Vigor, Jackson win rematches to make Super 7; Leroy gets blitzed
Williamson’s Jamarcus Lett scores on a run against Vigor Friday night during the Class 5A semifinals at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. (John O’Dell/Call News)
By DARRON PATTERSON
MOBILE — Sammy Dunn said he learned a lot from Vigor’s first game against Williamson and he used every bit of that knowledge in a thrilling 28-21 win over the No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Lions before a frenzied crowd at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Class 5A semifinals Friday night.
The next stop for No. 2 Vigor (12-2) is the 5A state title game Thursday at 7 p.m. against Moody (12-2) at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium. Williamson finished 12-1.
Dunn threw for 244 yards and a tossed pair of touchdown passes while running for another to avenge a 22-14 overtime loss to Williamson in October and send the Wolves back to the state title game for the second time in four years.
Dunn said the Lions didn’t change much from the first meeting and that played right into his team’s hands.
“They came out with the same defense they’d played before,” he said. “We played a good game and had a good offensive scheme but I learned that what they really wanted to do was come down and hit. They’re not really good in coverage. So, I had to trust my receivers to make a play.”
Dunn threw TD strikes of 38 yards to Zy Wilson in the first quarter and 18 yards to Dylan Jackson in the second. And with the score tied 14-14 coming out of halftime, Dunn ran in from 8 yards out late in the third period for a 21-14 lead.
“We had a rhythm going,” he said. “We knew what this game meant to us. We knew we belonged in the state championship game. We knew we were supposed to have won the first game, actually, so when we came out here and saw them across the field from us, we knew what time it was.”
Wolves coach Renardo Jackson was ecstatic as walked around greeting well-wishers after the game while clutching a gold title belt that champion boxers usually wear.
“We knew in order to beat them that we’d have to find a way to stop the run” he said. “We didn’t do a great job all night but we got the stops when we needed them.”
And what was the game plan?
“The game plan is always to let your best players be the best players,” he said. “And sometimes the best thing we can do as coaches is not getting in the way.”
With Williamson’s powerful offense getting the ball first to start the second half and assuredly breathing fire, what did Jackson tell his team in the locker room?
“I told them go be great and that God had brought us to this point and He is the author of this story, so we’re going to trust Him and find a way to finish,” Jackson said. “My hat’s off to Williamson. They played a really good game like we knew they would. They’re one of the best teams in the state. We’re just blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Prichard.”
Vigor got the go-ahead score on Demetrius Johnson’s 4-yard run with 6:23 to play and the Wolves faithful knew victory wasn’t far away.
The Lions’ points came on Jamarcus Lett’s 1-yard run, Todrick Withers’ 3-yard run and quarterback Alvin Dinkins’ 18-yard pass to John Austin.
But Williamson lost three fumbles and played uncharacteristically erratic at times.
“Three fumbles will lose you a game, man,” Lions coach Antonio Coleman said. “I can’t just say it was the three fumbles, though, because there were a lot of jump balls. I wouldn’t say they were accurate passes but there were a lot of jump balls that we misjudged and they made big plays on. Big plays will win you ballgames but we can’t turn the ball over. We did everything that we preached all week not to do … turn the ball over and give up big plays.
“Our hat’s off to them. They played a good game and they made the plays when it mattered.”
Jackson 44,
St. Michael 23
FAIRHOPE — Jackson’s big three came to play in the Aggies’ Class 4A semifinal rematch with No. 1 St. Michael.
The defense wasn’t bad either.
Landon Duckworth and Keeyun Chapman gave Jackson an early lead it would never relinquish and Alabama commitment E.J. Crowell salted the game away in the second half of a 44-23 victory over the Cardinals Friday night.
The win avenges a 49-39 loss to St. Michael during the regular season and sends the No. 2 Aggies (12-2) back to Birmingham with a chance to repeat as 4A state champs. They meet Anniston (14-0) Friday at 11 a.m.
“That was our goal at the first of the year,” Jackson coach Cody Flournoy said of a return trip to Protective Stadium. “Kudos to the guys for responding from a mid-year loss to this team. That’s a good football team we beat tonight. We kind of got them a little out of what they wanted to do once they got the lead and then we could kind of pin our ears back and get after them. Our game plan worked the way we wanted it to.”
The Cardinals finished 13-1 and marked their second straight loss to Jackson in the semifinals.
“We knew they were really good,” St. Michael coach Philip Rivers said. “We knew they were capable of doing this. We didn’t have our best night obviously and they had a lot to do with it. That’s a heck of a football team. It makes me appreciate the effort our guys put in week 6 to beat them that their place even more.”
The Aggies won despite losing three fumbles and being penalized 14 times for 131 yards. The Cardinals were penalized 11 times for 75 yards.
With the exception of the turnovers, Jackson’s offense looked unstoppable.
Duckworth, a South Carolina commit, ran for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries and completed 5 of 9 passes for 134 yards and a TD.
Crowell ran for 216 yards and a pair of second-half scores on 23 carries. Chapman, who missed the first game between the two teams due to injuries, caught five passes for 134 yards and a score.
“We turned it over and had a bunch of penalties,” Flournoy said. “They kept us pinned deep. We have to cut those turnovers out. At the same time, E.J. Crowell is a great back and we are going to keep giving him the ball. Same thing with Landon Duckworth. Those guys make plays. Sometimes, we have to have better ball security. You shrug it off but in a close game it will get you. Thankfully, it didn’t tonight.”
The Aggies’ defense harassed St. Michael junior quarterback Gunner Rivers all night, sacking him four times and limiting him to 19 completions on 37 attempts. He finished with 186 yards but did not throw a touchdown pass. He did score on an 8-yard run.
Jackson scored on its first three possessions to take command. Duckworth hit Chapman on a 48-yard TD and then scored on a 17-yard run for a 15-0 lead. The Cardinals countered with the first of two Noah Moss TDs, this one from 1 yard out, to trim the deficit to 15-7.
However, the Aggies responded in two plays when Crowell ran for 20 yards and Duckworth scored from 55 yards out on the next play to make it 23-7 with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We thought the run game would be open for me tonight,” Duckworth said. “We executed tonight, taking what we learned from practice to the game.”
Duckworth lost a fumble at his 5 following a missed field goal and Moss scored from 5 yards out on the next play to cut the lead to 23-15. The South Alabama signee finished with 69 yards on 17 carries.
Chapman fumbled a punt at Jackson’s 14 but coach Rivers was forced into a fourth-and-9 decision from the 13 and Rivers’ pass to Moss came up three yards short of a first down.
Jackson built a 44-15 lead on Crowell’s second-half touchdown runs of 7 and 60 yards and A.J. Hayes’ 2-yard run.
“Man, this feels good,” Crowell said. “It’s a dream come true.”
— Ben Thomas
Maplesville 59,
Leroy 18
