two interceptions.
Lawrence Scott led the way with eight tackles, while Terry Mayhew had five.
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