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The 1996 Blount Leopards entered the season with a goal of winning their third state championship of the 1990s. They fell short last season, losing to Homewood 17-12 in the title game. Blount opened as the No. 2 ranked team in Class 5A and wanted to prove they deserved to be the top ranked team.           The Leopards returned seven starters to a squad that was very good last year. They allowed opponents to only score 7.8 point a game and dominated the turnover margin. The offense returned only four starters so the defense will be counted on early in the season.            Senior Aaron James (6-foot-0, 170 pounds) and junior Tyrone James (5-11, 165) would be counted on to both play important rolls in the upcoming season at the quarterback position. Other key players include; CB Larry Casher, WR Marlon Reed, DE Quinten Malone, RB Jermaine Morrisette, FB James Barren (5-10, 185).

Williamson 0   0   7   0   7     Blount 0   0   12   0   12

Larry Casher returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown following the only score of the game for the Williamson Lions with 5:11 to go in the third period as the Blount Leopards withstood an upset bid by the Lions. Blount eventually held on for the hard fought 12-7 win over Williamson to open the 1996 season.           After a scoreless first half, Blount struck first when Aaron James found Deandre Green open for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 7:19 left in the third. Williamson came right back to score before the heroic kickoff return by Casher. James finished 6-of-14 for 118 yards and the touchdown. Green caught 4 passes for 54 yards.

Robertsdale 7   0   0   7   14     Blount 7   7         34

The Leopards turned the football over three times but still managed to trounce Robertsdale 34-14 in week two of the season. After leading only 14-7 at the half, the Leopards broke the game open in the second half for the win. Leoanie Williams raced 65 yards for the first score and Aaron James followed it with a 39-yard dash for the first half points.

Blount 14   13   7   0   34     Shaw 0   0   0   0   0

Following a week off, Blount finally played like the number one team in Class 5A as they shutout Shaw in week three 34-0. Aaron James completed 7-of-13 passes for 162 yards and ran for another 122 yards on 9 carries. The defense held the Rebels to just 86 yards of total offense as they registered their first shutout of the year.           The Leopards led 27-0 at the half as they rolled up 443 yards of offense and 16 first downs despite playing reserves most of the second half of the game.

Blount 14   12   6   6   38     LeFlore 0   0   0   0   0

Behind a brilliant performance by quarterback Aaron James, the Leopards registered their second shutout of the season in a 38-0 win over LeFlore. James completed 10-of-17 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns.            The defense held the Rattlers to just four first downs and a total of 53 yards of offense. Blount scored on their opening possession when James tossed a 45-yard pass to Marlon Reed. On their next possession, James hit Reed again on a 31-yard scoring strike. His last two touchdown passes went to Green covering 27 and 30 yards.

B.C. Rain 0   6   0   0   6     Blount 7   0   14   0   21

Blount led just 7-6 at the half before scoring two quick touchdowns in the third quarter on their way to a 21-6 win over B.C. Rain. James found Kennard Pugh open for a 4-yard scoring pass early in the third and Larry Casher raced 45 yards when Rain fumbled the ensuing kickoff for the final margin.            The defense limited the Red Raiders to just 27 yards on the ground and no pass completions in the second half as they took control of the game. James threw for 172 yards and the two touchdown passes to lead the Leopards.

Murphy 0   0   0   0   0     Blount 0   7   0   13   20

The Blount offense struggle all night against the Murphy Panthers but still managed to win the game 20-0. After leading 7-0 at the half, the Leopards converted one first down in the second half as the Panther defense kept Aaron James under pressure the entire game.            The Leopards ran nine plays in the second half to 32 for Murphy bur outscored them 13-0 anyway. Michael Wiley scooped up a Murphy fumble and rambled 45 yards to give Blount a 13-0 lead in the fourth period. Later Larry Casher raced 100 yards with an interception to wrap up the scoring. The Leopards gained just 32 yards on the ground but James threw for 190 yards to lead the offense.

Citronelle 0   0   0   0   7     Blount 13   0   2   0   15

Jermaine Morrissette missed the first six games of the season before his coming out party against Citronelle. He rushed for 161 yards to lead the Leopards to a hard fought 15-7 win over the Wildcats in week eight of the season. The offense rolled up 244 yards rushing while the defense held the Wildcats to minus-10 yards on the ground.            Once again turnovers plagued the Leopards as they committed three in the game.

Blount 0   0   0   10   10     Vigor 7   0   0   0   7

With Vigor leading 7-0 in the fourth quarter, Aaron James scored on a quarterback sneak from 1-yard out to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:16 remaining. A few minutes later, linebacker James Barren intercepted a Vigor pass giving Blount the football at the 27-yard line. On fourth down, Antione Hill booted a 31-yard field goal to give the Leopards a 10-7 win over their rival.           James threw for 126 yards, completing 10-of-28 and Jermaine Morrissette added 94 yards rushing on 13 carries. Blount defeated the No.1 ranked Class 6A Wolves for the second time in as many seasons.

Blount             80     Escambia County 0   0   0   0   0

Blount trounced 0-10 Escambia County 80-0 to close out the 1996 season with a perfect 10-0 record. The win sent the Leopards into the playoffs as the Area One champions and a home game at Prichard Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.

Hillcrest             10     Blount             46

Blount quarterback Aaron James was 7-of-14 passing for 235 yards and four touchdowns as the top-ranked Leopards beat Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 46-10 in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs in Prichard.

Jackson 6   6   0   0   12     Blount 7   7   0   20   34

Blount led just 14-12 in the middle of the third quarter but exploded for 20 fourth quarter points to run away from the Jackson Aggies by the final score of 34-12. James connected with Deandre Green for a 25-yard scoring strike to push the margin to 20-12 early in the last period. James hit Marlon Reed on a 30-yard touchdown pass just a few minutes later for a 28-12 lead with 8:59 left.           Aaron James tossed three touchdown passes giving him 25 on the season. He found Green on a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter. While Blount outgained Jackson 304-163, the offense struggled at times with penalties and turnovers.

Blount 0   0   13   6   19     Wetumpka 0   10   0   0   10

Blount scored 19 second half points on their way to a 19-10 win over Wetumpka in the quarter-finals of the playoffs. The Leopards trailed 10-0 before the offense came to life as the Leopards turned the football over four times in the first half.           Backup quarterback Tyrone James rallied the Leopards in the third period when he found Deandre Green for a 45-yard scoring strike to cut the lead to 10-7 with 4:43 left. Following an interception, the Blount offense took over on the 11-yard line and scored the go ahead touchdown on a 11-yard pass from Tyrone James to Michael Miller for a 13-10 lead.           James also threw a 19-yards scoring pass to Green to wrap up the scoring and seal the win. Aaron James was knocked out of the game early after taking several hits from the Wetumpka defense.

Blount 0   30   0   0   30     Demopolis 0   0   0   0   0

As the final seconds ticked off the clock at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, the Leopards knew they had earned a trip back to Birmingham for the Class 5A state championship game. The defense played great and got in on the scoring when Maurice Chestang returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:34 left in the first half.            As a light rain fell on the field, Blount got conservative and kept running between the tackles and relied on their defense. The ground game produced 214 yards on 41 carries and was more than enough for the victory. Aaron James scored on runs of 1 and 11 yards and tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Michael Miller as Blount exploded for 30 second quarter points.

Saks 0   0   0   0   0     Blount 3   12   14   0   29

The Blount Leopards wore down the Saks defense in the first half and went on to post a 29-0 shutout over the Wildcats. The title gave the Leopards their third state championship since 1990. Quarterback Aaron James threw for 221 yards by completing 10-of-18 passes and three touchdowns. Deandre Green caught two of those scoring tosses of 54 and 24 yards while Michael Miller snared the other covering 37 yards.           James was named the MVP of the game for his efforts. The offense rolled up 229 yards rushing and a total of 450 yards in the game. The defense held Saks to just 97 yards on the ground and a total of 151. Morrisette was the leading ground gainer with 85 yards on 12 carries.           Six players were named to the ASWA first team of the All-state squad following the 1996 season. They included Aaron James, Deandre Green, Demond Frieson, Larry Casher, Mike Thomas and Robert Malone. Demarco McNeil was selected to the honorable mention team.   Blount 1996 9/6 12 Williamson . . . . . . . . 7 9/12 34 Robertsdale . . . . . . . 14 9/20 OPEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/27 34 Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/5 38 LeFlore . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/11 21 B.C. Rain . . . . . . . . . 6 10/18 20 Murphy . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/25 15 Citronelle . . . . . . . . 7 11/1 10 Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 11/8 80 Escambia County . . . . 0 11/15 46 Hillcrest Tuscaloosa * . 10 11/22 34 Jackson * . . . . . . . . . 12 11/29 19 Wetumpka * . . . . . . . . 10 12/6 30 Demopolis * . . . . . . . 0 12/13 29 Saks # . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 422 14-0 73 * Playoff game # State championship game

Amazing Seasons, a series on the greatest seasons in high school football history


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