Williamson Blanks LeFlore 30-0 for Fifth Shutout; Barnett Throws Five TDs as Bayside Academy Routs Snook Christian

MOBILE, Ala. — Williamson shuts out LeFlore for the sixth straight time in the series, and the Class 4A No. 2 Lions closed their regular season the way they spent most of it: with a dominant defense. Williamson ran for three touchdowns and blanked the Rattlers 30-0 on Thursday night, Oct. 22, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, collecting its fifth shutout of the season one week after suffering its first loss.

Across Mobile Bay, Bayside Academy turned a Thursday home game into a first-half showcase, as junior quarterback Davis Barnett threw five touchdown passes before the break in a 62-14 rout of Snook Christian. Elsewhere in the state, Class 5A No. 2 Parker and Handley also rolled to lopsided wins on a busy Thursday night of Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) football.

Williamson answers its first loss with a shutout

The Lions had a week to stew over their only setback of the season, a 12-0 loss to rival Vigor in front of a packed house at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Oct. 15. That defeat cost Williamson the No. 1 ranking it had held for most of the fall and left the Lions in a three-way tie atop Class 4A, Region 1 with Vigor and Orange Beach.

Williamson responded on the same field by controlling LeFlore from the start. The Lions built a 24-0 halftime lead and outgained the Rattlers 213 yards to 65 over the first two quarters.

The ground game did most of the damage. Captain Munnerlyn Jr. scored on an 8-yard run, Nathaniel Mitchell broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown and Jordan Jackson added a 26-yard scoring run. Mitchell was the workhorse, piling up 154 yards on just 14 carries, an average of 11 yards per attempt.

The passing game chipped in as well. Quarterback Thaddeus Wilder capped the first half by throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jakenyon Allen on the final play before intermission. Wilder completed 11 of 15 passes for 135 yards and the score, a marked improvement over the Vigor game, when the Lions’ offense managed only 41 total yards.

Joseth Contreras rounded out the scoring with a 35-yard field goal.

A defense that keeps adding to its résumé

Williamson entered the Vigor game leading Class 4A in scoring defense, having allowed only 25 points through six games, and the Lions picked up right where they left off against LeFlore. The shutout was the team’s fifth of the season.

It also extended a remarkable run in the series. Williamson has now shut out LeFlore in six consecutive meetings, outscoring the Rattlers 208-0 over that stretch.

Reginald Ward led the defense with 11 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, along with three pass breakups and a sack. Ellis McGaskin, a Florida commitment, added nine tackles, and Oklahoma commitment Jaylen Scott finished with eight.

McGaskin and Scott are two of the nine Mobile and Baldwin County players named last week to the Alabama roster for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. That game will be played Saturday, Dec. 12, at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus.

What the result means for the Class 4A, Region 1 race

With the win, Williamson finished the regular season at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in Class 4A, Region 1. The Lions do not have a game scheduled for the final week of the regular season and will wait to learn their first-round playoff opponent.

Their seeding, however, is not yet settled. Vigor, Williamson and Orange Beach entered the week tied for first in the region at 4-1, and the three teams split their head-to-head meetings: Orange Beach beat Vigor, Vigor beat Williamson and Williamson beat Orange Beach 42-0 in early October.

Vigor, now ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, hosts Satsuma on Friday, Oct. 23, and Orange Beach plays at Citronelle the same night. Citronelle has already been locked into the region’s No. 4 seed. If Vigor and Orange Beach also win, the AHSAA’s tiebreaker procedures will decide the order of the top three seeds. Every game next week for Mobile and Baldwin County teams is a non-region contest, so the region standings will be final once Friday’s games are complete.

In Classes 1A through 5A, the top four teams from each region qualify for 32-team state playoff brackets, and higher seeds host early-round games. All 12 AHSAA football and flag football state championship games will be played at Hancock Whitney Stadium, Dec. 1-5, giving Mobile County contenders such as Williamson and Vigor the chance to play for a title close to home.

LeFlore fell to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the region. The Rattlers close their regular season next week at Faith Academy.

Barnett, Bayside Academy roll past Snook Christian

Bayside Academy, ranked No. 3 in Private Class A, needed less than a half to put away Snook Christian at home in Daphne. The Admirals led 42-6 at halftime on the way to a 62-14 victory.

Barnett, a junior, threw five touchdown passes in the first half. Two went to Ladd Powers, on plays of 11 and 23 yards. Mason Edwards caught a 1-yard touchdown pass, and Caid Lyons hauled in a 4-yard scoring reception. Barnett’s final throw of the night was his longest, a 65-yard touchdown to Colton Lopasser shortly before the end of the second quarter. He finished 10 of 14 for 160 yards before heading to the sideline.

Lyons found the end zone a second time on special teams, returning a punt 60 yards for a touchdown.

Barnett has been one of the most productive passers in the area this fall. Earlier this month he was named Player of the Week after throwing for 359 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Cottage Hill.

Bayside’s reserves keep the scoreboard moving

Cooper Mason took over at quarterback for the final two possessions of the first half and played the rest of the game. After a slow start, in which he missed on his first six attempts, Mason completed two of his next three passes, including an 11-yard touchdown to Kellan Yamane.

Mason later connected with Hayden Coumanis for 24 yards and Frank Smith for 7 yards as Bayside stretched its lead to 62-6 in the third quarter. He finished 5 of 15 for 67 yards.

The Bayside defense made life difficult for Snook Christian quarterback Lukas Merchant, intercepting him three times. William Thompson had two of the interceptions, and Beckett Peacock had the other. Neill Guilbett forced a fumble.

Snook Christian’s points came on a 28-yard reverse by Merchant and a 1-yard touchdown run by Dallion Blake. Merchant ran in a two-point conversion for the game’s final points.

Admirals finish perfect in region play

The win lifted Bayside Academy to 8-1 overall and completed a 7-0 run through Private Class A, Region 1. The Admirals had already wrapped up the region title with a comeback 27-20 win over Mobile Christian on Oct. 16, a result that put Bayside atop a region that also sends Mobile Christian and Cottage Hill Christian to the postseason. The region’s fourth playoff spot will be decided Friday when Providence Christian plays at St. Luke’s, with both teams entering at 3-3 in the region.

Bayside travels to Gulf Shores next week for a non-region game to close the regular season. Gulf Shores is unbeaten, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A and has already clinched the Class 5A, Region 1 championship, making the trip a strong final test before the playoffs.

Snook Christian finished its first season as an AHSAA member at 1-7 overall and 0-7 in region play. The AHSAA began separating public and private schools into their own playoff classifications this year, and Snook Christian was placed in Private Class A, Region 1 with several of the area’s established programs.

Around the state: Parker and Handley

Outside the Mobile area, Class 5A No. 2 Parker shut out Gardendale 52-0 on Thursday in Birmingham to finish a perfect 7-0 run through Class 5A, Region 5. RaKaveon Goldsmith threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns for the Thundering Herd, who have scored 213 points over their last four games. Nedarius Davis led the defense with nine tackles.

Parker improved to 9-1 and has an open date next week before the playoffs begin. Gardendale, 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the region, is also off during the final week of the regular season.

In Class 3A, Region 4, Handley pulled away for a 48-27 road win at Munford. The Tigers scored 21 points in the second quarter and led 28-0 with 11 seconds left in the half, when Elijah Stegall threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Will McDonald. Munford answered with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Durham to Braylon Stewart as time expired, cutting the halftime margin to 28-7.

Handley’s other first-half scores came on a 1-yard run by Riley Watkins, a 43-yard pass from Elijah Stegall to McDonald and a 21-yard run by Shawn Stegall. After Munford’s Durham connected with Landon Gallahair on an 18-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, Elijah Bell answered with a 28-yard touchdown run to make it 35-14. Shawn Stegall then broke a 74-yard touchdown run with 9:30 left in the game. Durham found Gallahair again, this time for a 60-yard touchdown with 7:59 to play, but Elijah Stegall answered with a 74-yard scoring run of his own about a minute later. Livarus Embery scored on a 3-yard run with 1:31 left for Munford’s final points.

Elijah Stegall did a bit of everything for Handley. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 130 yards on nine carries and led the defense with 6.5 tackles. Shawn Stegall ran for 104 yards and two scores on only three carries, Ladarious Tucker added 88 yards on 11 attempts and McDonald caught two passes for 49 yards, both for touchdowns. Riley Johnson intercepted Durham once.

Durham threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-26 passing for Munford. Kalvin Castleberry caught five passes for 105 yards, Stewart had two catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, and Gallahair caught two passes for 78 yards, both for scores.

Handley improved to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the region, while Munford fell to 2-7 and 2-5.

What’s next for area teams

Thursday’s games opened the final week of region play. The rest of the Mobile and Baldwin County schedule is set for Friday, Oct. 23, headlined by UMS-Wright at McGill-Toolen for the Private Class AA, Region 1 championship, Fairhope at Daphne for the Class 6A, Region 1 title and Saraland at Spanish Fort in a game that will help settle the Class 5A, Region 1 seeding.

Next week’s slate, the final week of the regular season, includes LeFlore at Faith Academy and Bayside Academy at Gulf Shores. Williamson will be off while it waits to learn its first-round playoff matchup.