2011 Prep Spotlight Week 8
Hanceville Back Runs For 369 yards Into Spotlight
Hanceville High School senior
tailback Diamond Simmons has had some big games this season, but none were
bigger than Friday's showdown in Class 3A, Region 5 in a battle of unbeatens
between Hanceville and Hamilton.
Simmons spearheaded a 42-24 win over the host Aggies with 369 yards rushing on
23 carries and grabbed the AHSAA's Week 9 Prep Spotlight in the process. He
scored four touchdowns on runs of 60, 28, 90 and 70 yards as the Bulldogs (9-0)
clinched the Region 5 title with a 7-0 record. He also made two interceptions on
defense.
Hamilton (8-1), finished second
at 6-1 after going 14-1 last season to win the region and reach the Class 3A
finals.
Simmons' performance edged out a record-setting effort by Trinity
Presbyterian senior place-kicker
Andy Pappanastos, who booted
four field goals in Trinity Presbyterian’s 40-21 win over Montgomery Academy
Friday night to become the AHSAA’s career
field goal leader. He had field goals of 24, 37, 41 and 44 yards to give him 14
this season and 46 overall.
Pappanastos came into the contest one behind state leader Philip Doyle of
Birmingham's Huffman High School (1983-86). Doyle's 43 field goals were a
national record at the time but has since been surpassed by four others
including current NFHS national record holder Jimmy Stevens of Oklahoma City
Heritage Hall (OK) with 50. Pappanastos is now just four away from tying that
mark with at least two games remaining in the Wildcats season.
His four field goals in one game is a career high and one shy of the
state single-game mark set by Ricky Beck of Geneva in 1970 and tied by Tim
Rogers of Mountain Brook in 1990 and Josh Woodard of Decatur in 2001.
Trinity (6-3) travels to
Elmore County Friday night for the final game of the regular season and is at
Gordo Nov. 5 in the first round of the Class 3A state football playoffs.
Item of interest:
Plainview saw its streak of 22 straight state playoff appearances come to an end
despite an off week. The Bears, who have had 11 region titles in that span,
finished tied with Geraldine at 4-4 in Class 3A, Region 7. The Bulldogs beat
Plainview 14-6 in their head-to-head battle in week three of the season
and claimed the fourth playoff spot behind Sardis, Madison Academy and
Sylvania in the nine-team region. Plainview had two trips to the 3A finals, two
trips to the 3A semifinals and six trips to the quarterfinals in the playoff
streak from 1989-2010.
Other top performances reported:
Troy Minnifield, Saint Jude:
Completed 8-of-13 passes for 363 yards and seven
touchdowns in the Pirates' 67-0 win over Fayetteville.
Sean Ward, Fruitdale:
Rushed 25 times for 271 yards and five touchdowns (5, 65, 28, 43, 1 yard) as
Fruitdale downed Saint Luke's 46-24. He also had two catches for 49 yards and a
sixth TD and recorded 11 tackles, forced one fumble and made one interception on
defense.
Jim Furlow, Oak Grove:
Rushed for 343 yards on 23 carries with touchdown runs of 9, 13, 7, 21 and 40
yards in a 61-32 win over Tarrant.
Jeremy Johnson, Carver-Montgomery:
Completed 25-of-36 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns
as the Wolverines beat Benjamin Russell 42-17 to clinch second place in Class
6A, Region 4 with the win.
Trent Thrash, Fyffe:
The sophomore running back carried 17 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns
in a 37-6 victory over Sand Rock. Thrash scored all three TDs in the first half
on runs of 11, 9 and 98 yards.
Johnathan "Rudy" Ford, New Hope:
The junior running back carried 31 times for 255 yards in a 42-41 loss to
Sylvania. Ford's totals included TDs of 31, 55, 2 and 6 yards in the fourth
quarter as the Indians nearly wiped out a 42-14 deficit in a game they had to
win to qualify for the playoffs. Ford’s other TD came from 1 yard out.
Deion Moore, Houston County:
The
Lions' quarterback rushed for 147 yards on 30 carries
and four touchdowns and was 15-of-21 passing for 122 yards and two more scores
in a 51-50 win over Cottonwood. Moore also had two interceptions on defense.
Brody White, Crossville:
The freshman quarterback/safety carried 17 times for 107 yards and completed
10-of-16 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns (20 and 12 yards) as the Lions
downed DAR 21-6. White also recovered a fumble for a touchback in the second
half, ending a DAR scoring threat with Crossville leading 14-6.
Kaleb Beck, Dadeville:
Completed 21-of-28 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 87
yards on 14 carries in the Tigers’ 32-31 win over Beauregard, which clinched the
region title and kept Dadeville's season perfect in the 4A battle of unbeatens.
Elijah Jenkins, Parker:
Was 18-of-25 passing for 270 yards and three TDs and rushed for 70 yards on 10
carries in a 41-35 overtime win over Pleasant Grove.
Eli Williams, Pleasant Grove:
Rushed for 255 yards on 24 carries with TD runs of 18, 12, 27, and 46 yards in
the 41-35 overtime loss to Parker.
Cameron Echols-Luper, Auburn:
Completed 6-of-14 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown and ran for 128 yards on
18 carries and two touchdowns in the Tigers' 24-16 win over rival Opelika.
Conner Bryant, Alma Bryant: Rolled up 306 yards total offense in a 47-27 victory over Mary Montgomery to keep the Hurricanes' playoff hopes alive. He completed 10-of-17 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns and also ran 14 times for 108 yards and three TDs, as the Hurricanes finished with a school-record 492 yards of total offense.
Dustyn Moseley, Jackson: Completed
14-of-21 passes for 232 yards and a score (6 yards), and scored on two runs (1
and 7 yards) as unbeaten Jackson defeated Thomasville 28-9 to claim the Class
4A, Region 1 title. It also snapped a 23-game Tigers winning streak.
Jason Smith, McGill-Toolen: Threw
touchdown passes of 59 and 6 yards and returned the opening kick of the second
half 75 yards for another score as undefeated McGill-Toolen (9-0) upset
defending 6A state champion Daphne 38-28. The loss snapped Daphne's winning
streak at 23 and dropped the Trojans to 8-1 this season as the Jackets claimed
the Class 6A, Region 2 championship. Smith also caught a 33-yard reverse pass
that set up a field goal just before halftime that gave McGill-Toolen the lead
for good, 24-21.
Chester Rogers, Lee-Huntsville:
Had 19 receptions and three touchdowns in a 48-26 loss to Muscle Shoals.
Garrius Chappell, Montevallo:
Rushed for 232 yards on 28 carries with TD runs of 3 and 34 yards in a 35-20 win
over Hale County to clinch a playoff berth in Class 3A, Region 4.
Curtis Williams, Collinsville:
The senior wide receiver/safety caught four passes for 139 yards and two
touchdowns and also intercepted two passes, returning one 48 yards for a TD,
in a 49-13 win over Valley Head. Williams' TD receptions covered 43 and 34
yards. All three of his scores came in the first half.
Zach King, Sylvania:
The junior quarterback/safety intercepted a two-point conversion pass with 55
seconds remaining, preserving Sylvania's 42-41 victory over New Hope. King
closed with six tackles. He also carried 13 times for 79 yards and one touchdown
(20 yards) and completed 6-of-15 passes for 133 yards and two TDs (40 and 26
yards). King also threw for a two-point conversion.
Rocqueze Harris, Carver-Montgomery:
Had 10 tackles and two interceptions, one he returned 35
yards for a TD, as the Wolverines beat Benjamin Russell 42-17.
Alex Plagenhoef, Providence
Christian: The Eagles senior, normally a tight end in kicking
situations, was called on to use his foot and responded with a 37-yard field
goal with 23 seconds left, giving Providence Christian a 17-16 win over Houston
Academy, the Eagles' first win in four games with their nearby rivals.
Plagenhoef also had seven tackles on defense, including one in a goal-line stand
inside the 2. He also had two receptions for 26 yards in the game. Teammate
Nick McCallister led
Providence with 11 tackles including three for losses.
Cody Trusty, Cottonwood:
Caught 10 passes for 125 yards and four touchdowns (20, 21, 20 and 15 yards) and
added a 5-yard touchdown run in the Bears' 51-50 loss to Houston County. Trusty
also had 12 tackles on defense.
Harrison Collier, Carroll:
Collier was credited with 17 tackles on defense and had a fumble recovery in the
Eagles' 34-20 win over Rehobeth.
Chris Green, New Brockton:
Threw an 11-yard pass to Jerrell Thomas in overtime and then made a fourth-down
tackle to help preserve the lead in the Gamecocks' 23-16 OT win over Samson. He
finished the game with 14 tackles on defense, 69 yards rushing with a 5-yard
touchdown and 120 yards passing, including the winning TD.
Jordan Chunn, Madison County:
Rushed for 176 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, threw a 46-yard TD pass
and made 16 tackles in a 41-25 win over Southside-Gadsden.
Wes Bentley, Pelham: Made 13 tackles as Pelham kept its playoff hopes alive with a 23-14 win over Homewood.
Torrandine Harris, Midfield:
Sparked the Patriots on defense
with 3½ sacks, a
blocked punt and fumble recovery as Midfield beat Fayette County 34-6 to win the
Class 4A, Region 5 title.
Emil Harris, Saraland: Rushed
for 293 yards and 4 touchdowns as Saraland rolled past W.S. Neal 42-28.
Tyler Rogers, Mobile Christian: Ran
for 201 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns covering 63, 19 and 17 yards in
Mobile Christian's 52-17 win against Cottage Hill Christian. Teammate
R.J. Mix added TD runs of
70, 45 and 6 yards and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown for the
Leopards.
Chris Johnson, Escambia County:
Completed 14-of-25 passes for a career-best 290 yards and four
touchdowns (71, 26, 96, 14 yards) in a 33-0 win over Monroe County. Teammate
Carl Staples had five
catches for 136 yards and TDs covering 71 and 26 yards.
ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION
Ron
Ingram
/ Director of Communications / 334-263-6994
Robby James has won nine AISA State Championships during his career at Catherine Academy, Morgan Academy and Marengo Academy.