The Sulligent and Pickens County high school football teams advanced to the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs Friday night.
Sulligent defeated West End of Walnut Grove, Ala., 34-18 in the Class 2A playoffs, while Pickens County ended Loachapoka”s season in Class 1A with a 26-7 victory.
The Blue Devils (9-2) host Westminster Christian in next Friday”s second round. Pickens County (7-4) goes to Maplesville, Ala., in the second round after Maplesville beat Pickens County 39-27 on Oct. 8.
Sulligent”s Blue Devils bounced West End behind the strong running attack of Wesley Parson and Ishmael Riggins. Parsons carried 17 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while Riggins had 13 totes for 131 yards and one score for Sulligent.
The Blue Devils built up a 34-6 lead after three quarters to dominate the game. Sulligent scored early in the first quarter when John Potmesil threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Peter Swanigan. West End, however, countered with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Wesley Parson scored for Sulligent with an 18-yard run, still in the first quarter.
Riggins opened he second quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run. In the third quarter, Swanigan returned a kickoff 85 yards for a Blue Devils touchdown.
Parson ended Sulligent”s scoring with a third-quarter TD run from 2 yards.
West End scored twice in the fourth quarter — a 58-yard pass and a 75-yard run.
Tony Johnson was Sulligent”s defensive juggernaut, collecting 14 tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Nick Johnson added two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
n Pickens County 26, Loachapoka 7: At Loachapoka, Ala., James Adams rushed for 180 yards and threw a halfback pass for a touchdown to lead the Pickens County offense. Demarko Hall also caught a 40-yard scoring pass and rushed for a 31-yard touchdown.
LaJuan Doss started the Tornadoes” scoring in the first half with a 15-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Deion Curry. In the third quarter, Hall caught his 40-yard toucheown pass from Adams and Tim Simpson addeed a 10-yard scoring run.
After a 40-yard scoring pass from Loachapoka to end the third quarter, Hall went 31 yards for the final Pickens County points.
On defense for the Tornadoes, Simpson collected five solo tackles and an assist, while Doss added three solos and two assists. Devonte Simon picked off a Loachapoka pass.
n Clarke Prep 51, Pickens Academy 20: At Grove Hill, Ala., Clarke Prep opened the second half with a 24-point third quarter, using the 145-yard, three-touchdown performance of Mark Lear to win the Alabama Independent School Association Class 2A first-round playoff game.
John Morgan Owens dominated the Pirates” offense with 155 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Andrew House was tops on defense with seven tackles.
Jason Gates started the Clarke Prep scoring with a 21-yard scoring run. Lear rushed for a 31-yard score still in the first quarter for the Gators.
Owens broke loose on a 62-yard scoring run as Pickens Academy (6-5) fell behind 16-7 after one stanza.
Chris Barnes scored on a 39-yard run to put Clarke Prep up 24-7 at intermission.
In the third quarter, the Gators exploded for 24 points behind two Lear TDs (runs of 1 and 57 yards) and Gates returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. The Pirates scored on a 31-yard pass from Jacob Acker to Josh Lewis.
Cale Tucker booted a 25-yard field goal for Clarke Prep in the fourth quarter. Lewis ran 3 yards for Pickens Academy to end the scoring.
The Gators host Edgewood Academy in the second round at 7 p.m. Friday.
n Handley 49, Aliceville 0: At Roanoke, Ala., Handley dominated the Yellow Jackets on offense (piling up 342 total yards) and defense (limiting Aliceville to to 79 total yards).
Handley scored quickly and often in the AHSAA Class 3A playoff game. In the first quarter, Kenneth Seiffert ran for a 14-yard touchdown and Artravian Kyles hits Demetricus Foster for a 47-yard score.
The home squad added three TDs in the second quarter for a 35-0 halftime lead. Duran Zachery scored twice on runs of 49 and 6 yards, then Shavar Holliday rushed 19 yards for another touchdown.
Christopher Dilliard rushed for a 9-yard score and the Handley defense jumped on an Aliceville fumble and returned it 84 yards for a score.
Jeremy McMullen led the Aliceville defense with seven stops, followed by Tevin Winn with six, Brandon Colvin with five and Marquis Mayhew with four.
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