MOBILE, Ala. — With a region title on the line and two of his running backs unavailable, UMS-Wright quarterback Max Fowler put the final drive on his own shoulders. The senior carried the ball on each of the Bulldogs’ last five snaps, converted a fourth-and-1 with a 12-yard run and let the clock expire on a 20-17 victory over McGill-Toolen on Friday night, Oct. 23, that clinched the UMS-Wright region title in Private Class AA, Region 1.
The win was the eighth straight for UMS-Wright, which improved to 8-1. McGill-Toolen, which entered the night with the same unbeaten mark in region play, fell to 7-2. Both teams will host first-round playoff games after one more regular-season week.
Fowler is known as a quarterback who can extend plays by escaping pressure and throwing on the move. On Friday, he showed he can also lower his shoulder and pick up the hard yards when the situation demands it.
A five-play finish
The decisive sequence began after McGill-Toolen’s Ladarien Miller scored on a 4-yard run with 3:54 left, trimming UMS-Wright’s lead to 20-17. The Yellow Jackets needed a defensive stop to get one more possession. They never got it.
UMS-Wright kept the ball the rest of the way, and Fowler ran on each of the final five plays. He picked up 11 yards, then 8, then 1. On third-and-1, he was hit in the backfield and spun his way back to the line of scrimmage without a gain, setting up fourth down.
Facing fourth-and-1 at the McGill-Toolen 41-yard line, the Bulldogs kept the ball in their quarterback’s hands. Fowler ran into the middle of the line, bounced outside to the right and found open space for a 12-yard gain that ended the Yellow Jackets’ hopes.
The Bulldogs were short-handed in the backfield. Leading rusher Richard Scott did not carry the ball while nursing an injury, and starting running back Illijah Scott left during the final drive with an injury. That left the 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior quarterback as the focal point of the offense in the closing minutes.
“I knew I was getting the ball. I knew I was going to have to make a play. I didn’t see anything inside. Then I looked outside and I saw a bunch of grass, and I went and got it. They’ve got a great line up front and they’ve got some really great players on defense, but at the end of the day I think we just wanted it more, and that’s what helped us win that.”
— UMS-Wright quarterback Max Fowler
How the game unfolded
The first half was about as even as a game can be. The teams traded field goals for much of the opening two quarters, and each finished the half with exactly 143 yards of total offense.
UMS-Wright kicker Bud Urquhart supplied the Bulldogs’ early points with field goals of 21 yards and a career-long 40 yards, giving UMS-Wright a 6-3 lead. McGill-Toolen answered with the first of Miller’s two touchdown runs and took a 10-6 lead into halftime.
The Bulldogs seized control after intermission. Fowler scored on touchdown runs of 11 and 1 yards, and UMS-Wright built a 20-10 lead. Miller’s second touchdown made it a three-point game with 3:54 remaining, but UMS-Wright’s offensive line and quarterback made sure McGill-Toolen’s offense never returned to the field.
Scoring summary
- UMS-Wright: Bud Urquhart 21-yard field goal
- UMS-Wright: Bud Urquhart 40-yard field goal
- McGill-Toolen: field goal (part of the first-half exchange)
- McGill-Toolen: Ladarien Miller touchdown run (McGill-Toolen led 10-6 at halftime)
- UMS-Wright: Max Fowler 11-yard touchdown run
- UMS-Wright: Max Fowler 1-yard touchdown run (UMS-Wright led 20-10)
- McGill-Toolen: Ladarien Miller 4-yard touchdown run, 3:54 left in the fourth quarter
Stat leaders
Fowler completed 16 of 28 passes for 214 yards and added 50 rushing yards on 18 carries, including both UMS-Wright touchdowns.
McGill-Toolen’s Seth Demouey had a productive night on the ground, finishing with 65 yards on 15 carries. Miller accounted for both of the Yellow Jackets’ touchdowns.
- Max Fowler, UMS-Wright: 16 of 28 passing, 214 yards; 18 carries, 50 yards, 2 rushing TDs
- Bud Urquhart, UMS-Wright: field goals of 21 and 40 yards (career long)
- Seth Demouey, McGill-Toolen: 15 carries, 65 yards
- Ladarien Miller, McGill-Toolen: 2 rushing TDs, including a 4-yarder with 3:54 left
Ending a region-title drought
For Fowler and his fellow seniors, the championship carried extra meaning. UMS-Wright had gone four years without a region title.
“We haven’t won a region title in (four years). It kind of sets the standard for the teams that come behind us.”
— Max Fowler
The victory capped a strong run for the Bulldogs since a season-opening loss. Earlier this fall, UMS-Wright held off St. Michael 17-13 in its region opener, beat Faith Academy 35-10 behind four first-half touchdowns from Fowler and outlasted Montgomery Catholic 33-27 in double overtime on Fowler’s game-winning pass to Richard Scott. Last week, the Bulldogs shut out St. Paul’s 31-0 in the Battle of Old Shell Road for the 700th win in program history.
Fowler has collected weekly honors along the way, including Zaxby’s Player of the Week recognition after the Faith Academy game and the Big Friday Kickoff Player of the Week award after the double-overtime win over Montgomery Catholic.
A long-dormant rivalry returns
Friday’s game renewed one of Mobile’s oldest high school football rivalries. McGill-Toolen and UMS-Wright first met in 1922, but the two schools had not played since 2013. McGill-Toolen entered the night leading the all-time series 38-20-2 and had won the last four meetings and seven of the last eight.
UMS-Wright’s victory snapped that four-game skid in the series and came in a matchup McGill-Toolen coach David Faulkner had described during the week as a contrast in styles: the Yellow Jackets’ ball-control running game against the Bulldogs’ fast-paced, no-huddle offense. In the end, it was UMS-Wright that controlled the ball when it mattered most.
Unbeaten in Alabama, both teams’ losses came in Mississippi
Both teams entered the night without a loss to an in-state opponent. Each of their defeats had come in the same city.
UMS-Wright lost its season opener to Jackson Prep in Jackson, Mississippi. McGill-Toolen lost the following week in Jackson to Jackson Academy, a 16-0 shutout that had been its only loss before Friday.
McGill-Toolen had won its way to the region final with a pair of dramatic finishes. Kicker Ollie Poiroux beat St. Michael 20-17 with a 32-yard field goal as time expired in September, and he did it again last week with a 22-yarder at the horn to beat Montgomery Catholic 16-14. Faulkner, in his fourth season, had his best start at the school.
Alabama commitment Pauley draws a Crimson Tide coach
The highest-profile recruit on the field was McGill-Toolen senior defensive lineman A.J. Pauley, an Alabama commitment. Pauley has been selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and is ranked No. 28 in the latest Best in Bama rankings, a list of the state’s top high school football prospects regardless of classification or graduating class.
Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach was in attendance to watch him.
Pauley is one of nine Mobile and Baldwin County players on the Alabama roster for the all-star game, which will be played Saturday, Dec. 12, at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus.
What the coaches said
UMS-Wright coach Sam Williams said his team has already faced the likely opponents on its early playoff path.
“If we just keep trusting what we’re doing, the possibilities are endless. The next three games (in the playoffs), we’ve seen and beaten all of these opponents. We’ve got to play better, but I’m glad to be where we’re at right now.”
— UMS-Wright coach Sam Williams
Faulkner pointed to mistakes and the Yellow Jackets’ inability to get the ball back late, but said the team’s season goals remain in front of it.
“We made too many critical errors at crucial times to win a game like that. Then we couldn’t get them off the field at the end to have a chance to get the ball and go win. But our goals are still intact, we’ve just got to go back to work and improve our team.”
— McGill-Toolen coach David Faulkner
What the result means for the playoffs
Private Class AA is one of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s new private-school classifications, and every team in the classification qualifies for the postseason. Because the private classifications have far fewer schools than the public ones, the regular season is mostly about seeding and home-field advantage.
In Region 1, the first-round pairings match the No. 1 seed against No. 8, No. 2 against No. 7, No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 against No. 5. Friday’s game was set up as a winner-take-all contest for the top seed, with the loser taking the No. 2 spot. That puts UMS-Wright at No. 1 and McGill-Toolen at No. 2, and both will open the playoffs at home.
The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds were to be sorted out Friday night when Montgomery Catholic visited St. Michael, with both teams entering at 4-2 in the region.
The road to a state title ends close to home this year. All 12 AHSAA football and flag football state championship games will be played at Hancock Whitney Stadium, Dec. 1-5.
What’s next
- UMS-Wright (8-1): hosts Baldwin County in its regular-season finale, then hosts a first-round playoff game.
- McGill-Toolen (7-2): visits Baker to close the regular season, then hosts a first-round playoff game.
Next week’s games are non-region contests for Mobile and Baldwin County teams and will not affect playoff seeding.
