Helena’s offensive trio of quarterback Carson Acker, running back Jordan Washington and receiver Hunter Hale powered the Huskies.

Acker was 14-of-17 for 185 yards and four touchdowns while Washington led the ground game with 19 carries for 99 yards and two TDs, adding an 11-yard touchdown reception.

Hale caught five passes for 101 yards and two scores and returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score.

Torrey Ward grabbed two passes for 40 yards and a score as the Huskies totaled 361 yards offense.

BIRMINGHAM

North Gwinnett (Ga.) 50, Gardendale 41

North Gwinnett (Ga.) sacked Gardendale quarterback Mac Beason eight times and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat the Rockets in Sewanee, Ga.

Beason completed 16-of-36 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns and added TD runs of 1 and 19 yards, but he also threw an interception in the first half.

Gardendale (0-2) fumbled on the opening kickoff and fell behind 14-0 and 21-7 before rallying to tie the game at 28-all at halftime. The Gardendale defense made a goal-line stand and then blocked a punt to turn the game’s momentum in the first half.

Beason threw TD passes of 55 yards to Boogie Harris, 64 yards to Morgan Harris and 43 yards to Jacoby Quates. Harris also scored on a 59-yard run in the second half to tie the game at 35-all.

North Gwinnett scored the game’s final two TDs, as Nicholas Bookman returned a punt 88 yards for the go-ahead score. Quarterback Ryan Hall ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 43-35.

Hall then added a 1-yard run, his third TD, to make it 50-35. Hall finished with 10 carries for 173 yards, including TD runs of 61 and 73 yards. Teammate Julian Walters had 22 carries for 180 yards, with scoring runs of 16 and 18 yards in the first half.

Gardendale played the second half without two-way standout Caiden Combs, who watched much of the second half with his left arm in a sling.

Gardendale opens region play next week on the road at rival Mortimer Jordan.

Vestavia Hills 43, Homewood 0

Senior Luke Beckham ran nine times for 141 yards and John Paul Head completed 11-of-14 passes for 236 yards and four scores to lead the Rebels to the rout at Homewood.

Head connected with seven receivers on the night with JD Adkins and Carson Mann scoring long TDs with their only catches – Adkins from 50 yards and Mann from 55. Matthew Ledbetter caught three passes for 45 yards with a touchdown and Caden Taylor caught two for 32 yards and a score.

Vestavia rolled up 467 yards on the night while holding Homewood to 162.

The fourth-ranked Class 7A Rebels (2-0) raced to a 22-0 first-quarter lead and went up 29-0 at the half. A pair of third-quarter TDs wrapped up the scoring.

Quarterback Will Myers led Homewood with 47 yards rushing on six attempts. He completed 4-of-9 passes for 25 yards.

Vestavia Hills travels to top-ranked Thompson (1-0) on Friday to open Region 3 play. Class 6A Homewood (0-2) hosts Helena (2-0) in Region 3 play on Friday.

Montevallo 13, Shelby County 10

The Bulldogs used two big plays to open their 2023 season with a road win at Shelby County.

Trailing 3-0 at the half, Class 4A Montevallo scored on a 70-yard kickoff return by Christian Tolbert to open the third period. Razareo Conwell raced 78 yards for another score with 5:37 left in the quarter to push the lead to 13-3.

The Class 5A Wildcats trimmed the lead to 13-10 when Dominic Woods connected with Ryan Sipes for a 28-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in the period.

Both defenses pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter.

Conwell led Montevallo with 96 yards on 11 carries. Braxton King was 5-for-13 for 45 yards for the Bulldogs.

Montevallo travels to Moundville to open Region 3 play against Hale County on Friday. Shelby County (0-2) plays at Holtville in its Region 3 opener.

NORTH ALABAMA

Grissom 42, Hazel Green 7

Grissom got a big win over Hazel Green, defeating the Trojans 42-7 at the newly renovated Joe Davis Stadium.

The Tigers did most of their damage on the ground, gaining 261 rushing yards. Cole Porter rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown and Isaiah Spencer gained 96 yards on only nine carries.

Grissom led 35-0 at the half. The Tigers got touchdowns from CJ Washington and Porter and two from Seth Leebern. Jameer Woodruff also scored on a 2-yard run.

Grissom’s lone touchdown in the second half came on Leebern’s 20-yard strike to Kyle Warren.

Hazel Green’s only score on the night came on Riley Hicks’ one-yard run with only 20 seconds left in the game.

Grissom (1-1) will play city rival Huntsville next week, while Hazel Green (0-2) will play Lee-Huntsville.

– Jimmy Lay

Hackleburg 24, Meek 8

Class 1A Hackleburg took down No. 4 Meek on the road and in the rain. The Panthers were led by Davin Dulaney, who rushed for 125 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown, and Jaquan Reeder with 99 yards on 12 carries and 2 touchdowns.

Meek led 8-6 at the half, getting a defensive touchdown in the first quarter on a recovered fumble in the end zone by Mason Powe and a Cam Deaver two-point run. Reeder scored on a 4-yard run for Hackleburg. The Tigers had a chance to increase their lead right before the half but were stopped at the 2-yard line on the last play of the second quarter.

Hackleburg controlled the second half, gaining 12 first downs and 178 yards of offense and getting rushing touchdowns from Dulaney and Reeder. Reeder also caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Blaise Vickery.

Meek was led by Deaver with 111 yards on 18 carries but was never able to get the ball in the end zone against the Panther defense.

Hackleburg (1-1, 1-0) will host Addison next week. Meek (1-1, 0-1) will host Waterloo.

– Jimmy Lay

Madison Academy 49, Randolph 20

No. 6 Madison Academy (3A, Region 7) raced to a 35-0 halftime lead over Randolph Friday night, en route to a 49-20 victory.

The Mustangs’ Ken Cherry rushed for 231 yards on 15 carries and scored three touchdowns and caught two passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. Josh Williams gained 121 om 10 carries and two touchdowns. Jackson Reese caught nine passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.

Mustang head coach Bob Godsey was pleased with his team’s effort even though they had a few lapses.

“I’m proud of how hard our guys played even though we didn’t always do the right thing and weren’t in the right spot, but we battled and played very hard,” Godsey said.

Randolph was led by Roan Campbell with eight catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He also had an interception on defense.

Up next, Madison Academy (2-0) will host JB Pennington, and Randolph (0-2) will travel to St. John Paul II.

— Jimmy Lay

Boaz 48, Albertville 7

Boaz jumped out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back in a 48-7 win over archrival Albertville Friday.

Boaz (5A, Region 7) improved to 1-1, while the Aggies (7A, Region 4) dropped to 0-2.

Albertville received the opening kickoff but failed to move the ball and called for a fake punt inside its own 30. Boaz snuffed it out and took over at the 17.

Three plays later, Tristan Childers scored on a 1-yard run. Jose Arreguin added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

After another three-and-out by Albertville, Boaz went 50 yards using five plays to increase the lead to 14-0. Quarterback Tyler Pierce scored on a 34-yard keeper with 6:13 left in the opening quarter.

Albertville scored its only touchdown of the night on its next possession, driving 80-yards. The score came on a 14-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Zuniga to Hunter Smith. Israel Reyes added the point after to cut the lead to 14-7 with 4:49 left in the first.

Boaz added three more scores in the second quarter — a 2-yard touchdown run by Pierce, a 10-yard scoring run by Childers and a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown by Elijag Kelly.

The Pirates led 34-7 at the half.

A miscue on an Albertville punt led to the Pirates’ first score of the third quarter. An unexpected snap on an Aggie punt resulted in a 20-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jacob Gareri. After the Arreguin PAT, Boaz led 41-7 with 9:08 left in the third quarter.

Childers scored his third touchdown of the game with 43 seconds left in the third quarter on a 7-yard run. Arreguin’s extra point made it 48-7.

Childers led all rushers with 84 yards on 15 carries. Presley Fant added 68 yards on nine carries and Pierce 60 yards on six rushes.

Both teams open region play Friday: Boaz is on the road at Scottsboro, while Albertville hosts Florence.

— Ricky Smith

West Morgan 48, Ardmore 0

West Morgan piled on the points in the opening half to roll past Ardmore on Friday at Trinity, scoring on five straight possessions after punting on its first drive.

The No. 10 Class 4A Rebels defense and special teams chipped in with a return score apiece to help build a 48-0 halftime lead.

Braxton Peters and Jalen Fletcher led West Morgan (2-0) with two touchdowns each. Peters threw for two scores and Fletcher had two touchdown runs. Tiarrius Mosley had two scoring receptions and Jeremy Strong added a run for points. Walker Letson had a punt return touchdown and Colby Jones had a pick-6.

West Morgan coach Drew Phillips was pleased with the Rebels preserving the shutout. “I’m really proud of the leadership in the second half,” Phillips said. “We sat a lot of our guys and seeing them excited about some of the younger guys [getting to contribute] really made me happy and that’s a reflection on what they believe about team and not just themselves individually.”

Letson applauded the Rebels effort on defense. “We’ve got a very hard-nosed defensive team,” he said. “We’ve got some evil folks on the defensive line. We’ve got some evil linebackers. It’s a no-fly zone with our DBs. Our defense can eat.”

West Morgan (2-0) travels to Brooks next week for its Class 4A, Region 7 opener. Ardmore (0-2) will host Brewer to open 5A, Region 8 play.

– R. Sirvell Carter

Oxford 35, Huntsville 6

Quarterback Mason Mims had four touchdown passes Friday night as he led Oxford to a 35-6 win over Huntsville.

Mims connected with Camare Hampton for three of those scores. Oxford (6A, Region 6) also got a touchdown run from Nick Richardson. The Yellow Jacket defense held Huntsville (7A, Region 4) to only a pair of field goals.

Both teams open region play next week. Oxford plays at Shades Valley, and Huntsville hosts city rival Grissom.

— Jimmy Lay

Arab 28, Brewer 13

The Knights blanked Brewer in the second half to pull away from a 14-13 halftime lead to earn the win at home on Friday.

Drew Puccio ran for 97 yards – including a 66-yard TD – and passed for 91 to lead Arab (2-0). The junior had 11 rushing attempts and was 9-of-17 through the air with a touchdown and an interception. Junior Logan Alldredge ran for 171 yards on 31 carries with a pair of TDs.

Arab also got a TD on a 27-yard pass play from Puccio to Landon Strickland. Alldredge scored on 4- and 2-yard runs.

Brewer led 7-0 after one quarter following a 4-yard run by Christopher Watson and took a 13-7 second-period advantage on a 19-yard pass from Cason Oden to Austyn Holmes.

MOBILE

Mobile Christian 31, Munroe (Fla.) 0

The Leopards improved to 2-0 headed into next week’s Class 3A Region 1 action with the shutout of Munroe, Fla.

Fifth-ranked Mobile Christian raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and tacked on 10 more in the second period against the Bobcats (0-1).

Junior quarterback Damien Gaston completed 3-of-5 passes – two for touchdowns. Gaston connected with Carson Cooper on a 28-yard touchdown following a PJ Brown 23-yard run for a score to put the Leopards up 14-0.

Jason Todd scored on a 22-yard TD to push the opening period lead to 21-0.

Carter Lewis hit a 27-yard field goal in the second period before Gatson hit Michael Moore with a 47-yard TD pass to close out the scoring.

Linebacker Kentonio Kelly picked off two Munroe passes and Moore intercepted another.

Mobile Christian rolled up 222 total yards – 154 on the ground – while holding the visitors to 76.

The Leopards travel to meet 2-0 W.S. Neal in Brewton on Friday to open region play.

STATEWIDE

Central-Clay County 30, Benjamin Russell 13

Behind three forced turnovers in the second half, Central of Clay County (1-0) took down 6A No. 10 Benjamin Russell (1-1) in the Vols season opener.

Following an opening-drive fumble recovery, Benjamin Russell marched 90 yards down the field, aided by a key third-down scramble from quarterback Gabriel Benton, that was capped by a 23-yard touchdown connection from Benton to Auburn football commit Malcolm Simmons.

Simmons finished the game with three receptions but had a key second-half drop that could’ve led to a touchdown.

“I said to my coach, when we’ve got man (coverage), throw it to me. When they try to double me, my other teammates are gonna be open,” Simmons said. “I didn’t do my best, but I did an OK job tonight.”

The Wildcats looked to be in control up 6-0 early in the first quarter, but the Vols responded immediately with a 65-yard touchdown drive that was completed by a 3-yard score from La Damion Boyd.

Central-Clay outscored Benjamin Russell 30-7, including 20 unanswered in the first half.

The key was the rushing attack, led by Boyd, who dominated with three of the Vols’ four touchdowns. On the defensive side, the Vols held the Wildcats to 178 yards on 41 plays. Benjamin Russell caught a break in the second half when a high snap on a Central punt gave the Wildcats the ball inside the Vols’ 10. Benton converted the turnover into points when he found sophomore receiver Ce’Darrian Morgan in the end zone, which cut the lead to 20-13.

However, the Wildcats turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, and had three turnovers overall in the second half. Benton was picked off twice, first by Deshaun Gibbons and then by J.T. Wilkerson.

With the win, the Vols have evened the all-time series at 5-5.

Central-Clay will have its home opener next week against 5A Region 4 foe Tallassee (0-1). Benjamin Russell will hit the road next week to open region play against Calera. The Eagles are 0-2 and have been outscored 93-24 through the first two weeks of the season.

– Alex Husting

Andalusia 39, Anniston 0

The top-ranked Class 4A Bulldogs broke open a 7-0 halftime game and rolled in the second half.

Auburn commit J’Marion Burnette rushed for 101 yards and a TD on 20 carries as Andalusia had 227 yards of total offense.

Zerrick Jones and Jordan Skanes also had TD runs.

Anniston managed just 26 yards passing and 126 rushing for 152 total.