COTTONDALE, Ala. — Josh McCoy caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Maison McCullough with 3 minutes, 1 second remaining in the fourth quarter Friday night to lift the Tuscaloosa Christian football team to a 24-20 victory against Victory Christian in the Christian Football Association championship.
McCoy”s catch and run answered a score by the Eagles (8-1) just 25 seconds earlier that gave them their first lead. But Victory Christian could hold the lead as the Warriors (9-1) capitalized on a crossing pattern in the middle of the field on the second-down play to steal the momentum back.
Victory Christian, which had won the last two CFA titles and 30 games in a row, moved to the Tuscaloosa Christian 46 with just over a minute to play in the game, but a fourth-down pass intended for Landon Ellis or Tyler Jones was incomplete.
In other action, Columbus beat Starkville 34-32 to deny the Yellow Jackets a spot in the Class 6A playoffs. Olive Branch”s victory against Tupelo cleared the way for Starkville to win and earn the fourth spot from Region 1 based on a regular-season victory against Tupelo, but the Falcons spoiled that idea.
In other regular-season action, West Oktibbeha lost to French Camp 30-26 and was eliminated from a playoff spot out of Class 1A, Region 3.
In Class 5A, West Point won at Hernando and New Hope beat Indianola Gentry at home. The results gave New Hope second place in Region 1 and the right to play host to a first-round playoff game next week.
In playoff action, Noxubee County and Aberdeen rolled to easy wins in Class 4A and Class 3A, respectively, while East Webster stayed perfect and Hamilton and West Lowndes had their seasons end in Class 2A.
Here is a list of scores from Friday night involving local teams:
Mississippi
Columbus 34, Starkville 32
West Point 21, Hernando 14
New Hope 31, Indianola Gentry 14
Noxubee County 37, McClain 0
Louisville 32, Amanda Elzy 8
Greenwood 14, Amory 7
Aberdeen 50, Kossuth 6
East Webster 35, Bruce 20
Baldwyn 58, West Lowndes 24
Calhoun City 40, Hamilton 3
East Oktibbeha 48, Ethel 12
French Camp 30, West Oktibbeha 26
Tuscaloosa Christian 24, Victory Christian 20
Tri-County 48, Immanuel Christian 0
Central Academy 22, Tensas Academy (La.) 20
Winston Academy 32, Indianola Academy 7
Alabama
Clarke Prep 51, Pickens Academy 14
Pickens County 26, Loachapoka 7
Sulligent 34, West End 18
Handley 49, Aliceville 0
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