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Prattville, Pike County and Athens win championships Pike County (14-1) took Clay County to the woodshed with a 44-14 whipping of the top ranked team in Class 3A to erase any doubt about which was the best team. The loss broke a streak of 28 straight wins for Clay County and also marked the first time in four appearances the Bulldogs lost in the title game. Clay County was forced into a Super 6 record six fumbles and a tie for the most interceptions committed with three for a grand total of nine turnovers. Pike County capitalized on five of those miscues resulting in 31 points. Pike QB Tobias Lee found Kevin Marshall on a slant route for a 70-yard touchdown to ice the game 31-14. Darrel Reynolds added a five-yard touchdown run and James Jackson added a 46- yard interception return for a touchdown as Pike County rolled up 21 points in the fourth quarter to completely blow the game open. Kevin Marshall was voted as the game’s Most Valuable Player recording a 3A Super 6 record 158 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Athens wins 5A crown Athens picked up the 5A crown with a thrilling 10-7 victory over previously unbeaten Eufaula Friday night at Birmingham’s Legion Field. The game marked the first Super 6 appearance by either team and was Athens’ third overall championship. Athens (12-3) had more losses than any other team in the Super 6 but the Golden Eagles proved they deserved to be playing for the title. The Golden Eagles received a gutsy performance from Super 6 Most Valuable Player Rob Ezell on a night where the Eagles were actually out-gained 399-228 on offense. The Tigers rushed for a Super 6 record 299 yards. Ezell rushed for 61-yards on 12 carries and passed for 181 yards on 15-22 passing to earn the award and lead his team to victory. After an Athens’ turnover, Antonio Long intercepted a Jerrel Jernigan pass to set the Golden Eagles back up on offense at the 26 yard line. Athens took the ball and drove 74 yards in 10 plays to take the lead. On a first and goal from the three yard line, fullback Karlos Jones took the handoff straight up the middle for the touchdown to give Athens a 7-0 lead. After a couple failed drives by both teams, the Tigers finally found the end zone. Jernigan used his legs and his arm to guide the Tigers down the field before Xavier Crew rushed for a five-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Athens later moved down to the Eufaula 6-yard line with a few seconds left on the clock. Matt Jackson came out and nailed a 23-yard field goal to end the half with a 10-7 lead. Neither offense could do anything in the second half and Athens prevailed with the upset win and the 5A state championship. Lions prevails in 6A The Prattville Lions completed the perfect season as they beat the Hoover Buccaneers 35-21 Saturday afternoon to capture the 6A championship and finish the season with a 15-0 record. The win also prevented MTV darling Hoover from claiming their fifth straight 6A crown. Prattville turned in a huge play by the punt block team as they blocked the Hoover punt and Zach Brownell recovered the ball for an 11-yard touchdown. Brain Egan kicked the first of his five PAT’s as the Lions took a 7-0 lead with 10:56 left in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter Justin Albert scored the first of his three TDs as he trotted in from 13-yards out to make it 14-0. Hoover didn’t earn a national top-10 ranking by lying down as QB Ross Wilson scored on a 7- yard keeper. Jordan Means kicked the point-after to make it 14-7 with 5:31 left in the first half. Prattville QB and game MVP Larry Smith then increased the Lion lead with a 7-yard TD pass to Dekendrick Moncrief to make the score 21-7 with just :09 left in the second quarter. The Buccaneers cut the lead to one touchdown with a 5-yard touchdown run by Dennis King, making it 21-14 with 8:20 to go in the third quarter. The score remained that way going into the fourth quarter when Albert added scoring runs of 14- and 64-yards to give the Lions a 35-14 advantage. King’s 26-yard TD run with :32 seconds left in the game made the final score 35-21. It marks the first state title for Prattville since 1984.
Hoover finishes with a 13-2 record.
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