THEODORE, Ala. — Mary G. Montgomery finished a season that will end without a playoff trip by playing some of its best football of the year. Kam Smith ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass as the Class 6A Vikings beat Theodore 35-13 on Friday night, Oct. 30, closing the year with a six-game winning streak.
Across Mobile County, Carter Logan’s late interception return gave McGill-Toolen a 35-28 win at Baker, and Spanish Fort pulled away from St. Paul’s 35-14 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Mary G. Montgomery 35, Theodore 13
MGM finished 7-3, a record that would have put the Vikings in the playoffs if the program were not on probation. The Alabama High School Athletic Association barred the Semmes school from this season’s postseason after finding that it violated the association’s recruiting rule in connection with “Freshman Signing Day” events. A federal lawsuit filed by the mothers of two affected players was dismissed on Oct. 23.
MGM coach Alex Page said the win showed how much his team improved over the fall.
“(This win) means we got better and better all throughout the year,” Page said. “We had to jump on these guys.”
The Vikings did exactly that. Only two minutes into the game, quarterback Elijah James picked up a fumbled snap and threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Smith. Ethan McCutcheon then blocked a Theodore punt and recovered it in the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
“The big momentum changer was the blocked punt for a touchdown,” Page said.
Smith added touchdown runs of 28 and 4 yards in the second quarter, and MGM led 28-0 at halftime.
Theodore got on the board in the third quarter when Kendrick Able broke loose for a 74-yard touchdown run. Able led all rushers with 158 yards on 20 carries. Smith answered midway through the quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run that made it 35-6, but James Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a Theodore score.
The six-game winning streak included a 24-13 win over Foley a week earlier and a win over Daphne earlier in October that was preserved by a stop on a two-point conversion attempt. Smith has been the engine of the offense all season, including a 222-yard rushing performance in a win over Baker in early October.
Theodore finished the regular season 5-5 and 4-3 in Class 5A, Region 1. The Bobcats travel to Homewood for the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
McGill-Toolen 35, Baker 28
Baker had the ball late in a tight game before McGill-Toolen’s defense ended it. With 1:51 remaining, Carter Logan intercepted Hornets quarterback Tate Graham and returned the pick 84 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
The finish spoiled a record night for Baker receiver Jamien Pryor, who caught a career-high 14 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns, on plays of 33, 29 and 15 yards. Graham also scored on a 1-yard run. A week earlier, Graham threw six touchdown passes, four of them to Pryor, in a 49-21 win over Robertsdale.
McGill-Toolen got two touchdown runs each from Ladarien Miller, on carries of 2 and 3 yards, and Kevin Daughtry, from 4 and 79 yards.
The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season 8-2. One of their two losses came in the region-deciding 20-17 game against UMS-Wright on Oct. 23. McGill-Toolen enters the Private Class AA playoffs as the No. 2 seed from Region 1 and will host Faith Academy in the first round.
Baker, which had won three straight before Friday, finished 5-5 and will host Enterprise in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Spanish Fort 35, St. Paul’s 14
MOBILE, Ala. — Spanish Fort broke open a close game in the second half to beat St. Paul’s and finish the regular season 7-3.
Quarterback J.J. Thibodeaux was nearly perfect through the air, completing 13 of 16 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for scores of 1 and 7 yards. All three of his touchdown passes went to Devin McKenzie, who caught eight passes for 159 yards and scored on receptions of 35, 10 and 75 yards.
Spanish Fort’s defense controlled the first half, holding St. Paul’s to 21 yards of total offense and one first down before the break.
St. Paul’s scored on a 7-yard run by Roberts Law and a 4-yard run by Will Abrams.
The win was a welcome rebound for the Toros, who lost to region champion Gulf Shores and to Saraland in October. Spanish Fort travels to Helena for the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. St. Paul’s, which finished 4-6, visits Montgomery Catholic in the first round of the Private Class AA playoffs.
Playoff pairings for these teams
- Theodore (5-5) at Homewood, Class 5A first round
- Spanish Fort (7-3) at Helena, Class 5A first round
- Enterprise at Baker (5-5), Class 6A first round
- Faith Academy at McGill-Toolen (8-2), Private Class AA first round
- St. Paul’s (4-6) at Montgomery Catholic, Private Class AA first round
- Mary G. Montgomery (7-3): season complete, ineligible for postseason
A new playoff format ends in Mobile
This year’s playoffs are the first under the AHSAA’s new structure, which reclassified member schools and separated public and private schools for championship play. Class 6A expanded to six playoff teams per region, and all 16 Private Class AA teams qualify for the postseason.
The five-week tournaments begin next week. All of the state championship games are scheduled for Dec. 2-5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile, giving local teams a chance to finish their seasons close to home.
Key performers
- Kam Smith, MGM: 141 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs, 51-yard TD catch
- Ethan McCutcheon, MGM: blocked punt recovered for TD
- Kendrick Able, Theodore: 20 carries, 158 yards, 74-yard TD
- James Davis, Theodore: 99-yard kickoff return TD
- Carter Logan, McGill-Toolen: 84-yard interception return TD with 1:51 left
- Kevin Daughtry, McGill-Toolen: TD runs of 4 and 79 yards
- Jamien Pryor, Baker: 14 catches, 215 yards, 3 TDs
- J.J. Thibodeaux, Spanish Fort: 13 of 16, 243 yards, 3 TD passes, 2 TD runs
- Devin McKenzie, Spanish Fort: 8 catches, 159 yards, 3 TDs
