AHSAA Flag Football Playoffs: Fairhope and St. Michael Advance as Wetumpka Ends Spanish Fort’s 14-Game Streak

MOBILE, Ala. — The second round of the AHSAA flag football playoffs split the Mobile-Baldwin area right down the middle. Fairhope and St. Michael Catholic kept their seasons alive, but Spanish Fort, Daphne, Theodore, Blount, McGill-Toolen and Mobile Christian were all eliminated in games played Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The most surprising local result came in Class 5A, where unranked Wetumpka handed Spanish Fort only its second loss of the season, 21-12, ending a 14-game winning streak that had been the second-longest active run in the state. Statewide, three teams ranked in the flag football Top 10 polls went home in the second round.

Local Scoreboard

• Class 6A: Fairhope 14, Enterprise 6 (Fairhope advances)
• Class 6A: Auburn 12, Daphne 6 (Daphne eliminated)
• Class 5A: Spanish Fort eliminated by Wetumpka, 21-12
• Class 5A: Stanhope Elmore 27, Theodore 13 (Theodore eliminated)
• Class 5A: Northridge 37, Blount 26 (Blount eliminated)
• Private Schools: St. Michael 8, McGill-Toolen 0, played Wednesday (St. Michael advances)
• Private Schools: Montgomery Catholic 48, Mobile Christian 13 (Mobile Christian eliminated)

Fairhope Rallies Past Enterprise

Fairhope, ranked 10th, had to come from behind at home. Enterprise struck first on a 6-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter and held a 6-0 lead for much of the first half.

The turning point came late in the half. With 35 seconds remaining before the break, Fairhope’s quarterback, also playing defense, picked off a pass, giving the Pirates the possession that produced the decisive points. Moments later, on fourth down, she connected with her top receiver for a touchdown, and the Pirates went to halftime ahead 7-6.

After the break, Fairhope’s leading receiver added breathing room by returning an interception for a touchdown. Her night included 74 receiving yards on 10 receptions, four flag pulls and three interceptions. The Pirates’ quarterback completed 21 of 34 passes for 156 yards and was intercepted twice, and another Fairhope player had seven catches for 39 yards to go with seven flag pulls, three sacks and two pass breakups. Two more Pirates had four flag pulls each, and one of them also intercepted a pass.

Enterprise’s defense kept the game close. One Wildcats defender recorded nine flag pulls, including five sacks that cost Fairhope a combined 45 yards. Enterprise’s quarterback threw for 72 yards and ran for 27 more on four carries.

Fairhope improved to 13-1 and moves on to the Class 6A quarterfinals next week. Enterprise finished its season at 9-9.

Spanish Fort’s Streak Ends at Wetumpka

Spanish Fort entered the night at 14-1, having lost only in its season opener, and was ranked seventh in the Large Schools poll. Wetumpka, playing at home, controlled the game by holding the Toros’ passing game to just 55 yards.

The Indians scored on two touchdown runs, from 5 and 11 yards out, and a 31-yard touchdown pass. Their quarterback completed 7 of 10 passes for 142 yards and added 60 yards on 12 carries, then made five flag pulls and broke up two passes on defense. Wetumpka’s leading rusher piled up 84 yards on 15 carries, and the receiver who caught the long touchdown finished with 77 receiving yards and three interceptions on defense.

Spanish Fort’s two scores came on the ground. The Toros’ starting quarterback was 3-for-10 passing for 40 yards and ran for a touchdown, and a teammate turned two carries into 45 yards and a score. On defense, two Toros had eight flag pulls apiece, and another had seven pulls with three sacks.

Spanish Fort closes the year at 14-2. Wetumpka, now 11-6, will take on Northridge (11-7) in the quarterfinals next week.

Daphne, Theodore and Blount Fall

Daphne took a 6-0 lead into halftime at Auburn and appeared to be on the way to an upset of the sixth-ranked Tigers. Auburn tied the game with a fourth-quarter touchdown, then won it with a touchdown pass with roughly a minute left to play. Daphne’s season ends at 10-4, while Auburn improved to 12-5.

In Class 5A, Theodore saw its season end with a 27-13 loss to Stanhope Elmore, which is now 12-2. Theodore finishes 7-5. Blount also bowed out in 5A, falling 37-26 to Northridge. Blount ends the season at 7-5.

Private Schools: St. Michael Moves On

The only all-local game of the round went to St. Michael Catholic, which blanked McGill-Toolen 8-0 on Wednesday. The Cardinals improved to 6-4, and McGill-Toolen finished 7-10.

Mobile Christian’s first season of flag football ended at Montgomery Catholic, where the 17-1 home team won 48-13. Mobile Christian finishes 2-6 after earning its first playoff win in the opening round.

Elsewhere in the private school bracket, American Christian beat Hope Christian 27-7, and Alabama Christian Academy held off ninth-ranked Westminster Christian 12-7 on the road. Alabama Christian scored on touchdown passes of 45 and 75 yards and stopped Westminster four times inside its own 10-yard line, including two interceptions inside the 5. Westminster pulled within five with 8:06 left, and its final threat ended when its quarterback was stopped short, at the 2, on a fourth-and-goal run.

That leaves four private schools standing: St. Michael, Montgomery Catholic, American Christian and Alabama Christian. Alabama Christian (9-5) will travel to face Region 3 rival American Christian (14-3-1) in the semifinals on Nov. 17. American Christian, ranked fourth, won the teams’ first meeting 32-7 on Sept. 8. With those two paired, St. Michael and Montgomery Catholic are the remaining semifinalists.

Around the State

Beyond the local games, the round produced several lopsided wins by the state’s top teams and a few nail-biters.

Class 6A

• Hewitt-Trussville def. Gadsden City, 30-0: Hewitt-Trussville (12-4), winners of nine of their past 10, scored on interception returns on two of Gadsden City’s first four plays.
• Smiths Station def. Opelika, 45-0: Opelika managed only 20 total yards against No. 2 Smiths Station, now 12-4.
• Spain Park def. Oak Mountain, 20-0: A fifth consecutive victory lifted No. 4 Spain Park to 15-4.
• Central-Phenix City def. Carver-Montgomery, 36-0: No. 1 Central (15-2) scored 24 points in the second quarter and outgained Carver 220 yards to 47.
• Prattville 40, Grissom 0
• Vestavia Hills 13, Hoover 7

Class 5A

• Hueytown 21, Central-Tuscaloosa 14
• Parker 25, Florence 0
• Austin 39, Lee-Huntsville 0, keeping Austin unbeaten at 11-0
• Oxford 20, Albertville 7

Third-ranked Boaz also advanced, building a 27-0 lead before beating Athens 27-6 to improve to 14-2.

Class 1A-4A

• Northside 40, Wenonah 18: In a matchup of Top 5 teams in the Small Schools poll, No. 3 Northside routed No. 5 Wenonah and improved to 18-2. Northside meets Deshler in the quarterfinals.
• Marbury def. Selma, 28-27: Tenth-ranked Marbury trailed 27-14 in the fourth quarter, stopped Selma on a fourth-down play with two minutes left and, with no timeouts, scored the tying touchdown and the winning extra point with 15 seconds remaining. A missed Selma extra point in the third quarter proved decisive. Both teams are 8-3.
• Deshler 12, Lanett 6: Deshler went ahead on an 18-yard touchdown pass with about nine minutes left, then intercepted Lanett at the 5 and made a final stop at its own 30. Deshler is 9-4.
• Holtville 39, Booker T. Washington-Tuskegee 8: Holtville’s quarterback threw four touchdown passes as the Bulldogs reached 8-3.
• Brewbaker Tech 26, Carroll-Ozark 13
• Tallassee 34, Elmore County 0
• Moody 40, Tanner 0, lifting Moody to 19-1
• Scottsboro at Anniston, scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

How Flag Football Playoff Games Are Won

For fans still learning the sport, flag football looks familiar but plays differently from the tackle game. There is no tackling or blocking in the traditional sense. Instead, each ball carrier wears flags on a belt, and a play ends when a defender pulls one off. That is why defensive statistics in the sport are counted in flag pulls rather than tackles, and a flag pull behind the line of scrimmage on a quarterback counts as a sack.

Because there are fewer players on the field than in 11-player football and scoring can be scarce, a single interception or a stop near the goal line can swing a game, as several second-round results showed. Fairhope’s interception return touchdown, Alabama Christian’s goal-line stands and Deshler’s late interception at the 5-yard line were the kinds of plays that decide close playoff games.

Extra points also carry unusual weight. In games where touchdowns are hard to come by, one failed conversion can decide the outcome, as Selma learned against Marbury when a missed try in the third quarter left it one point short.

What Comes Next

Fairhope is the area’s only remaining public school team and will play in the Class 6A quarterfinals next week. St. Michael continues in the private school semifinals.

The road ends in Mobile. The four state championship games are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus, the first time the AHSAA flag football finals will be held in the area. The private school final is set for 10 a.m., followed by Class 1A-4A at 1 p.m., Class 5A at 4 p.m. and Class 6A at 7 p.m., giving Fairhope and St. Michael a chance to play for a state title close to home.