AHSAA Week Zero Spotlight // Pike Road scores comeback victory over Catholic

AHSAA Week Zero Football Spotlight 

Pike Road QB Iverson Hooks Leads Patriots to 63-34 Comeback Win over Montgomery Catholic


MONTGOMERY – The Pike Road High School Patriots went 10-0 in the regular season last year in the school’s second season. Last week, the Patriots showed another level even they didn’t know they had – clawing out of a 34-22 second-half deficit to score the game’s last 41 points en route to a 63-34 win over Montgomery Catholic in the first game of the AHSAA’s 15th annual Kickoff Classic. 

Leading Coach Patrick Browning’s Pats was 5-foot-10, 165-pound quarterback Iverson Hookswho was 16-of-25 passing for 296 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 114 yards and two scores on 15 carries to finish with 410 total yards to earn the first AHSAA Prep Football Spotlight for the 2020 season.

Catholic freshman quarterback Caleb McCreary was 9-of-19 passing for 318 yards and three scores of  80, 80 and 85 yards – all in the first half.

The Patriots, beginning their third season in the Pike Road modern era, trailed 34-22 with 10:18 left. Hooks scooted 40 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 42-34. He followed four minutes later with a 17-yard TD pass to Blake Durham and the defense did the rest with Harrison Wallace and Sage Etheridge returned interceptions 55 and 22 yards in a 47-second span to cap the game for the Patriots.

The two teams combined for 42 first downs and 986 total yards in the battle of Montgomery County powers.

Hooks edged out two outstanding defensive efforts by Tyler Waugh of Briarwood Christian and the Ardmore defensive unit, led by Chris Allen.

Waugh contributed 27 total tackles at his linebacker spot in the Lions’ 28-20 victory over Fort Payne. His opening game totals put him on pace to equal or surpass the AHSAA single season tackles record (285) set by another Briarwood linebacker Matthew Forester in 1998. Forester is now the Lions head coach.

Allen picked off two passes and returned them both 80 and 62 yards for touchdowns in a 42-18 win over Tanner. Teammate Nathan Reyer also returned two Tanner fumbles of 45 and 63 yards for touchdowns – giving the defense four touchdowns on the night.

MILESTONES

UMS-WRIGHT STRETCHES WIN STREAK TO 34 GAMES: Led by senior receiver Colby Staffordthe Bulldogs extended their current winning streak to 34 games with a 24-6 win over Class 7A Baker. Stafford caught two passes for 42 yards, including a 34-yard TD reception, and returned a kickoff 75 yards for another score. UMS-Wright, competing in Class 5A for the first time this season, finished 14-0 the last two seasons and won the last five games of the 2017 season en route to three straight Class 4A state titles. Friday’s victory was the 241st at UMS-Wright for Coach Terry Curtis, who is 318-85 overall in 32 seasons. In his 22nd year at UMS, he is 241-49.

ROBERTSDALE SNAPS 13-GAME LOSING STREAK: The Golden Bears snapped a 13-game losing streak to Baldwin County rival Foley with a 38-23 win in the season opener, which was the 98th meeting between the two teams. Taven Curry sparked the victory rushing for three touchdowns. Robertsdale’s last win prior to Friday’s victory was a 14-6 triumph in 2004. Foley holds the edge in series 75-17-6.

ORANGE BEACH WINS FIRST VARSITY GAME IN SCHOOL HISTORY: The Makos, made their AHSAA high school debut with s 35-20 victory over J.F. Shields. Quarterback Cash Turner passed for four touchdowns and rushed for another in the win.

ELBERTA CLAIMS FIRST VARSITY VICTORY: The Warriors, also making their debut in the AHSAA as a varsity football team, beat Gulf Shores 24-9 as Jamal Woods rushed for 180 yards and a TD. Elberta officially competed as a junior-varsity team in 2019.

NORTHSIDE METHODIST OPENS ERA WITH A BANG: Northside Methodist of Dothan started its new era in the AHSAA with a bang. Senior speedster Kennard Miller took the game’s opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, giving the Knights their first score just 13 seconds into the game – and into their new history in the new association. Northside became an associate member of the AHSAA June 1. NMA added a second score on its first offensive series when Miller sprinted 73 yards for a touchdown, making it 14-7 just three and half minutes into the game. The Knights went on to win its first game 42-21 over Houston County.

In other top performances reported from Week O:

RUSHING

D.J. LEE, GAYLESVILLE: Ran for 250 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns, including a 57-yard TD in the fourth quarter, as the Trojans downed Whitesburg Christian 28-21. He also had five tackles and an interception on defense.

AUSTIN BLOODWORTH, ASBURY: Totaled 323 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in Asbury’s 38-33 loss to Gaston. He had 18 rushes for 186 yards and two scores and was 12-of-33 passing for 145 yards and another TD. The quarterback had accounted for 51 plays for the Asbury offense.

MAKHI HUGHES, HUFFMAN: Ran 16 times for 234 yards and four touchdowns and had two receptions for 17 yards in the Vikings’ 44-26 victory over Benjamin Russell.

COLTON SIMMONS, THARPTOWN: Rushed for 218 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-14 win over Shoals Christian.

ARMONI GOODWIN, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Gained 196 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns on 20 carries to pace the Huskies to a 44-19 win over Pinson Valley.

MATTHEW CLARK, MEEK: The junior running back had 23 carries for 189 yards and two touchdowns in much-improved Meek’s 43-40 loss to Cold Springs in the season opener.

TROY BUCE, CENTER POINT: Ran for 167 yards and two scores in a 37-19 victory over Wenonah.

SEDARICO BROOKS, REELTOWN: Rushed for 158 yards and one TD on 18 carries and scored on an all-important 2-point conversion run with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter to tie the Rebels with Tallassee, 21-21, and send the games in overtime. Reeltown won in OT on Johnny Brown’s 12-yard TD run, 27-21.

ERIC WATTS, OPELIKA: The Bulldogs’ running back had 20 rush attempts for 154 yards and two TDs to lead Opelika past Stanhope Elmore 20-17.

JAYLEN JONES, SHEFFIELD: Gained 138 yards and scored one TD rushing in a 27-12 Sheffield win over R.A. Hubbard. He also tossed one TD pass.

QUINSHON JUDKINS, PIKE ROAD: Rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in a 63-34 win over Montgomery Catholic.

JAYLEN SULTON, ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL: Ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns on runs of 52 and 8 yards to pace the Saints to a 31-7 victory over McAdory.

KADIN BENNEFIELD, BOAZ: The senior running back rushed for 129 yards on 26 carries and scored five touchdowns to lead Boaz to a season-opening 41-34 win over Hayden. His five TDs tied the school single-game record for rushing touchdowns.

L.T. SANDERS, GARDENDALE: Rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and grabbed two receptions for 27 yards as the Rockets beat Sparkman 22-7.

JEVON JACKSON, AUSTIN: Ran for 112 yards and a 23-yard touchdown on 19 carries and caught three passes for 65 yards and a 46-yardTD in a 31-7 win over Hartselle.

RAMIRO TOWERS, MADISON ACADEMY: Scored via a 6-yard touchdown run and a 39-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter, and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass on fourth down in overtime as the Tigers stunned Buckhorn 20-19.

VEONTI WILLIAMS, DAPHNE: Raced 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Trojans made their Class 7A debut with a 26-19 win over Lee-Montgomery.

 

PASSING
BENNETT MEREDITH, SPAIN PARK: 
Was 15-of-20 passing for 391 yards and four touchdowns as the Jaguars beat Huntsville 52-21.

HESS HORNE, EUFAULA:  Completed 21-of-32 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns in Class 6A Eufaula’s 50-7 rout of Carroll.

MICHAEL SMITHART, OPP: The Bobcats quarterback completed 17-of-21 passes for 323 yards and six touchdowns in a 67-14 season-opening win over rival Geneva. He had 313 yards and all six touchdowns in the first half.

IAN SENN, ARITON: Was 20-of-27 passing for 294 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown to account for all four scores in Class 2A Ariton’s 25-13 win over Class 4A Dale County. The victory was the first in school history over its county foe. Dale County won the four previous meetings in 1930 (7-0), 1935 (34-0), 2918 (41-19) and 2019 (34-27). The two schools did not play from 1936-2017.

CONNER HARRELL, THOMPSON: Completed 18-of-25 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns in the Go Gold Bowl season-opening 56-34 win over Oxford. The contest featured the 2019 Class 7A state champion Warriors versus last year’s Class 6A state champions at Alabaster.

KARSON GREEN, SARALAND:  Passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns in his varsity debut to lead the Spartans past Theodore 35-14.

E.J. OUSLEY, PRATTVILLE: Was 16-of-24 passing for 240 yards and one TD as the Lions opened the season with a 40-10 win over Wetumpka in the AHSAA Kickoff Classic at Cramton Bowl. He TD pass covered 42 yards and was hauled in by Al-Terious Bates for the game and season’s first TD for Prattville.

QUINCY CRITTENDON, AUSTIN: Opened the season with a 13-of-22 passing performance for 240 yards and three touchdowns as the Black Bears beat Morgan County rival Hartselle 31-7.

ANTHONY HARBIN, HAZEL GREEN: Completed 9-of-12 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns (81 and 35 yards) in a 22-6 win over Mae Jemison.

ANTHONY MATTHEWS, LEE-HUNTSVILLE: Was 11-of-14 passing for 140 yards and a touchdown and ran for 85 yards and a 48-yard TD on just three carries to spark the Generals to a 38-6 win over Columbia.

BRAYLON MYERS, OAK GROVE: Completed 15-of-22 passes for 202 yards and two scores, and ran 12 times for 58 yards in a 14-13 loss to Ashville.

GABE BRYANT, REELTOWN: Completed 6-of-8 passes for 163 yards and two TDs and punted three times for 39.7-yard average in a 20-17 overtime win over Tallassee.

DALTON HUGHES, COLLINSVILLE: Completed 8-of-16 pass attempts for 120 yards and the game’s only touchdown, a 47-yard connection to Malachi Orr in the third quarter, and the Panthers downed Section 7-0 for new head coach Daniel Garrett.

RILEY LEONARD, FAIRHOPE: Accounted for five touchdowns as the Pirates nipped Spanish Fort 45-34. He threw for two touchdowns, ran for two TDs and caught a TD pass in the win.

GAGE TAYLOR, DANVILLE: The Hawks’ sophomore quarterback accounted for three touchdowns in a 33-19 win over Brewer on Friday. Taylor had a 31-yard touchdown pass and a pair of touchdown runs covering 4 and 17 yards. The win was the first over Brewer since 1993 and evened the series to 4-4.

LEVI BARNES, EAST LAWRENCE: Passed for a 32-yard TD and has rushing touchdowns of 17 and 6 yards as East Lawrence beat Sulligent 41-12. The win was the first for new head coach Bo Culver, who took over the Eagles’ program this year. He is in his 10th year as a head coach with three years at Phil Campbell, three at Haleyville, two at Deshler, and last year at Hartselle.

 

PASS RECEIVING

R.J. HAMILTON, HOOVER: Snagged eight passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns as Hoover rallied to beat Central-Phenix City 45-35.

JACKSON MEEKS, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Caught 12 passes for 218 yards with 3 touchdowns in a 45-35 loss to Hoover.

MILES BUTLER, MONTGOMERY-CATHOLIC: Had three receptions for 183 yards with TDs of 80 and 85 yards in the Knights’ 63-34 loss to Pike Road. Teammate D.J. Carter also had four catches for 105 yards and an 80-yard TD.

BLAKE DURHAM, PIKE ROAD: Had nine catches for 143 yards and two TDs in the Patriots’ 63-34 win over Montgomery Catholic. Teammate Harrison Wallace also had four catches for 94 yards.

MARQUIS HAYNES, REELTOWN: Caught three passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns as the Rebels beat Tallassee 20-17 in overtime.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE


SPENCER CALDWELL, REHOBETH: The offensive lineman earned six pancake blocks, including key ones on goal-line situations, and graded 82 percent on offense while adding four tackles and a forced fumble on defense in the Rebels’ 18-0 win over Providence Christian.


DEFENSE


CHRYSTILE CALDWELL, ELBA: Totaled 14 tackles, including three for losses, in Elba’s 50-0 shutout win over Daleville.

DUSTIN ROBERTS, REHOBETH: Had 13 tackles and teammate Jamal Maloney had 9 in the Class 5A Rebels’ 18-0 shutout win over Providence Christian. It was the first shutout of the Eagles in three seasons, and just the second registered by Rehobeth’s defense since Sept. 8, 2017.

CARTER STEVENS, NORTHSIDE METHODIST: Recovered three fumbled, returning the last one 71 yards for a touchdown in final two minutes of the Knights’ 42-21 win over Houston County. Teammate Noah Davis finished the night with a team-leading 13 tackles.

JACKSON BAKER, ARITON: Earned 12 tackles in the Purple Cats’ 25-13 victory over Dale County.

BRODIE GILLEY, ROGERS: Had two interceptions in a 35-19 win over Richland (TN).

TREMON HENRY, EUFAULA: Had seven tackles, including four resulting for losses, as the Tigers downed Carroll 50-7.

KEYLON HIGGINS, GAYLESVILLE: Forced and recovered a fumble for a touchdown and finished with five tackles and a sack in the Trojans’ 28-21 victory over Whitesburg Christian.

JEREMIAH WILLIAMS, RAMSAY: Had eight tackles, including three sacks, and forced a fumble that was recovered in the end zone in a 35-0 win over Bessemer City.

SPECIAL TEAMS

COLLIN ROGERS, PRATTVILLE: Kicked three field goals, 44, 28 and 43 yards, in the Lions’ 40-10 Kickoff Classic win over Wetumpka at Cramton Bowl. He also had three extra points to account for 12 points, had seven kickoffs sail into the end zone for touchbacks and punted three times for a 44.7-yard average.

RYON DUNN, CHEROKEE COUNTY: Blocked two punts in the first quarter, both of which led to touchdowns, in the Warriors’ 41-0 victory over Birmingham-Carver.

DEANDRE COLEMAN, HUEYTOWN: Returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and caught six passes for 96 yards and three scores in a 54-37 loss to Minor

AHSAA Photo: Pike Road QB Iverson Hooks | by Kristy Gallagher