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The Elba Tigers opened the 2011 season as the No. 3 ranked team in Class 3A. They were coming off a 11-2 campaign in 2010 having lost in the quarter-finals of the playoffs. It was the deepest playoff run for the Tigers since winning a state championship on 1992.           Last season set the tone for what would be a great year in 20111 for the Tigers from southwest Alabama.

Opp 8   6   0   0   14     Elba 0   6   14   0   20

The Opp Bobcats jumped out to a 14-0 second quarter lead before the Elba Tigers came roaring back to claim a hard fought 20-14 win to open the 2011 season at home. The Tigers scored three unanswered touchdowns behind the running of Myeke Boyd who rushed for 57 yards and scored one touchdown.

Elba             26     Goshen             12

The No. 1 ranked Elba Tigers scored three touchdowns in a six minute span in the second half to take command of the game in a 26-12 win over Goshen in week two. Darrean Burks rushed for 119 yards on just eight carries to pace the offense. Michael Lindsey and Austin Johnson each  scored twice in the game.

Elba             57     Calhoun             14

Darrean Burks returned two punts for touchdowns as the Tigers rolled over Calhoun 57-14 in week three. He racked up 210 yards on five returns as the Tigers completed outmanned Calhoun. His scoring returns covered 55 and 65 yards. Burks also ran for 48 yards on five attempts and scored one rushing touchdown.

Samson             14     Elba             48

Michale Lindsey racked up 320 all-purpose yards in a 48-14 rout of Samson in week four. He rushed for 171 yards on 14 carries with touchdown runs of 6, 85, 11 and 5 yards. Lindsey completed his only pass of the game for a 19-yard touchdown, caught three passes for 43 yards and returned three punts for another 87 yards.

Elba             75     Geneva             14

Darrean Burks showed off his ability to return punts once again by returning two more for touchdowns in a 75-14 win over Geneva. The sophomore scored twice on returns of 58 and 75 yards. The offense clicked all evening by scoring 75 points in the rout.

Highland Home             39     Elba             14

The Elba Tigers jumped out to a 25 point halftime lead and held on for a 39-14 win over Highland Home the next week. Michael Lindsey scored five touchdowns in the game while rushing for 94 yards on only 11 carries. He also returned an interception 79 yards for a score. Darren Burks ran for 79 yards and caught four passes for another 144 yards.            The win pushed the Tigers record to 6-0 on the season as they celebrated a homecoming win.

Zion Chapel 0   0   0   0   0     Elba             65

Top ranked Elba routed Zion Chapel 65-0 in week seven as quarterback Austin Johnson completed 8-of-11 passes for five touchdowns. Jeffery Wright scored on an 83-yard run and Darrean Burks scored twice on runs of 21 and 51 yards.

Elba             63     New Brockton             14

Elba topped the 60 point mark for the third time in four weeks in a 63-14 domination of New Brockton. The No. 1 ranked Tigers raced to an early lead behind four touchdown passes from Austin Johnson that covered 59, 58, 14 and 61 yards. Darrean Burks also caught a 73-yard scoring pass from Reid Rials.

Elba 27   3   35   15   80     Red Level 6   0   0   0   6

The high scoring Tiger offense set a school record by scoring 80 points in a 80-6 win over hapless Red Level in week nine. They led 27-6 by the end of the first quarter and 65-0 after three periods. The Tigers ended the game having not punting for the third consecutive week.

Cottonwood             15     Elba             69

The Elba Tigers capped off a prefect 10-0 regular season by topping the 60 point mark for the fifth time in the last six games in a 69-15 rout of Cottonwood. It was the second undefeated season in the past three seasons for the Tigers. Michael Lindsey touched the football just three times during the game but made the most of it by scoring on each attempt. He ran for a 17 yard touchdown and caught scoring passes of 65 and 83 yards.            Jeffery Wright scored twice on two touches and Austin Johnson was a perfect 5-for-5 passing for 226 yards and three touchdowns. The game was shortened in the second half or the score may have been even more lopsided.

Houston Academy 3   3   0   0   6     Elba 0   13   7   15   35

It took the Elba Tigers a while to get going against Houston Academy, but once they found a way to score they didn't slow down until they sent the Raiders home with a 35-6 defeat. After Houston Academy kicked a field goal to tie the score late in the first half, Darrean Burks returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards for a touchdown for a 13-6 halftime lead.           The defense held the Raiders to just three first downs in the second half and Burks returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown as the Tigers pulled away from Houston Academy.

Vincent 0   0   6   14   20     Elba 13   21   18   7   59

Elba roared to a 34-0 halftime lead behind an offense that rolled up 357 yards of offense and cruised to a 59-20 victory in the second round of the playoffs. The defense controlled the game as Vincent did not score until the reserves were in the game for the Tigers.           The second half opened with a lot of excitement as the teams returned three consecutive kickoffs for touchdowns in just 37 seconds. Tyler Anderson took a squib kick by Vincent 58 yards for a score. Vincent's Rodney Groce answered with a 72-yarder before Elba's Darrean Burks raced 87 yards with the ensuing kick for a score. By then, Elba led 46-6 and coasted the rest of the game.

Elba 6   7   7   13   33     Flomaton 3   7   7   6   23

Elba only led 13-10 at the half on quarterback Austin Johnson's 12-yard touchdown pass to Donta' Rodgers and Michael Lindsey's 5-yard run. The Tigers then pulled away in the fourth quarter after leading 20-17 lead after three quarters. Johnson tossed two touchdown passes in the victory.            The Tigers improved to 13-0 and advanced to the semi-finals of the playoffs as the defeated Flomaton 33-23. Darrean Burks added a 5-yard run and Joshua Bonds kicked a 22-yard field goal to wrap up the scoring.

Elba 7   14   21   7   49     American Christian 9   12   7   13   41

In a game with very little defense, the Elba Tigers outscored American Christian 49-41 to gain a shot at a state championship the next week. The game started slow enough with Elba clinging to a slim 9-7 lead. Michael Lindsey returned a kickoff 89 yards to give the Tigers the lead.           American Christian kicked a field goal to take a 12-7 lead before Darrean Burks scored on a one-yard run to give Elba a 14-12 lead. The two teams fought to a 21-21 deadlock at the end of the first half with more wireworks to come. Elba owned the third quarter and took a 42-21 lead late in the period. But Ameriacn Christian was not done and managed to cut the lead to 42-35 before Darrean Burks scored on a three-yard run to clinch the win in the fourth quarter.           Burks rushed for three touchdown and gained 118 yards on 13 carries. Johnson completed 11-of16 passes for 268 yards and one score.

Tanner 7   7   0   0   14     Elba 7   7   13   7   34

Despite a record for penalties, Elba rolled over Tanner to claim the Class 2A state championship in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The two teams fought to a 14-14 tie at intermission but it was all Elba in the second half as they cruised to a 34-14 victory over Tanner.           Sophomore Darrean Burks rushed for 150 yards on 12 rushes with one touchdown. Senior Michael Lindsey added 161 yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns to capture MVP honors. He also caught a 46-yard scoring pass that gave the Tigers a 27-14 lead with 3:27 left in the game.           The win gave the Tigers their third state championship. They also claimed title in 1989 and 1992.           Lineman Harry Griffin, Michael Lindsey and defensive back Tyler Anderson were named to the first team all-state squad by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Darrean Burks and Martin Henderson were selected to the honorable mention team. Elba 2011 8/26 20 Opp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/2 26 Goshen . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 9/9 57 Calhoun . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/16 48 Samson . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/23 75 Geneva . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/30 39 Highland Home . . . . . 14 10/7 65 Zion Chapel . . . . . . . 0 10/14 63 New Brockton . . . . . . 14 10/21 80 Red Level . . . . . . . . . 6 10/27 69 Cottonwood . . . . . . . . 15 11/4 35 Houston Academy * . . . 6 11/11 59 Vincent * . . . . . . . . . 20 11/18 33 Flomaton * . . . . . . . . 23 11/25 49 American Christian * . 41 12/2 34 Tanner # . . . . . . . . . . 14 752 15-0 221 * Playoff game # State championship game 2011 Elba Tigers No. Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt. 1 Sage Kelley DB Sr. 5-7 125 2 Michael Calloway RB Jr. 5-7 175 3 Antonio Hill DB Sr. 5-10 150 4 Jeffery Wright WR Sr. 6-0 170 5 Darrean Burks RB So. 5-8 185 6 Michael Lindsey RB Sr. 5-11 160 7 Phillip Senn WR Jr. 6-0 155 8 Donta Rogers SS Sr. 5-9 160 10 Tyler Anderson SS Sr. 6-1 180 11 LaQuentin Adams WR So. 5-7 135 12 Austin Johnson QB Jr. 6-2 180 14 Reid Rials QB Fr. 5-10 150 15 Nick Green WR So. 5-9 145 18 Griffin Jones WR So. 5-10 160 22 Cody Hall LB Jr. 5-10 185 24 Chance Johnson WR Fr. 5-7 150 30 Rajah Caldwell LB So. 5-11 165 33 Shannon James DB Jr. 5-9 160 35 Kermire Williams LB Jr. 5-7 160 45 William Hooks NG Sr. 5-8 180 50 Dekarion Kyles DL Fr. 5-10 195 51 Hayes Spicer LB Jr. 5-9 170 55 Reagan Amison OL Jr. 6-6 230 56 Griffin Martin OL Fr. 5-10 205 59 Harry Griffin OL Jr. 5-11 275 60 Martin Henderson DL Sr. 6-1 200 62 Timothy Caldwell OL Sr. 5-11 230 64 Aquante Jones DL So. 5-9 195 65 Tyvonne Smith NG Sr. 5-9 180 73 Michael Smith OL Fr. 5-8 170 74 Chace Sauls OL Sr. 6-1 230 75 J'quenten Truitt DE Sr. 6-1 235 78 Kyson Edwards OL So. 6-1 230 80 Lucas Simpson DB Jr. 6-2 170

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


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