Friday night roundup: Opelika upsets No. 14 Prattville

Will Black booted three field goals including a late 25-yarder to gave Opelika (Ala.) a shocking 16-14 victory over No. 14 Prattville (Ala.).

Prattville, coming off a 71-point explosion against Wetumpka, struggled mightily on offense.

After a scoreless first half, Prattville received a 14-yard touchdown run from Jalen Whitlow to take a 7-0 lead.

Opelika got on the board early in the third quarter thanks to D'marius Howard. The senior running back found the end zone from 22 yards out to tie the game at 7-7.



Black's first field goal then gave Opelika its first lead of the night. Early in the fourth quarter, he connected for his second field goal, this one from 28 yards out, giving Opelika a 13-6 lead with 8:16 remaining.

Senior quarterback Justin M. Thomas connected with defensive tackle Justin Shanks, who lined up at fullback, to take a 14-13 lead with 3:48 left.

Prattville's defense was unable to slow Opelika on its final drive, as Opelika marched down the field to Prattville's 12-yard line. That set the stage for Black's heroics.

Mission Viejo outlasts Long Beach Poly (continue reading). {PAGEBREAK}MISSION VIEJO STOPS POLY FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT TIME

Mission Viejo's defense didn't allow a touchdown while beating Long Beach Poly for a fourth consecutive time 17-12 in Orange County on Friday.

According to the Orange County Register, Poly's only touchdown of the game came on an 85-yard interception return by Randall Goforth with 5:16 remianing.

The defense, spearheaded by Colin Dzubnar and Ryan Harris, also set up 10 points for Mission Viejo with turnovers.



The Diablos gave up just nine yards on the ground and Garrett Marino set the tone for the evening with a fumble recovery on Poly's first possession. That set up a 25-yard touchdown pass from Alex Bridgford to D.J. Wilson giving Mission Viejo a 7-0 lead.

Marino later had a key sack in the game.

"Our defense was great all night," Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson told reporters afterward. "I'm so proud of them."

Bridgford completed 13 of 30 for 211 yards. His favorite target was Austin Reuland, who had five catches for 83 yards. 

A 25-yard field goal by Hayden Hunt cut Mission Viejo's lead to 7-3, before Bridgford connected on his second TD, a 5-yarder to Brandon Neville making it 14-3 in the second quarter.

Hunt narrowed the gap to 14-6 with a 28-yard field goal.



Mission Viejo hung on from there despite turning the ball over four times.

USC-bound running back Jahleel Pinner rushed 26 tmes for 79 yards.

Harris was a star on defense all night with 10 tackles.

Central gets by Elder on late field goal (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}
LATE FIELD GOAL LIFTS CENTRAL PAST ELDER
In a game that featured major offensive fireworks in the second half, it was a field goal that was the deciding factor.

Emilio Nadelman nailed his second field goal of the night, this one with three seconds remaining, to propel Central (Miami, Fla.) to a 24-21 on the road against Cincinnati power Elder.

Both teams started slowly. Elder used a Ben Gramke-to-Joe Ramstetter touchdown pass to take an early 7-0 lead until Central tied the game late in the first quarter.



Neither team scored again until Central's sophomore playmaker Joe Yearby broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to give Central a 14-7 lead.

Elder responded, showing some explosiveness of its own, as Gramke hit Max Mazza for a 54-yard touchdown to tie the score at 14-14.

The Panthers had no answer for Yearby. He used his speed to break an 80-yard touchdown with 10:27 left. Gramke and Mazza fired back. With 1:12 left, Gramke found Mazza again on a 4th down pass to tie the score before Nadelman won it for Central.

Nadelman, regarded as one of the best kickers in the state of Florida, has also hit 51-yard and 46-yard field goals this season.
Trinity gets past Cathedral (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}
STRONG SECOND HALF LIFTS NO. 3 TRINITY PAST CATHEDRAL
Trinity overcame a slow start as James Quick and Dalyn Dawkins led a strong second half to push Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) past Indianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) 36-14.

With the score knotted at 7-7 late in the second quarter, Dawkins found the end zone from two yards out for his first score, giving Trinity a 14-7 lead.

Cathedral marched down the field looking to tie the game before heading into the locker room and succeeded by scoring on a fake field goal pass to bring the score to 14-14.



Quick, who's enjoying a monster season, started the third quarter with a bang.

The highly-touted junior returned the opening kickoff of the second half all the way for a 98-yard score. After a missed extra point, Trinity lead 20-14.

After the Shamrocks' defense forced a Cathedral punt, Quick hauled in a pass from Travis Wright for his second score of the night, extending Trinity's lead to 27-14.

A Trinity field goal and Dawkins' second touchdown run was all that Trinity would need.
Archbishop Moeller hangs on against St. Xavier (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}
MOELLER HOLDS OFF ST. XAVIER
Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) remained undefeated, staving off a late St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) comeback attempt to win 27-24.

A 35-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game as time expired was no good for St. Xavier.

Following a Conor Hundley touchdown run for St. Xavier that opened the scoring, Moeller took control.



A short touchdown run by Spencer Iacovone and an 11-yard scamper by Keith Watkins II brought the score to 14-7.

It was Watkins again with less than two minutes to play in the second quarter. He darted into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown to extend Moeller's lead to 20-7.

A St. Xavier field goal made it 20-10 Moeller at the half.

Moeller added to its lead in the second half with Iacovone's second run, a 1-yard score to push the lead to 27-10, seemingly putting the game out of reach.

However, St. Xavier slowly chipped away. A defensive touchdown for St. Xavier narrowed the gap before Hundley's second TD run made it 27-24 with 1:55 left.

After a failed onside kick attempt, the Bombers' defense came up with a big stand and forced a Moeller punt, giving St. Xavier the ball with 50 seconds left.



St. Xavier moved into field goal range and lined up for a game-tying 35-yard field goal attempt. Kicker Nick Roemer appeared to nail the field goal, but Moeller head coach John Rodenberg called time out just before the ball was snapped, forcing Roemer to kick again.

The senior's second attempt was no good.
Allen blasts Plano (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}
NO. 4 ALLEN MANHANDLES PLANO
Allen (Texas) is beginning to look like a real problem for Texas' Class 5A.

The Eagles, led by four more touchdown passes from senior quarterback Alec Morris, overwhelmed previously-unbeaten Plano (Texas) 44-7.

Morris' two first-half touchdown passes and a Jonathan Williams touchdown run gave Allen a 20-0 lead, as the Eagles defense continued its dominating ways.

The Eagles tacked on a 27-yard field goal to make it 23-0 at half.

It was Morris once again who sparked the Eagles at the start of the third quarter. The Alabama commit completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to his favorite target Andrew Rodriguez giving Allen a 30-0 lead.



Another touchdown pass from Morris to Rodriguez and a touchdown run by back up running back Jeff Harris closed the scoring for Allen.

A fumble recovery for a touchdown by Xavier Harbert accounted for Plano's only points.
Colerain beats Middletown (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}
COLERAIN DOWNS GMC RIVAL MIDDLETOWN 20-13
In Thursday night action, Colerain (Cincinnati, Ohio) held off a tough Middletown (Ohio) squad 20-13.

Junior Jackson Sorn rushed for two touchdowns to power Colerain's offense and handed Middletown its first loss of the season.

The showdown between the two Greater Miami Conference powers proved to be a hard-hitting affair, according to Sorn.

"That was one of the most physical games I've every played in," Sorn told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Colerain, which has been snakebitten by injuries, held dynamic Middletown quarterback Jalin Marshall to a mere 31 yards on 20 carries.



Against a difficult schedule that has already featured Cocoa (Fla.) and St. Xavier, Colerain's defense has allowed a little more than 10 points per game.

Oaks Christian holds off St. Bonaventure (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}OAKS CHRISTIAN RACES TO BIG LEAD, THEN HOLDS OFF ST. BONNY

Just when St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.) looked like it might come all the way back, the lights went out at Oaks Christian. Literally. Instead, Oaks Christian hung on for a 36-24 Marmonte League home victory. 

Fighting back from a 20-3 deficit, St. Bonaventure closed to 27-24 with seven minutes left when the lights went dim in the packed stadium. The game was delayed 15 minutes before the lights turned on fully.

It led to some tense moments around the St. Bonny coaching staff.

No matter. Oaks Christian quickly scored nine straight points to win going away. According to various reports, St. Bonny was called for holding in the end zone to account for a safety, then quarterback Brandon Dawkins connected with Chris Davis, a pair of sophomores, on a 60-yard touchdown and Oaks Christian was back in control.

Dawkins finished 15-for-18 for 181 yards and Davis finished with six receptions for 92 yards. Teammates Ishmael Adams and Carlos Mendoza combined for three rushing touchdowns for the winners.



Shaun Wick added 97 yards rushing and a TD for St. Bonaventure, which also got a touchdown run and pass from quarterback Marc Evans.