Third-ranked Class 4A Montgomery Catholic earned a 21-0 victory over 6A McGill-Toolen at Lipscomb Park in Mobile on Friday in the season-opener for both squads.

The Knights had a pair of 100-yard rushers and sacked McGill-Toolen three times in the shutout.

The win pushes Montgomery Catholic’s regular-season win streak to a state-best 25 games.

Josh Griffin ran for 111 yards on 15 carries and Giovanni Hayner had 101 yards on 14 i. Quarterback Caleb McCreary ran for all three Catholic touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards on 16 attempts. He completed 8-of-18 passes for 128 yards and was intercepted once.

Myles Khatri had 11 tackles for the Knights, three for a loss and registered two sacks. Garrett Sanford had six total tackles, three behind the line of scrimmage and a sack. Rickie Williams had five tackles and an interception while Zay Rudolph had eight tackles, two for a loss.

Montgomery Catholic will host Alabama Christian next week. McGill-Toolen travels to St. Paul’s.

Benjamin Russell 40, Wetumpka 19

Auburn receiver commit Malcolm Simmons caught two touchdown passes to lead the Wildcats to victory at Martin-Savarase Stadium in Alexander City.

Simmons also had a 70-yard TD catch and 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but both were nullified by penalties.

Lajavious Calhoun blocked two punts and returned one for a touchdown. TJ Wilson added 138 yards rushing and touchdown, and quarterback Gabe Benton threw both TDs to Simmons and scored a rushing touchdown.

Benjamin Russell plays Central of Clay County at home next week, while Wetumpka is home against Class 7A Baker.

COASTAL

Mobile Christian 41, Athens Academy (Ga.) 21

Mobile Christian rolled to a 24-0 halftime lead and the Leopards went up 27-3 in the third before the visitors from Athens, Ga., crossed the goal-line in the season-opener at Harrison Field in Mobile. Mobile Christian – ranked fifth in Class 3A – intercepted the visitors five times and got a pair of long-distance rushing touchdowns from Jason Todd and PJ Brown.

Todd went 58 yards in the third period to push the home team’s advantage to 34-9 while Brown closed out the scoring with a 66-yard scamper in the final quarter. Brown rolled up 226 yards rushing on 19 carries while Todd had 147 on nine attempts with a pair of touchdowns. MJ Moore scored on a 10-yard run and Floyd-Dawens Boucard scored from the 1. Carter Lewis had field goals of 37 and 40 yards to go with five extra points.

The Leopards ran for 420 yards and finished with 467 total yards on 62 snaps. Athens Academy had 452 yards on 85 offensive plays, 302 on the ground.

Moore had two interceptions for Mobile Christian while Todd and Carson Stiles had one each.

The Leopards will host Munroe, Fla., on Friday before beginning Region 1 play at W.S. Neal on Sept. 8.

HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY

Decatur 54, Mae Jemison 23

Former Auburn standout Aairon Savage’s debut as Decatur’s head coach was a success.

“We did a pretty good job, but we need to clean up some stuff,” Savage said. “We’ll make a big jump between this week and next week as most teams do so we’re just looking forward to it.”

Bradin Dupper had four touchdown passes and two scoring runs for Decatur (1-0). Rhys Dorsey had a 55-yard punt return and Devin Haley ran for a score.

Rico White evaluated the Jaguars’ performance in his first game as head coach.

“We looked like a young team,” the former Anniston coach said. “The nerves got the best of us. We just needed to settle down and play ball.

“When you come into a program that hasn’t had a lot of success, the mental thing is more important than anything,” White added. “The football game is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. We’re going to be physical, but the mental part got to get there.”

Jaden Burrough had a touchdown pass to Kyonne Rogers and a scoring run for Mae Jemison (0-1). Darreon Taylor scored on a run and added another run for a two-point conversion. Tavarian Langford also had a two-point conversion run.

Jemison will host Tanner on Thursday. The Red Raiders will host crosstown rival Austin on Friday.

– R. Sirvell Carter

Jacksonville 43, Boaz 21

Sixth-ranked Class 4A Jacksonville piled up more than 500 yards and capitalized on five Boaz turnovers on the way to the season-opening rout on the road at Dr. L.F. Corley Jr. Stadium.

Troy commitment Jim Ogle threw a pair of touchdown passes in the opening quarter – 48 yards to Ky’dric Fisher and 12 yards to Imoree Young – and the Golden Eagles jumped to a 33-14 halftime lead.

Presley Fant scored on the first play of the second quarter for the Pirates to trim the lead to 14-7 before Xzavier English scored for Jacksonville with 6:23 left in the half.

Boaz QB Tyler Pierce found Jakai Hudgins behind the Eagles defense for a 39-yard TD with 2:51 to play before intermission.

Jacksonville’s Fisher added two more TDs before halftime, running for an 11-yard score and catching a pass from Ogle for a 5-yard touchdown. The second score came after Jacksonville’s Quinton Atkins grabbed a fumble in midair and returned it 45 yards to the Boaz 5-yard-line.

English ran 44 yards for another Jacksonville score with 3:32 left in the third period after the Eagles had gained possession on a muffed punt.

Boaz fumbled the ensuing kickoff and John Ducar kicked a 27-yard field goal for the Eagles’ final points of the night.

The Pirates scored on a 10-yard pass from Pierce to Fant, capping an 11-play, 71-yard drive for the final margin.

Ogle was 15-for-24 for 185 yards and English ran for 196 yards on 15 carries.

Pierce hit 14-of-30 passes for 219 yards with a pair of interceptions. Fant caught seven passes for 64 yards and ran for 56 on seven attempts. Childers had 62 yards on 14 carries.

Ogle finished the game 15 of 24 for 185 yards and three touchdowns. English led all rushers with 196 yards on 15 carries.

Pierce completed 14 of 30 for 219 yards. He was intercepted twice. Fant caught seven passes for 64 yards and rushed for 56 yards on seven carries. Tristan Childers led Boaz with 62 yards on 14 carries.

Boaz will play the first of three straight road games Friday at Albertville in the annual Backyard Brawl. Jacksonville will host rival Alexandria.

Plainview 21, Priceville 14

Plainview snapped Priceville’s 17-game regular season win streak by beating the Bulldogs at home to start the 2023 season.

Madison Academy 42, Deshler 6

Class 3A No. 6 Madison Academy opened on the road at Deshler with a win over the Tigers.

The Mustangs led 28-0 at the half and never let up, outscoring the Tigers 14-6 in the second half. The Mustangs got big performances from Josh Williams, who went for 196 on 13 carries and a touchdown. Ken Cherry had 221 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns. AJ Rice added a defensive touchdown, scoring on a 40-yard scoop and score.

Madison Academy (1-0) hosts Randolph next week, while Deshler (0-1) will travel to Russellville.

— Jimmy Lay

Meek 18, Maplesville 12

Class 1A No. 5 Meek opened its season with a big 18-12 win at Maplesville.

The game was tied 6-6 at the half as both defenses were stout. Meek All-State running back Cam Deaver came up big with two touchdowns, but it was Justin Freeman’s 50-yard pick six that put the game away for Meek.

Meek (1-0) hosts Hackleburg next week, while Maplesville (0-1) will be at home against Isabella.

— Jimmy Lay

Sparkman 31, Hazel Green 0

Sparkman beat Hazel Green 31-0 in a game that was force to be called at halftime due to an incident that occurred involving unruly fans. The Madison County school system will investigate and release more information when at a later date.

Sparkman (1-0) will be at Huffman next week, while Hazel Green (0-1) will travel to Grissom.

— Jimmy Lay

BIRMINGHAM/CENTRAL

Clay-Chalkville 31, Briarwood Christian 0

Alabama commit Jaylen Mbakwe threw a touchdown pass and ran for another in his first start at quarterback to lead Clay-Chalkville (1-0) to a 31-0 victory over Briarwood Christian at Lions Pride Stadium.

Mbawke is expected to play defensive back in college and has excelled as a receiver and defensive player thoughout his high school career. He threw a TD pass to Jabari Staples and scored on a 26-yard run in Friday’s opener.

Taurus Chambers also scored on a 24-yard run, Aaron Osley had a 37-yard scoring run and Antone Ellis kicked a field goal.

Briarwood (0-1), coming off a 2022 season in which the Lions missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992, managed less than 50 yards of total offense against a stingy Clay-Chalkville defense.

Clay-Chalkville visits Hueytown next week, and Briarwood is on the road at Spain Park.

John Carroll 36, Homewood 31

Class 5A John Carroll snapped a seven-game losing streak to its crosstown rival, jumping to a 29-17 halftime lead at home and holding off a late rally to knock off the 6A Patriots in the season-opener for both teams.

The Cavaliers scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to push their lead to 36-24 before Homewood scored with about two minutes left in the game for the final margin.

Quarterback Carson McFadden scored three rushing touchdowns for John Carroll. Mitchell Nutter and Koron Wright had a rushing TD each as the Cavs ran 45 times for 279 yards – 6.2 per carry.

John Carroll’s McFadden was 8-for-17 for 98 yards through the air.

The Cavaliers did not have any turnovers in the contest while Homewood lost one fumble and Jack Myers was intercepted once.

Myers completed 16-of-23 passes for 279 yards with three TDs – all to Alijah Lavender, who finished with nine catches for 168 yards.

Homewood ran the ball 21 times for 84 yards against the stingy John Carroll defense with Evan Ausmer getting 25 yards on seven carries and Myers gaining 20 on five carries with a TD.

Center Point 28, Tylertown (Miss.) 18

Center Point rallied in the second half to open the 2023 season with a win at Tylertown – in southern Mississippi. The Chiefs led 12-8 at the half before Center Point scored twice in the third quarter, sandwiched around Tylertown’s lone score after intermission.

Center Point outgained the home team 296-209 with 283 yards coming on the ground. Quarterback Therman Moore ran 11 times for 90 yards and a score with Julius Finnerson picking up 85 on 14 attempts. Kevin Moore had 67 yards and a TD and Antonio Garfield scored twice on an 18-yard run and a 13-yard reception – only one of two Eagles’ competitions in seven attempts on the night.

The Eagles sacked Keonnis Davis four times – once each by Terence Tubbs, Malik Brown, Kaleb Parker-Holt and Daton Jackson.

Center Point plays at Aliceville on Friday.

Pleasant Grove 54, Smiths Station 14

Eric Handley threw for five touchdowns with Clarence Taylor grabbing four of the scoring passes.

Cam Wormley ran for a touchdown and intercepted a pass for a score.

Oneonta 55, Cleveland 24

Fluff Bothwell ran 11 times for 133 yards and four touchdowns to lead Oneonta (1-0) to a 55-24 victory over Cleveland at Oneonta’s Gilbreath Stadium.

Both well also returned an interceptoin 28 yards for a touchdown.

Oneonta quarterback Landon Abernathy completed 8-of-8 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, including a TD pass to Teigan Hill.. Malikih Montgomery added six carries for 63 yards.

Marist (Ga.) 42, Pike Road 14

Marist (Ga.) scored on its first three possessions to built an early 21-0 lead before going on to earn a 42-14 victory over Pike Road in Atlanta.

Pike Road freshman quarterback Cason Meyers finished 16-of-26 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He connected six times with senior Jordan King for 191 yards, including touchdown passes of 75 and 85 yards.

Auburn commit Malik Blocton led the Pike Road defense with 10 tackles and a sack. Cody Markham added nine tackles, and Trey Caver had eight tackles.

Pike Road (0-1) returns to action next week at home against Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.

This post will be updated