Unbeaten Patrician Academy Rushes Past Bessemer Academy 36-6 Behind Russell, Carr

Patrician Academy’s ground game was too much for Bessemer Academy on Thursday night. The AISA’s top-ranked Saints piled up yards on the ground behind two-touchdown nights from Ridge Russell and Ethan Carr and rolled to a 36-6 victory, pushing Patrician’s unbeaten streak to eight games.

Russell finished with 127 rushing yards, highlighted by a 52-yard scoring run in the second quarter, and Carr added 124 yards on the ground. Patrician built a 36-0 lead before Bessemer Academy found the end zone in the fourth quarter.

The win keeps Patrician perfect at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in AISA-West play with the regular season entering its final stretch.

How the Saints built the lead

Russell got Patrician started with a 4-yard touchdown run and then ran in the 2-point conversion himself for an 8-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Russell broke loose for his 52-yard touchdown, and Carr converted the 2-point try. Carr then scored on an 8-yard run, and Rhett Davis added the 2-point conversion to make it 24-0.

Carr struck again in the third quarter, once more from 8 yards out, and Tanner Perry capped Patrician’s scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that made it 36-0.

Bessemer Academy avoided the shutout when Kellan Randall caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Hank Dawson.

Scoring summary

• Patrician — Ridge Russell 4-yard run (Russell run), 8-0
• Patrician — Russell 52-yard run (Ethan Carr run), 16-0
• Patrician — Carr 8-yard run (Rhett Davis run), 24-0
• Patrician — Carr 8-yard run, third quarter, 30-0
• Patrician — Tanner Perry 2-yard run, fourth quarter, 36-0
• Bessemer Academy — Kellan Randall 23-yard pass from Hank Dawson, 36-6

Two backs, one dominant night

The story of the game was Patrician’s backfield. Russell and Carr combined for 251 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and the Saints scored all five of their touchdowns on the ground. Their success on 2-point tries — three conversions, all by run — added to the margin.

Carr’s impact went well beyond his carries. On defense, he was credited with 3.5 tackles, an interception and a sack, giving him a hand in both sides of the lopsided result. Zack Thompson led the Patrician defense with five tackles.

That defensive effort kept Bessemer Academy off the scoreboard for more than three quarters. Patrician’s 36-0 lead held until the fourth-quarter touchdown pass.

By the numbers

• Ridge Russell, Patrician: 127 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns (4 and 52 yards), one 2-point conversion
• Ethan Carr, Patrician: 124 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns (both 8 yards), one 2-point conversion; 3.5 tackles, an interception and a sack on defense
• Tanner Perry, Patrician: 2-yard rushing touchdown
• Rhett Davis, Patrician: 2-point conversion run
• Zack Thompson, Patrician: team-high five tackles
• Kyson Randall, Bessemer Academy: 8 of 15 passing, 111 yards
• Hank Dawson, Bessemer Academy: 4 of 5 passing, 61 yards, one touchdown
• Kilo Clark, Bessemer Academy: five receptions, 65 yards
• Kellan Randall, Bessemer Academy: 23-yard touchdown reception

Taken together, Bessemer Academy’s two quarterbacks completed 12 of 20 passes for 172 yards. Patrician’s scoring, by contrast, came entirely on the ground, a sign of how firmly the Saints controlled the line of scrimmage.

Bessemer Academy through the air

Bessemer Academy leaned on its passing game. Kyson Randall completed 8 of 15 passes for 111 yards, and Dawson went 4 of 5 for 61 yards, including the touchdown. Kilo Clark was the top receiver with five catches for 65 yards.

The loss evened Bessemer Academy’s record at 4-4 overall and 3-4 in league play.

About the programs

Patrician Academy is a private school in Butler, the seat of Choctaw County in West Alabama, near the Mississippi line. The Saints compete in the Alabama Independent School Association, which governs athletics for many of the state’s private and independent schools, and the program won an AISA state championship in 2022.

Bessemer Academy is located in Bessemer, in Jefferson County southwest of Birmingham, and also competes in the AISA.

The AISA, separate from the Alabama High School Athletic Association that governs most public schools, organizes its football members into classes and regions, with region results determining playoff seeding. Patrician’s 7-0 mark in AISA-West play puts the Saints in a strong position as the regular season winds down.

What’s next

Patrician goes on the road next week to face Clarke Prep, the private school in Grove Hill, in a matchup between two West Alabama programs. Grove Hill, the seat of neighboring Clarke County, sits a short drive east of Butler, and games between the area’s small private schools tend to draw strong local followings. Bessemer Academy also travels next week, visiting South Choctaw Academy, another Choctaw County AISA school.

With eight wins already in hand and only a handful of regular-season games left, each remaining region game carries weight for Patrician’s seeding. A win at Clarke Prep would push the Saints to 9-0 and keep their AISA-West record perfect.

For the Saints, the formula on Thursday was straightforward: run the ball, finish drives and let the defense take care of the rest. If Russell and Carr keep producing the way they did against Bessemer Academy, Patrician will be a difficult team to slow down the rest of the way.