Auburn High turned to senior tight end Griffin McLean, and he delivered.

Trailing 30-24 with five seconds remaining, the Tigers faced fourth-and-5 at Opelika’s Bulldog Stadium.

Quarterback Henry Allen rolled to his right and then threw back to McLean, who caught the pass and dove into the left corner of the end zone. Auburn kicker Towns McGough’s extra point point lifted the Tigers to a 31-30 victory over rival Opelika.

“It’s a sold-out game,” Auburn coach Keith Etheredge said. “That’s a great atmosphere over there at Opelika, and Erik (Speakman) does a really good job with them. They’re a really good football team. I mean, it’s a big win for us.”

Auburn has now won four straight against Opelika to take a 48-47-3 lead in the rivalry series.

Opelika (3-4 overall, 3-2 in in Class 7A, Region 2) dropped its second straight game and third in the past four weeks. Auburn (6-1, 4-1) won its fifth straight since falling 17-16 to Enterprise.

Auburn is off next week and plays Central-Phenix City on Oct. 20. Opelika plays at Smiths Station next week.

HUNTSVILLE/TENNESSEE VALLEY

West Morgan 56, Deshler 35

Jalen Fletcher’s six-touchdown performance lifted his Class 4A No. 5 West Morgan Rebels past Deshler 56-35 on Friday in Region 7 play.

Fletcher rushed for four scores and caught two of Braxton Peters’ three touchdown passes. Harrison Johnson added a scoring catch and Jeremy Strong ran for a touchdown.

West Morgan (6-0, 4-0) took over sole possession of first place in the region as Deshler (4-3, 3-1) suffered its first region loss.

“It felt good because we’ve been looking forward to this game since last year ever since we lost (21-6),” Fletcher said. “I just felt like everybody was just ready for tonight.”

Strong also celebrated defeating Deshler.

“(Head coach Drew Phillips) just came in at the beginning of the week and just told us ‘hey, it’s going to be a game’ and we just bought in, we all bought in and you see what happened, 56 to 35,” Strong said. “All glory to God first and then Coach Phillips. He’s a wonderful man. A wonderful coach.”

ShaMarvion Mosley made several big plays to lead the defense.

“We lost to them last year, we’ve got to fight back,” Mosley explained the Rebels’ mentality entering the game. “We’ve got to get that get back.”

Phillips credited the home crowd for its enthusiast support.

“Man, I’ll tell you this, the town of Trinity didn’t disappoint,” Phillips said. “They came out. They were loud and helped get behind our guys.”

Tae Fuqua ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead Deshler. The Tigers will travel to region opponent Central Florence next week.

West Morgan will visit region rival West Limestone.

– R. Sirvell Carter

Muscle Shoals 55, Hartselle 49 (2OT)

Muscle Shoals rallied from a 21-0 deficit and escaped with a road win in a battle of two Class 6A Top 5 teams. No. 5 Hartselle got two Ri Fletcher touchdowns and another from Malachi Pawlitschek got up by three scores.

No. 4 Muscle Shoals cut the margin to 21-14 at the half on TDs by Jaquess Greene and Justice Henry. The Trojans led 42-35 with 13 second left in regulation, but Noah Lee found Fletcher to send it to overtime.

Both teams scored in the first extra period before Muscle Shoals (6-0, 3-0 in Region 7) held the Tigers (5-2, 2-1) out of the end zone. Hunter Belew scored from 2 yards out to end the game.

Muscle Shoals will host Decatur and Hartselle hosts Athens next week.

Guntersville 20, Scottsboro 6

Class 5A No. 8 Guntersville stayed atop Region 7 with the home win over No. 10 Scottsboro in a battle of unbeatens. Guntersville held the visitors 44 points below their season scoring average.

Enelson Delva led the way for Guntersville, gaining 200 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown. Quarterback Eli Morrison was 11-for-18 for 111 yards and a TD pass to Dadrien Waller.

Scottsboro (6-0, 3-0) will travel to Sardis and Guntersville (5-1, 2-1) will be off next week and host Arab on Oct. 20.

Athens 34, Cullman 28

Brogan Gross completed 23-of-27 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns to lead Athens to the Class 6A, Region 7 road win. Gross also ran for a TD.

Silas Jones gained 131 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown for Athens (5-1, 2-1). John McIntyre had 3 catches for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Athens travels to Hartselle next week while Cullman (3-4, 1-2) will host Columbia.

– Jimmy Lay

Randolph 46, Madison County 26

Randolph stayed within a game of the top spot in Class 4A, Region 8, rallying from a 20-all halftime stalemate. Westminster Christian and Priceville are atop the region standings at 4-0 and the Raiders improved to 3-1, 3-3 overall.

Noah Gaunt had 100 yards receiving for Randolph with one touchdown. Quarterback William Mitchell threw three scoring passes with Hunter Wiggins was on the receiving end of two.

William Collins and Graham Batey both scored two touchdowns for the Raiders in the win.

Randolph will travel to DAR on Friday and Madison County (1-6, 1-3) will host Westminster Christian next Thursday.

– Jimmy Lay

BIRMINGHAM

Vestavia Hills 45, Chelsea 21

The fifth-ranked Rebels pulled away from an early 8-7 lead to rout of Chelsea on the road. Vestavia Hills gained 425 total yards – 235 on the ground – to 267 for Chelsea.

Junior William Tonsmeire ran for 117 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown for Vestavia. Senior quarterback John Paul Head ran for two scores and passed for two, completing 9-of-11 throws for 183 yards. Head picked up 71 yards on 8 carries.

Carson Mann scored on a 25-yard reception and a 5-yard run. Keown Richardson caught 5 passes for 144 yards and a 41-yard TD. Owen Simpson had a 24-yard field goal for the Rebels, who improved to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in Class 7A, Region 3.

Chelsea (2-5, 1-3) scored on a 2-yard pass from Hayden Bauman to Jaxson Shuttlesworth and a 2-yard Morgan Barnes run.

Carter Dotson completed 11-of-22 passes for 132 yards for the Hornets while Bauman hit 3-of-4 for 55 yards. Nick Sulenski caught 9 passes for 150 yards.

Vestavia Hills hosts Hewitt-Trussville next week while Chelsea travels to Spain Park.

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 49, Central-Tuscaloosa 14

Class 6A third-ranked Hillcrest (7-0, 4-0) ran for 343 yards on the way to the Region 4 victory, totaling 428 yards of offense.

Jay Brown led the rushing attack with 104 yards on six carries with a long of 45 yards.

Quarterback Bryson Kimbrough added 57 yards and two rushing scores and completed 5-of-13 passes for 85 yards.

Kahden Smith started the scoring with a 48-yard run — he had 54 yards on two carries in the game — while Travaris banks scored on a 14-yard run and Jayshon Land added a 1-yard TD run.

Oxford 28, Pell City 25

Oxford’s Jaydeon Thomas capped an 88-yard touchdown drive with a 2-yard run in the final minute as the Yellow Jackets downed Pell City in Class 6A, Region 6 action.

Ninth-ranked Oxford (6-1, 4-0) twice came from behind in the victory. Pell City (1-5, 1-2) led 10-0 and 25-21.

Pell City jumped out to its 10-0 lead on a Jake Blackstone 32-yard field goal with 7.36 left in the first quarter and added a 4-yard run by Dai’jon O’Neal with 6.42 remaining in the half.

Oxford’s Mason Mims found Nick Richardson on a 12-yard slant route with 30 seconds left for the Yellow Jackets’ first score.

Mims threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Camare’ Hampton with 6.43 left in the third quarter to give Oxford it’s the lead at 14-10 and when Damious Wilson ran 4 yards with 31 seconds left in the period, the Yellow Jackets had a 21-10 advantage.

That’s when Pell City’s Caleb Groce took over.

The senior lined up in the Wildcat and ran 54 yards for a score with 8.31 left and grabbed the two-point conversion pass from Nikita Getmanshchuk to close the margin to 21-18.

Groce used the same formula, running 75 yards for a 25-21 lead with 6.30 left.

That set up Oxford’s 88-yard game-winning drive that used all but the final 33 seconds of the game.

Mims was 17-of-21 passing for 106 yards and two scores while Wilson rushed 19 times for 106 yards and a score and Thomas added 20 runs for 92 yards and a TD.

Hampton caught seven passes for 60 yards and a score.

Southside-Gadsden 23, Leeds 13

Three big plays and a feisty defense helped Southside-Gadsden upend Class 5A sixth-ranked Leeds on Friday night at Barney Hood Stadium.

The Panthers (6-1, 4-0) will wake up Saturday in control of Class 5A, Region 6.

“The job’s not done ‘til the job’s done,” Southside head coach Miles Holcomb said. “Tonight, we just found a way to just keep playing, until it was over.”

Defense largely controlled the game. Leeds (4-2, 2-1) mostly held Southside’s Mason Teague in check, until it mattered the most.

Leading 16-6 and facing third-and-10, Teague shifted from his running back position to behind center, taking a direct snap. He navigated his way through the Green Wave defense for a 53-yard touchdown, punctuating a 133-yard night.

“Just punch and punch and punch, and soon enough you find one to break,” Holcomb said. “Mason found one to break at the right time.”

On the other side, Southside’s defense gave up 351 yards to the visiting Green Wave, but were able to keep the visitors off the scoreboard for the first 42 minutes of the game. Leeds did itself no favors in the game, committing nine penalties and turning the ball over on a failed fake punt attempt in the second quarter.

That punt play resulted in a Southside field goal that made the score 9-0.

“Southside played better than us and they won the game,” Leeds head coach Jerry Hood said after the game. “We were up against … a lot of folks tonight. So, a lot to overcome.”

Junior quarterback Conner Nelson finished with 304 yards rushing and throwing, and scored both Green Wave touchdowns.

It was Nelson’s counterpart who contributed the two biggest blows for the home team.

Southside quarterback Jordan Bryan completed only 4 passes for the night, but two of those went for long touchdowns. His final TD, a 54-yarder to Cayden McMichael on third-and-19, effectively clinched things.

“I thought the defense hung in there good until the end,” Hood said. “They (Southside) broke away from us.”

The Panthers now have an open date, before hosting Alexandria. Leeds will return home to face the Valley Cubs next week.

– Will Heath

Center Point 26, Shades Valley 20

Center Point’s Therman Deon Moore ran for two touchdowns and threw two more in a 26-20 victory over Shades Valley.

Shades Valley scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, as the Mounties tried to rally from a 26-7 deficit before running out of time.

Center Point has won two straight, and the loss ended the Mounties’ two-game winning streak.

Moore threw touchdown passes of 20 and 32 yars to Mekhi Brown and his TD runs scored 1 and 26 yards. He finished 11-of-13 passing for 133 yards and ran 19 times for 159 yards. Julius Finneson added nine carries for 95 yards.

Center Point (5-2 overall, 2-2 in Class 6A, Region 6) plays at Pinson Valley next week. Shades Valley (3-3, 2-1) plays at Pell City.

Montevallo 21, Sipsey Valley 20

Benjamin Locks booted the game-winning extra point touchdown with a minute remaining to lift Montevallo to a Class 4A, Region 3 home win over Sipsey Valley. Braxton King threw an 8-yard pass to Christian Tolbert for the final touchdown.

Montevallo (5-1, 3-1) led 14-7 headed into the final quarter on King’s 56-yard pass to Javon Rogers in the opening period and a 46-yard dash by Razareo Conwell in the third.

King was 11-for-26 for 167 yards through the air and he ran for 42 more. Conwell finished with 130 yards rushing on 30 carries. Rogers caught 10 passes for 150 yards.

Sipsey Valley (3-3, 2-2) tied the game with 9:06 to go and went ahead 20-14 with 7:52 remaining.

The Bulldogs travel to Bibb County next week. Sipsey Valley is at Holt.

McAdory 35, Northridge 17

McAdory won its third straight game, as senior quarterback Jacob Clopton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in a 35-17 victory over Northridge in McCalla.

With the game tied at 7-all, McAdory seized momentum on the second play after halftime on a 72-yard catch-and-run by Jamari Harris on a screen pass from Clopton.

Jacorey Whitted caught six passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets (4-2 overall, 3-1 in Class 6A, Region 4). Noah Smith also scored on a touchdown run.

McAdory plays Hueytown at home next week, while Northridge (1-5, 1-2) plays Central-Tuscaloosa at home.

Vincent 33, Ranburne 20

Vincent’s Aiden Poe ripped off a game-changing 97-yard touchdown run to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 33-20 victory over Ranburne and snap a two-game losing skid.

Ranburne led 14-13, but Vincent’s Rykelus Robertson scored on a 5-yard run early in the third quarter for 19-14 lead.

Ranburne then drove inside the Vincent 10, but the Jackets defense held at the 3. On the next play, Poe sprinted 97 yards for his second TD.

Poe finished with nine carries for 139 yards and TD runs of 2 and 97 yards. Casen Fields completed 7-of-9 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown and added a 52-yard TD run. Robertson had 17 carries for 82 yards.

“I’m very proud of our guys for overcoming adversity from last week’s loss and even what we faced tonight,” Vincent coach Lucas Weatherford said. “We host Woodland next week in a game that could lock up a playoff spot with a win.”

Parker 40, Woodlawn 8

Class 6A seventh-ranked Parker stayed unbeaten in Region 5 play with the victory, setting up next week’s game with sixth-ranked Mountain Brook, also undefeated in region play.

Parker’s Cameron Jennings was 8-of-9 passing for 250 yards and a touchdown, adding a rushing score.

Martavius Purnell ran six times for 85 yards and a score and Chance Sparks added eight carries for 110 yards and two rushing TDs

Malik Muhammad caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

COASTAL ALABAMA

Mary G. Montgomery 48, Davidson 13

Quarterback Jared Hollins threw for 339 yards and five touchdowns to lead No . 4-ranked Mary G. Montgomery to a 48-13 road win over Davidson in a 7A, Region 1 contest at Warrior Stadium on Friday night.

“It was a big region win and anytime you can get one of those it is a good night,” Mary Montgomery coach Zach Golson said. “It was not as clean as we would have liked it to be but overall we did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball.”

The Vikings improved to 7-0 overall, 4-0 in the region and secured a playoff berth in the process. MGM hosts Baker for first place in the region next Friday.

The Warriors fell to 2-4 overall, 1-3 in the region and will host Park Crossing next week in a non-region game.

“Our kids played hard and didn’t quit, and we are proud of them,” Davidson coach Rick Cauley said. “Obviously, you don’t want this result. They (MGM) have a good football team with a good quarterback and receivers, and they hurt us a few times early.”

The Vikings rang up 25 first downs and 517 yards of total offense, scoring on drives of 59, 63, 34, 85, 53, 42 and 66 yards.

Hollins was 19-of-29 passing, tossing scoring passes of 12, 24, 2 and 42 yards to James Bolton, who had 7 receptions for 150 yards. Jaylin Culver hauled in seven catches for 150 yards and a 34-yard touchdown. On the ground, Shondell Harris had 55 yards on 4 carries, Hollins 50 on 7 totes and Jordan Doss 40 on 11 tries and Aaron McCraney was 5-of-6 on PAT attempts.

Defensively, De Markus Boykin recorded an interception and Aizik Campbell 3 tackles for loss.

For Davidson, Isaiah Garmon blocked a punt to set up a 1-yard run by Terrance Gray, who gained 28 yards on 21 rushes, to cut the lead to 14-7 at the 7:53 mark of the second quarter.

Jakadian Williams recovered a fumble to set up a six-play, 37-yard scoring drives capped by a 1-yard scoring run with 46 seconds left to play by freshman quarterback Micah Spivey. Quinteris Weaver recovered a fumble and Nandish Patel blocked a PAT to pace the Warriors defensively.

UMS-Wright 55, Elberta 13

UMS-Wright returned two interceptions for touchdowns and ended its two-game losing skid wit a 55-13 victory over Elberta at Ervin S. Cooper Stadium in Mobile.

Perry Hand returned an interception 15 yards for the game’s first touchdown and Joe Lott added a 71-yard interception return for a score in the second quarter. The Bulldogs’ defense limited Elberta to 82 yards.

Lott also scored on a 6-yard run and threw a TD pass.

Jake Jaye led the Bulldogs (3-3 overall, 2-2 in Class 5A, Region 1) with 11 carries for 109 yards and TD runs of 3 and 17 yards. Lott also scored on a 6-yard run, William Taylor scored on a 1-yard run, and Ty Yance caught a 25-yard pass from Lott.

UMS-Wright plays B.C. Rain at home next week, while Elberta (2-4, 1-2) plays Gulf Shores at home.

Jackson 50, Escambia County 7

Landon Duckworth threw a pair of touchdown passes and EJ Crowell scored three times as Class 4A No. 4 Jackson stayed unbeaten.

Duckworth, a sophomore South Carolina commit, went 6-of-13 for 139 yards. Crowell ran 12 times for 85 yards.

Keeyun Chapman caught two passes for 103 yards and a TD, while Nasir Powell had three receptions for 25 yards and a TD.

The Aggies improved to 5-0 overall, 4-0 in Region 1 play. They will travel to Satsuma next week. Escambia County fell to 5-2, 2-2.

St. Michael 49, Orange Beach 3

Gunner Rivers passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a TD pass as St. Michael improved to 4-3 overall, 3-1 in 4A, Region 1 play.

The Cardinals host Wilcox Central on Thursday.

Rivers completed 14-of-18 passes in the win and caught a 5-yard TD pass.

Martin Corte rushed 10 times for 67 yards and caught five passes for 60 yards and a TD.

Noah Moss rushed for 47 yards and a TD on eight carries and caught a 74-yard TD pass.

Brody Jones caught five passes for 110 yards and a TD, ran 30 yards for a score and returned an interception for a TD.

Orange Beach fell to 0-6, 0-4. The Makos host Bayside Academy next week.

– Robert Ladnier

Baker 35, Alma Bryant 6

Baker set up next week’s showdown with undefeated Mary G. Montgomery with a win over Alma Bryant.

Mississippi State commit Josh Flowers accounted for three TDs in the win.

He completed 10-of-14 passes for 137 yards and 2 TDs and rushed nine times for 117 yards and a score.

Auburn commit Bryce Cain had four receptions for 94 yards and two scores, while Rod Taylor rushed eight times for 77 yards.

Baker (6-1, 4-0 in Class 7A, Region 1) will travel to Semmes next Friday to play No. 4-ranked MGM (7-0, 4-0).

Gulf Shores 45, Williamson 13

Playing as the No. 1 team for the first time in school history, Gulf Shores built a 24-0 lead and cruised past Williamson.

Kolin Wilson rushed for 160 yards on 15 carries. Ronnie Royal had 72 yards on 11 carries and also had one reception for 68 yards.

The Dolphin defense limited Williamson to just 63 total yards. The Lions scored on a blocked punt and a Pick 6.

JaMichael Garrett had seven tackles, two fumble recoveries and a sack to lead the Gulf Shores defense. Braden Jackson had his third Pick 6 of the season, this one from 31 yards out.

Isaiah Hammac added 5 tackles and a 58-yard Pick 6 and Carter Byrd had seven tackles and an interception.

Royal had three tackles for a loss, while Landon Everett had six tackles and a sack.

Gulf Shores (7-0, 5-0) will play at Elberta next week. Williamson (3-4, 2-3) will travel to Citronelle.

Faith Academy 21, Vigor 13

EJ King and Tyrell Dotson each scored touchdowns as Faith Academy upset previously unbeaten Vigor at home.

King finished with 70 yards on 18 carries. Dotson had 57 yards on 12 carries.

The Rams’ other score came when Taurus Ceasor blocked a Vigor punt and returned it 31 yards for a TD.

Cooper Searcy had nine tackles, two assists, two tackles for a loss and two sacks for the Rams. Jacori Stabler had five tackles, two assists and two tackles for a loss.

Vigor led 13-0 on Jerrian Graham’s 29-yard pass to Jacori Barnes and Carlos Benjamin’s 51-yard TD run after the first quarter. Faith went up 14-13 at the half on Dotson’s 5-yard run and Ceasor’s blocked punt return.

King’s 17-yard run in the fourth quarter iced the win for Faith.

“It kind of started in the second quarter,” Faith coach Jack French said. “We played the way I’ve been wishing we would play, and my wish came true tonight. Praise the Lord. That’s all I can say.”

Faith, which had lost three of its last four games, improved to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in Class 5A, Region 1 play. Vigor fell to 5-1, 4-1.

Escambia Academy 46, Pickens Academy 14

Escambia Academy quarterback Keller Coston ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more in the first half as the Cougars downed Pickens Academy.

Coston passed for 137 yards and two scores in the game, adding 122 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also had three tackles with a tackle-for-loss on defense.

Escambia (3-4, 1-2) earned its first AISA AA Region 2 win.

STATEWIDE

Pike Road 27, Park Crossing 0

Pike Road’s Jordan Holmes made pivotal plays on offense and defense to lead Pike Road to a shutout victory over Park Crossing at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery.

Holmes caught a 20-yard touchdown pass and added a fumble recovery, interception, a pass break-up and four tackles on defense as the Patriots defeated Park Crossing for the second straight season.

Pike Road has now won four straight since falling to Marist (Ga.) and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa to start the season.

Park Crossing (3-4 overall, 0-4 in Class 6A, Region 2) has now suffered three shutout losses this season, all against region opponents.

Cason Myers completed 22-of-31 passes for 188 yards for Pike Road (4-2, 3-0), and Kaleb Foster scored on a 2-yard run. JaMichael Jones also scored a rushing touchdown.

Pike Road plays at Russell County next week, while Park Crossing is at Davidson in Mobile.

Trinity 41, Sumter Central 0

The 10th-ranked Class 3A Wildcats rolled to the Region 3 home win, scoring all 41 points in the first half.

Ross Sanders ran for 107 yards on 8 carries with a pair of touchdowns and caught 2 passes for 54 yards and a score for 7-0 Trinity. Thompson McNeese hit 8-of-10 passes for 105 yards and three scores. Xavier Boswell and John Morris had TD receptions in the shutout.

The Jaguars dropped to 3-3 on the year and 1-3 in region play.

This post will be updated.