FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Fairhope’s girls flag football team is still perfect. The 10th-ranked Pirates blanked Baker 41-0 on Tuesday to move to 7-0, headlining a big week for Gulf Coast programs that also saw Alma Bryant win twice and Spanish Fort post a pair of region victories.
Around the state, fourth-ranked Austin opened region play with a mercy-rule win at Athens, top-ranked Moody stretched its winning streak to 23 games and Prattville claimed a tournament championship in Dothan. Here is a look at the week’s results, starting close to home.
This Week’s Scores at a Glance
- Fairhope 41, Baker 0
- Alma Bryant 26, McGill-Toolen 20
- Alma Bryant 27, Robertsdale 0
- Spanish Fort 21, Baldwin County 8
- Spanish Fort 39, Saraland 0
- Austin def. Athens (mercy rule)
- Boaz 20, Gadsden City 13
- Muscle Shoals 14, Decatur 6
- Oxford 13, Homewood 6
- Oxford 21, Springville 0
- Moody 31, St. Anne-Pacelli (Ga.) 13
- Moody 44, Spain Park 13
- Homewood 41, Bessemer City 0
- Vestavia Hills 27, Hewitt-Trussville 21
- Pell City 33, Huffman 7
- Pell City 20, Leeds 0
- Greensboro 14, Breakthrough Charter 0
- Auburn 14, Vestavia Hills 6
- Prattville 34, Carroll-Ozark 0
- Prattville 23, Dothan 6
- Prattville 19, Albertville 0 (tournament championship)
- Montgomery Catholic 26, Smiths Station 20
- Holtville 26, Billingsley 12
Mobile and Baldwin County
Fairhope 41, Baker 0
Fairhope went on the road Tuesday and left no doubt, shutting out Baker to improve to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Class 6A, Region 1.
Quarterback Meera Ogletree completed 20 of 27 passes for 213 yards and five touchdowns, with one interception. Reese Byrd made the most of her touches, catching three passes for 41 yards, all of them touchdowns, and adding a 24-yard interception return for another score.
Kaylee Shabel was busy on both sides of the ball. She caught nine passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, then added six flag pulls and four sacks on defense. Gracie Bell caught three passes for 43 yards and a score, and Claire Byrd had four receptions for 64 yards to go with four flag pulls.
Aubrey Warner recorded six flag pulls and three sacks, and Campbell Anderson added five pulls as the Pirates’ defense kept Baker off the scoreboard.
Alma Bryant 26, McGill-Toolen 20
Alma Bryant trailed 14-13 at halftime Thursday but rallied for a home win over McGill-Toolen, and Danaejah Foster reached a milestone along the way by going over 1,000 career rushing yards.
Foster ran 11 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Reighan Bosarge completed 21 of 29 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Raelyn Miller caught eight passes for 49 yards and a score, and Baylee Rone added four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.
The win moved the Hurricanes to 4-2.
Alma Bryant 27, Robertsdale 0
Earlier in the week, Alma Bryant shut out visiting Robertsdale on Tuesday behind Foster’s second 100-yard rushing game of the season. She carried 14 times for 127 yards and a touchdown.
Bosarge was 18 of 27 for 132 yards, threw a touchdown pass to Rone and ran for two scores. Rone caught seven passes for 66 yards.
The defense was relentless. Ali Hollinger led the Hurricanes with seven flag pulls, Grace Huddleston had two pulls and 11 quarterback hurries, and Adaleigh Lewis added two pulls and seven hurries.
Alma Bryant improved to 3-1 in Class 6A, Region 1. Robertsdale fell to 3-8 overall and 2-3 in the region.
Spanish Fort 21, Baldwin County 8
Spanish Fort stayed unbeaten in region play with a Thursday home win over Baldwin County, improving to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in Class 5A, Region 1.
Toros quarterback K.C. Slaton completed 16 of 24 passes for 105 yards and ran nine times for 45 yards and a touchdown. She also had two flag pulls and two pass breakups on defense. Maggie Polluck threw a touchdown pass, ran for another score and caught six passes for 30 yards. Nyla Gandy had two catches for 35 yards and a touchdown, and Kylei Prescott and Ella Gaines caught five passes apiece.
Prescott led the defense with seven flag pulls, and Keily Maldonado had six pulls and two sacks. Ali Hollinger, Ariana Hixon and Polluck each intercepted a pass.
Spanish Fort 39, Saraland 0
On Tuesday, the Toros rolled to a home region shutout of Saraland. Slaton did a bit of everything, completing 11 of 21 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, catching a touchdown pass and intercepting two passes, one of which she returned for a score.
Polluck completed two of her five passes, both for touchdowns, for 50 yards. She also caught five passes for 47 yards and a touchdown and had two flag pulls and a sack. Ali Hollinger caught a 35-yard touchdown pass and intercepted two passes, and Kylie Prescott had five pulls and a sack.
Saraland fell to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the region. Spanish Fort was also the area’s first Team of the Week earlier this season after a win over McGill-Toolen.
Austin Rolls in Region Opener
Fourth-ranked Austin opened Class 5A, Region 6 play Tuesday by overwhelming Athens on the road. The Black Bears led 19-0 after one quarter and 40-0 at halftime before the game ended under the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s mercy rule. Austin improved to 6-0.
Austin Cassidy completed 19 of 31 passes for 210 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Zyriah Sessoms ran eight times for 70 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 74 yards and another score.
Jade Malone caught three passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, Madison Rodgers had two catches for 42 yards and a score, and Brooklyn Burks caught a 10-yard touchdown pass. Jada Billings had a 25-yard touchdown catch and an interception, and Zcari Russell caught three passes for 37 yards.
Defensively, Neveah Forster intercepted two passes. Jazlyn Hullett had two flag pulls and a pass breakup, Kenslie Phillips and Makenzie Williams had two pulls each, Williams recorded a sack and Tyeshia Hodges had two sacks.
How the Mercy Rule Works
The AHSAA’s flag football mercy rule is designed to keep lopsided games from dragging on. Under the rule:
- A game is declared complete if a team leads by 34 or more points at any point in the fourth quarter.
- A game also ends if a team leads by 17 or more points with two minutes remaining.
- Once a lead reaches 21 points, the game clock runs continuously, stopping only for timeouts, injuries or at the referee’s discretion.
Birmingham and Central Alabama
Moody 31, St. Anne-Pacelli (Ga.) 13
Top-ranked Moody, which is also ranked seventh nationally, kept rolling in a home tri-match Thursday against St. Anne-Pacelli of Columbus, Georgia. Quarterback Serenity Rutledge was nearly perfect, completing 17 of 20 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns while running 12 times for 127 yards and three more scores.
Sophie White caught seven passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, and Kennedy Hockman had six catches for 105 yards and a score. Rutledge and Cheyenne Moore had 10 flag pulls apiece, White and Hockman each intercepted two passes and Sophia Dryburgh had two sacks.
Moody also routed nationally ranked No. 16 Spain Park 44-13 for its 23rd consecutive win. The Blue Devils are 10-0.
Homewood 41, Bessemer City 0
Homewood moved to 2-0 in Class 5A, Region 4 with a Tuesday home shutout. Kloeanne Smith completed all three of her passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass. Lindsey Anderson was 8 of 12 for 101 yards and three scores, and Bess Whitten also threw a touchdown pass.
Brenna Snow caught five passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns, Jakayla Byrd had three catches for 60 yards and a score, and Jemma Mims caught two passes for 55 yards, both touchdowns. Morgan Felton had six flag pulls, all behind the line of scrimmage, Emma Claire Wells had five and Mya Toole had three, two for a loss. Bessemer City fell to 0-3 and 0-2.
Vestavia Hills 27, Hewitt-Trussville 21
Vestavia Hills needed two late plays to hold off Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday. Freshman Alana Anderegg found Callie Davis on a 20-yard post-corner route with 20 seconds left, and after Hewitt-Trussville drove to the Vestavia 15, Emma Harper recorded a sack with 1.5 seconds remaining to seal it.
Anderegg completed 14 of 26 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, and Eden Logan was 6 of 19 for 51 yards and a score. Davis caught six passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns, and Hannah Walker had a 44-yard touchdown catch. Brielle Dawson had six flag pulls and a sack, and Layla Shunnarah had four pulls and an interception.
For Hewitt-Trussville, Taylor McLaughlin threw three touchdown passes, including a 66-yarder and a 2-yarder to Kaylee White, and was intercepted once while completing 6 of 18. White caught four passes for 104 yards and added two sacks and a pass breakup. Erin Coleman was 3 of 10 for 71 yards and had an interception, and Bayla Moore caught a 5-yard touchdown pass. Peerson Waller had five pulls, Emma Gilmer had an interception and two pulls, Ava Standridge had four pulls and Morgan Hoffman had an interception and four pulls.
Pell City 33, Huffman 7, and Pell City 20, Leeds 0
Pell City won twice at home. On Thursday against Huffman, Isla Alexander completed 3 of 5 passes for 48 yards and ran for a touchdown, Addy Rutherford was 6 of 9 for 60 yards and a touchdown, Savannah McGraw ran for a score and caught a touchdown pass, and Rayne Settle added a touchdown catch. The Panthers improved to 3-2.
On Tuesday against Leeds, Settle caught three passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns, ran five times for 23 yards and intercepted a pass. Rutherford was 3 of 8 for 86 yards and a touchdown, and McGraw had two carries for 34 yards and a touchdown to go with four sacks.
Greensboro 14, Breakthrough Charter 0
Greensboro’s defense produced both touchdowns in a Wednesday home win in Class 1A/4A, Region 3, with interception returns by Jariaha Davis and Liyah Bates. Nyia Banks and Joleesha Sanders had five flag pulls each, Sanders also intercepted a pass and Bates added three pulls.
Huntsville and North Alabama
Boaz 20, Gadsden City 13
Sixth-ranked Boaz built a 20-0 halftime lead Thursday, then held on after Gadsden City scored in the third and fourth quarters. Peyton Hall completed 24 of 34 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, to Brae Burke, AK Mitchell and Raina Underwood. Mitchell caught 13 passes for 78 yards, Burke had three for 56 and Underwood had four for 27.
Piper Hales and Hall had three flag pulls each, Hales added a sack, and Lauren McKee, Burke and Underwood each intercepted a pass.
Muscle Shoals 14, Decatur 6
Muscle Shoals knocked Decatur from the unbeaten ranks with a Tuesday home win and improved to 3-1. Decatur, now 3-1, got its lone score on Latoya Dancy’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Miley Daniels. Dancy also had eight flag pulls. Jazlyn Jackson completed 15 of 30 passes for 93 yards. Daniels caught four passes for 42 yards and added four pulls and an interception. Launa Geuss and Luna Gutierrez had five pulls each, Gutierrez added two sacks and four catches for 28 yards, and Daijah Seals had five pulls.
Oxford 13, Homewood 6, and Oxford 21, Springville 0
Oxford swept its home tri-match Wednesday. Against Homewood, the Yellow Jackets led 13-0 at halftime and kept the visitors scoreless until 1:50 remained, and Molly Brooks sacked the Homewood quarterback on the final play to preserve the win. Charleigh Trotter was 4 of 9 for 67 yards with touchdown passes of 22 yards to Skylar Brooks and 15 yards to Mi’Kynlei Mosley. Mosley ran nine times for 79 yards, and Savannah Carter ran 10 times for 78 yards and caught five passes for 48. Skylar Brooks had six pulls and two pass breakups, Brianna McNeal had a sack and four hurries, and Jordyn Alexander had eight pulls and a sack.
Against Springville, Oxford scored twice in the second quarter after a scoreless first and added a third-quarter touchdown. Trotter threw all three touchdowns to Carter and finished 6 of 11 for 67 yards. Carter had five catches for 48 yards and ran four times for 50, and Mosley ran nine times for 77 yards. Skylar Brooks had five pulls and two pass breakups, Molly Brooks had two pulls, a sack and six hurries, and Kylee Stephens, Jordyn Alexander and Tah’yauna Curry each had a sack.
Around the State
Auburn 14, Vestavia Hills 6
In a matchup of Large Schools Top 10 teams, No. 9 Auburn scored twice in the first half and won on the road at seventh-ranked Vestavia Hills. Taylor Plott threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tekaja Thomas, with Charlee Rhoten catching the extra-point pass, and Thomas added a 4-yard touchdown run, with Plott hitting Sophie Arrington for the extra point. Auburn intercepted four passes, one each by Pearl Simmons, Kaleah Palmer, SK Heisler and AR Kirk. Vestavia is 9-3.
Prattville Wins Tournament Title in Dothan
Fifth-ranked Prattville won all three of its games last Saturday to claim the RCX Sports NFL Tournament title in Dothan, pushing its record to 8-2.
- Prattville 34, Carroll-Ozark 0: Abby Kelly completed 10 of 14 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns. Kensley Hardy and London Williams each caught two touchdown passes, and Chloe Wallace ran for a score. Averie Patterson intercepted two passes, Wallace and Williams had one each, Keriana Bradley had five flag pulls, Alexis Jarrett had two sacks and Briana Moore had three pulls.
- Prattville 23, Dothan 6: Kelly went 16 of 20 for 115 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. Williams and Emma Berlin each caught a touchdown pass. Jarrett, Andrea Hall and Samiya McKeithen had a sack apiece, Hall intercepted a pass and Bradley had three pulls.
- Prattville 19, Albertville 0 (championship): Krystin Benson ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns, and Bradley returned an interception for a score and led the team with seven flag pulls. Prattville intercepted four passes in the final, with Averie Patterson, Brianna Moore and Chloe Wallace also picking one off.
Montgomery Catholic 26, Smiths Station 20
Quarterback Hayden Fitts broke loose for a 20-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give Montgomery Catholic, No. 2 in the Small Schools Top 10, a road win Tuesday over Smiths Station, No. 3 in the Large Schools poll. Smiths Station led 7-0 after one quarter, and the game was tied 13-13 at halftime.
Fitts ran 14 times for 105 yards, completed 15 of 24 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns and led the Knights with six flag pulls, though she was intercepted four times. Haley Ishman caught three passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns and returned an interception 41 yards. Aria Martinez had a 20-yard touchdown catch, Avery Sadler caught five passes for 44 yards and had five pulls, and Margaret McNeely had four pulls.
For Smiths Station, Brooke Norred completed 22 of 44 passes for 278 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Kennedi Treadwell caught five passes for 115 yards and a score, Sydney Morris had four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown and Janiya Jones had five catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Maylin Bailey had five pulls and an interception, Malayah Williams had four pulls, and Lynzie Mounce, Svetlana Cervantes and Treadwell each intercepted a pass.
Holtville 26, Billingsley 12
Holtville’s defense powered a Class 1A/4A, Region 4 road win Tuesday that snapped Billingsley’s three-game winning streak. Laylin Graham had eight flag pulls and an interception, Kennedy Ingram had six pulls, Kinsley Faulk and Trinity Stroud had five each, Hailey Phelps intercepted three passes and Grace Stroud had seven quarterback hurries.
For Billingsley, Mia Schuffert threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score. Kaliyah McCary caught six passes, and Ja’Kayla Harris had two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. Taliyah Moore had eight pulls, two sacks, three tackles for loss and two hurries, plus a 30-yard catch, and Maya Schuffert had two sacks.
Gulf Coast Teams to Watch
With Fairhope unbeaten and Alma Bryant 3-1 in Class 6A, Region 1, the two programs are shaping up as the teams to beat in that region. In Class 5A, Region 1, Spanish Fort sits at 3-0 with a 7-1 overall record. As region play continues into October, those standings will go a long way toward deciding postseason positioning for South Alabama’s top girls flag football teams.