Week 11 Roundup: UMS-Wright Holds Off Baldwin County; Citronelle, Cottage Hill Christian Post Shutouts

MOBILE, Ala. — The Week 11 roundup of Alabama high school football is a story of teams heading into the playoffs on a roll. UMS-Wright held off a late Baldwin County rally to win 50-39 and finish the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, while Cottage Hill Christian and Citronelle posted lopsided shutouts on Friday night, Oct. 30, the final night of the regular season.

Around the state, Homewood beat Oak Mountain for its eighth straight win and now awaits Theodore in the first round, Montgomery Academy completed a perfect 10-0 regular season, and West Morgan coach Drew Phillips became his program’s all-time winningest coach.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs begin next Friday, Nov. 6. This is the first postseason under the AHSAA’s new structure, which separated public and private schools for championship play, and every state title game will be played Dec. 2-5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile.

Results from McGill-Toolen’s 35-28 win at Baker, Mary G. Montgomery’s 35-13 win at Theodore and Fairhope’s 29-21 win over Class 4A No. 1 Vigor are covered in separate stories. Here is a look at the rest of Friday’s notable results.

UMS-Wright 50, Baldwin County 39

Max Fowler threw five touchdown passes and Colby Weaver intercepted two passes as UMS-Wright won its ninth straight game. The Bulldogs’ only loss came in the season opener against Jackson Prep of Mississippi.

Fowler spread his scoring throws around. He hit Richard Scott for touchdowns of 14 and 46 yards and found Manning Amorde for 38 yards, Ty Mabrey for 30 yards and Ilijah Scott for 41 yards. Ilijah Scott also ran for a 6-yard touchdown, and Robert Israel added a 12-yard scoring run.

UMS-Wright led 50-21 entering the fourth quarter before Baldwin County scored the game’s final 18 points to make the final margin respectable. The Tigers, from Bay Minette, finished the season 3-7.

The win capped a strong final month for the Bulldogs. On Oct. 16, UMS-Wright shut out St. Paul’s 31-0 for the 700th win in program history. A week later, Fowler carried the ball on each of the final five snaps of a 20-17 win at McGill-Toolen that clinched the Private Class AA, Region 1 championship, the school’s first region title in four years.

As the region’s top seed, UMS-Wright will host Houston Academy in the first round of the Private Class AA playoffs. In the new private-school bracket, all eight Region 1 teams qualified, and the No. 1 seed meets the No. 8 seed in the opening round.

Cottage Hill Christian 53, Chickasaw 0

Shamar Toodle was nearly perfect through the air as Cottage Hill Christian won its fourth straight game to close the regular season. Toodle completed 8 of 9 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Gavin Maddox and Aaron Ward for the scores.

Toodle and Ward have been a productive combination all fall. Their corner-of-the-end-zone connection in a 41-13 win over St. Luke’s Episcopal earlier in October was honored as the area’s play of the week.

The Warriors spread the rushing touchdowns among five players: James Davis, Chase Mose, Conner Lesure, Ethan Womble and Darius Johnson each scored on the ground.

The defense was just as dominant. Allen Green led the way with six tackles, three sacks and a safety, and Cottage Hill Christian held Chickasaw to minus-12 yards of total offense.

The Warriors, who beat Northside Methodist 75-0 a week earlier, finished the regular season 8-2. They travel to Montgomery to face Trinity in the first round of the Private Class A playoffs. Chickasaw, which was eliminated from Class 2A playoff contention before the end of region play, finished 1-9 after eight straight losses.

Citronelle 48, Escambia County 0

Jacob Knight needed only six touches to score five touchdowns as Citronelle finished the regular season with a shutout of Escambia County.

Knight caught touchdown passes of 63, 11 and 24 yards from quarterback Walker Lynch and scored on runs of 21 and 54 yards. He finished with three catches for 98 yards and three carries for 70 yards.

Lynch completed 5 of 8 passes for 130 yards and four touchdowns, with Timothy Rivers catching the other scoring pass. Kyrin Grice returned an interception for a touchdown, and the Citronelle defense held Escambia County, from Atmore, to 38 total yards.

The Wildcats have finished strong. A week earlier, they upset No. 9-ranked Orange Beach 38-7 in a result that helped shape the Class 4A, Region 1 playoff seeding. Citronelle (8-2) travels to Marbury for a Class 4A first-round game.

Gulf Shores 41, Bayside Academy 0

Gulf Shores completed a perfect 10-0 regular season with its fourth shutout of the year. Quarterback Major Hudspeth threw five touchdown passes, two to Carter Davis and one each to Janoy Ferguson, Brayden Lawson and Evan McCrary, and Elijah Malone returned a punt for a touchdown.

It is the Dolphins’ second 10-0 regular season in four years. The 2023 team finished 15-0 and won the Class 5A state championship. As the Class 5A, Region 1 champion, Gulf Shores will host Ramsay in the first round.

Homewood 24, Oak Mountain 15

Homewood, the team Theodore will face in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs, built a 21-0 lead and held on for its eighth straight win.

Timothy Roshell threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Beckam Newell to cap the opening drive. Cyn’mauree Debruce scored on a 5-yard run, and Jack Myers added a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 midway through the third quarter.

Oak Mountain’s Charlie Vacarella threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Brody Hughes late in the third quarter, and Homewood’s Jozy Hicks answered with a 39-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead with eight minutes left. Vacarella threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Brewer with four seconds remaining, and Oak Mountain added the two-point conversion for the final margin.

Homewood used two quarterbacks effectively. Myers completed 13 of 17 passes for 146 yards, and Roshell was 5 of 6 for 93 yards. Newell caught nine passes for 122 yards, and Kamryn Foster had seven catches for 92 yards. Hicks made all three extra-point attempts along with his field goal.

Homewood (9-1) won the Class 5A, Region 4 championship and will host Theodore (5-5), the fourth-place team from Class 5A, Region 1. Oak Mountain finished 2-8 and missed the Class 6A playoffs.

Calera 55, Tuscaloosa County 21

Class 5A Calera evened its record at 5-5 by routing visiting Tuscaloosa County, which finished 0-10. It is the third winless season in Tuscaloosa County history and the first since 2015, according to research by the Alabama High School Football Historical Society.

The teams were tied 7-7 after one quarter before Calera scored 21 points in the second quarter and 21 more in the third.

Kristian Gallups-Whatley completed 22 of 31 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns. Owen Richardson caught three of those scoring passes and finished with four catches for 118 yards, and Amari Lee caught an 18-yard touchdown. Ean Williamson had six catches for 70 yards.

AJ Motley ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, BJ Welch had a touchdown among his four carries for 32 yards, and Xzavier Boone also scored on the ground. Joshua Littleton intercepted two passes for Calera.

New Hope 51, Westminster Christian 7

New Hope ended a seven-game losing streak against Westminster Christian with an explosive first half. The Indians outgained the Wildcats 339 yards to 209 and forced three turnovers: two first-half interceptions and a recovered kickoff in the second half.

Quarterback Lucas Terry completed 9 of 12 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 41 yards on 10 carries. He opened the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Landon Tate-Mathews, who later broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Tate-Mathews finished with 77 rushing yards on just two carries and added four catches for 60 yards.

Terry threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Terry and a 14-yard scoring pass to Brody Gowan in the second quarter as New Hope built a 36-0 lead. Gowan led all receivers with four catches for 97 yards and also ran for a touchdown. Derrick LiFambe scored twice in the second half to make it 51-0.

Raif Robinson scored Westminster’s only touchdown on a 7-yard run with 1:50 left, and Bryce Gothart ran 17 times for 59 yards. New Hope (7-3) travels to Hatton in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. Westminster Christian (1-9) visits American Christian in the first round of the Private Class AA playoffs.

Whitesburg Christian 21, West Limestone 14

Whitesburg Christian finished the regular season with a road win in Lester. The Warriors led 14-7 at halftime on touchdown runs by quarterback Greer Lovell and Aidan Cook, and Cook’s second touchdown made it 21-7 in the second half. West Limestone scored in the fourth quarter but could get no closer.

Travis McCluskey ran 23 times for 104 yards and a touchdown for West Limestone, and quarterback Brayden Moore threw for 57 yards and ran for a score. Emanuel Juarez caught four passes for 47 yards. Whitesburg Christian (7-3) travels to Hope Christian in the first round of the Private Class A playoffs. West Limestone (4-6) missed the postseason.

West Morgan 35, Cullman 13

West Morgan’s fourth straight win came with a milestone. The victory over Class 5A Cullman in Trinity was the 58th for Drew Phillips as West Morgan’s head coach, making him the program’s career wins leader.

Kylen Stover ran 14 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and Jabari Wiggins added 108 yards and two scores on 24 carries. Quarterback Brantley Phillips threw for 67 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown to Will Smith, and Ellis Johnson caught four passes for 43 yards.

West Morgan (7-3) hosts Moody in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. Cullman (3-7) missed the postseason for the second straight year.

Glencoe 31, White Plains 21

Glencoe scored twice in the fourth quarter, on Jayman Mintz’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Borntrager and Barry Hill’s 38-yard field goal, to snap a two-game losing streak. Mintz threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-25 passing, including a 56-yard score to Jalen Hunter and touchdowns of 55 and 32 yards to Borntrager.

White Plains’ Jayden Murray ran 16 times for 115 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown. The loss ended the Wildcats’ six-game winning streak. White Plains (6-4) plays at Jackson in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs; Glencoe (5-5) did not qualify.

Alexandria 49, Handley 14

Alexandria ran for 392 yards, including 213 from Jeffrey Beason, in a rout of Handley. Johnathan Santos and Cole Wheeler scored first-quarter touchdowns for a 14-0 lead, and Beason added scoring runs of 48 and 5 yards in the second quarter as Alexandria led 28-14 at halftime. Handley’s scores came on 50-yard runs by Ladarious Tucker and Shawn Stegall.

Monqrea Morris Jr. ran for a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter, Wheeler threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Kirby, and Jayden Nixon capped the scoring with a 9-yard run with 1:08 left. Alexandria (9-1) hosts Hamilton in the Class 4A first round, and Handley (7-2) hosts W.S. Neal in Class 3A.

Montgomery Academy 42, St. Anne-Pacelli 0

Montgomery Academy completed a 10-0 regular season, the fourth in school history, with a shutout of St. Anne-Pacelli of Columbus, Georgia. Quarterback Reid McBride completed 10 of 14 passes for 200 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. Ali Nelson ran 19 times for 179 yards and two scores and caught a 34-yard touchdown pass, and Jarrett Friendly had six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

Knox Morrison and Will Kitchens had nine tackles apiece, and William Marks added eight tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception. Montgomery Academy hosts Providence Christian (5-5), which earned the final Private Class A, Region 1 playoff berth with a 27-20 win at Mobile’s St. Luke’s Episcopal, in the first round.

First-round games to watch

• Houston Academy at UMS-Wright, Private Class AA
• Cottage Hill Christian (8-2) at Trinity, Private Class A
• Citronelle (8-2) at Marbury, Class 4A
• Ramsay at Gulf Shores (10-0), Class 5A
• Theodore (5-5) at Homewood (9-1), Class 5A
• Providence Christian (5-5) at Montgomery Academy (10-0), Private Class A

The road to Mobile

The AHSAA’s new format will crown eight football champions this season instead of seven. Public schools compete in Classes 1A through 6A, while private schools play for titles in Private Class A and Private Class AA. Class 6A expanded to six playoff teams per region, with the top two seeds earning first-round byes, and every private school in Private Class AA qualified for the postseason.

The five-week tournaments end close to home for Mobile and Baldwin County fans. All of the championship games are scheduled for Dec. 2-5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium, the home of the South Alabama Jaguars.