Kolton Nero scored four touchdowns — three coming in the pivotal second half — as Foley withstood a gallant effort by Christian Mose and his Alma Bryant teammates and defeated the Hurricanes 55-32 in a Class 7A, Region 1 battle at Hurricane Stadium on Thursday night.

Nero scored on runs of 1, 36, 1 and 1 yards and finished with 19 carries for 137 yards as Foley, which was still sky-high after defeating then No. 2-ranked Fairhope 39-38 last week, improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in region play. Mose rushed for a game-high 172-yards and five touchdowns as Alma Bryant dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the region.

“Kolton has been that guy for us all year,” said Lions’ head coach Deric Scott. “He’s been the workhorse for us running the ball and really got things going. He got a lot of things going in the second half offensively, and he controlled the ball.”

Foley got off to a quick start in the first quarter, getting a 43-yard touchdown run from Alabama junio commit Perry Thompson and a 29-yard fumble return on the ensuing kickoff by AJ Prim. But the Hurricanes battled back and made it a seven-point game when Mose scored on a 2-yard run.

Nero scored on a 1-yard run in the second period, and while the point after was blocked, the Lions were up 19-6. But the Hurricanes tied the game with two more Mose touchdowns covering 6 and 3 yards, and on Bryant’s first possession in the third quarter, Mose’s 5-yard touchdown run put the Hurricanes up 26-19.

After quarterback Reese Tynes scored on a 9-yard keeper to draw Foley to within 1, 26-25, Nero worked his second-half magic, bursting through the Alma Bryant defense on a 36-yard scoring scamper and converting the 2-point conversion run to put the Lions ahead for good, 33-26. Although the Hurricanes answered with a 42-yard scoring scamper by Mose, the extra point was blocked and the hosts still trailed by one.

Nero and the Lions took control in the fourth quarter, with Nero scoring on a 1-yard run and scoring on a 2-point conversion run to make the score 41-32. After a Mose pass was intercepted by Thompson on the Hurricanes’ ensuing possession, Nero iced the game with another 1-yard touchdown run. Kenneth Franklin then intercepted another Mose pass and ran it 29 yards for the final Foley touchdown.

“That’s what we depend on Kolton for,” Scott said. “That’s the type of player he is — he wants the ball and we’re going to give it to him.”

Star of the game: No doubt it was Nero, who got the timely scores thanks to plenty of hard-nosed running. But give credit to Mose as he put on a strong performance running the ball in a losing effort.

Play of the game: There were many, but one play which really stood out came from a player on the losing team — Alma Bryant’s Jordan James had a very long kickoff return from the 5-yard line, and after making contact with a couple of tacklers, tight roped his way down the right sideline all the way to the Foley 44.

Key sequence: With about four minutes left in the third quarter and down by one, Foley started from its 27. Alma Bryant was assessed a penalty on a controversial pass interference call. It gave the Lions a first down at the 42, and Nero scored on his 36-yard run three plays later. It changed the momentum of the game.

By the numbers: 3, number of fumbles lost by Foley; 5, total number of failed point after attempts and 2-point conversions for both teams combined; 87, total number of points scored; 190, total rushing yards for Foley; 223, total rushing yards for Alma Bryant.

Key stats: For Foley, Tynes was 17-of-24 for 185 yards, Thompson had 9 receptions for 88 yards, and Harrison Knight had 5 receptions for 42 yards and 45 yards on four rushes. For Alma Bryant, Mose was 7-of-14 passing for 35 yards and two interceptions.

Coachspeak: “I’m just happy for our young people to go out and represent our community, our school, and our program. Give kudos to Coach Sessions and his team; they’re very well coached and they played their tails off and we had to go and just get things going. Every win is big right now, and with Class 7A Region 1 still shaking out, everything we do matters and every game matters.” — Scott

They said it: “Our kids played their guts out, and obviously we would have liked to have started a little cleaner with the mistakes that put us in a little bit of a hole. It was a testament for our kids to dig right out of it and take control of the game for most of the first quarter, the second quarter, and even into the third quarter. Halfway through the third quarter, we had control of the game.” — Alma Bryant head coach Bart Sessions.

Up next: Both teams have region games next Friday night. Foley hosts Davidson, while Alma Bryant visits Fairhope.