SPORTS LEDGER December 2023 Read Free Online at www.TheSportsLedger.com Page 1B The Fyffe Wins Class 2A State Championship By Myra W. Pierce The Sports Ledger The Fyffe Red Devils won their seventh High School State Football
Alabama will make its eighth appearance in the Rose Bowl with this year’s selection, owning a record of 5-1-1 in those contests. Most recently, the Tide defeated Notre Dame in the 2021 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game at the Rose Bowl (game played in Arlington, Texas due to COVID), 31-14. Head Coach Nick Saban is 16-6 in postseason games at Alabama, earning wins over Kansas State (2023 Sugar Bowl) Cincinnati (2022 CFP Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic), Ohio State (2021 CFP National Championship Game), Notre Dame (2021 CFP Semifinal Game at the Rose Bowl), Michigan (2019 Citrus Bowl), Oklahoma (2018 CFP Semifinal Game at the Orange Bowl), Georgia (2018 CFP National Championship Game), Clemson (2017 CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the 2016 CFP National Championship Game), Washington (2016 CFP Semifinal Game at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), Michigan State (2015 CFP Semifinal Game at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic). Anderson piled on two more touchdowns in the second quarter. The first was a 2-yard run and the second was for a 7-yard rushing score. Martin made both extra-point kicks. Reeltown was not able to score in the second quarter, making the game 28-12 at the half. In the first quarter of the 2A Title game, Anderson rushed for an impressive 108 yards. By halftime he had three touchdowns and 159 yards. In the second half, Fyffe continued to dominate the game. The Red Devils recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter. The play gave the Red Devils the momentum and Fyffe was able to capitalize on that with another score. Gipson found the end zone on a 30-yard run. Anderson carried the ball into the end zone on the two-point conversion to bring the score to 36- 12. Gipson finished the championship game with 134 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Reeltown responded with 7:10 left in the third quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run by Traylen Roberts.
The No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide will square off with the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff Semifinal on Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. The contest is slated to kick off at 4 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines will meet for the sixth time in the history of the series that dates back to 1988. It will mark the second-straight time the two storied programs will meet in the postseason as Alabama defeated Michigan, 35-16, in the 2019 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. With that win, the Tide leads the all-time series, 3-2. The winner of the Semifinal between Alabama and Michigan will meet the winner of the contest between the No. 2 Washington Huskies and the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, who will play in the CFP Semifinal Game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Superdome in New Orleans on January 1, 2024. The 2024 CFP National Championship Game is scheduled for Monday, January 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Championship in the past 10 seasons with a 43-24 victory over Reeltown in the Class 2A State Finals at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Friday, December 8, 2023. Fyffe was ready to play, and it showed early in the game. The Red Devils scored a touchdown in the first five minutes of the game and the program put 14 points on the board in the first quarter. Logan Anderson rushed for an 8-yard score and Jesse Martin made the extra point for the Red Devils first scoring drive. Ryder Gipson added Fyffe’s second score with a 65- yard touchdown run with 8:39 left in the first quarter. Martin made the extra point. Reeltown also scored twice in the opening quarter. Tae Martin scored on a 47-yard run and Arthur Woods, III found the end zone on a 13-yard run. Reeltown missed both two- point conversion attempts, as Fyffe held on to a 14-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Fyffe Red Devils celebrate winning the 2023 Class 2A State Football Championship. Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger 2023 STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPS
However, the program once again failed to add the two-point conversion. At the end of the third quarter, Fyffe was in control with a 36-18 lead. With 4:46 left to play in the fourth quarter, Reeltown’s Tae Martin caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Hornsby to bring the score
to 36-24. Reeltown’s two- point conversion play failed. It appeared as if Reeltown was trying to catch up with the Fyffe Red Devils on a late rally. However, Fyffe did not let that happen. The Red Devils responded with only a little over a minute left to play, as Anderson raised the score another six points with
his fourth touchdown of the game. Martin added the extra point to help Fyffe seal a 43-24 State Championship victory over Reeltown. Anderson finished the game with 256 yards and four touchdowns to earn the Class 2A State MVP Honor. Anderson’s performance also helped him set a school record this season. He
reportedly rushed for 2864 yards on 265 attempts and scored 45 touchdowns for the Red Devils. The state title victory closed out the Red Devils season. Fyffe finished the year with a 14-1 record, with their only loss coming early in the season against DeKalb County rival Geraldine.
Alabama Football To Face Michigan Wolverines In The 2023 Rose Bowl
Nine SEC Teams Set For Bowl Games Nine Southeastern Conference football teams will be competing in postseason bowl games. This includes No. 4-ranked Alabama, which will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl game on Monday, January 1. In the other New Year’s Six Games, Georgia will participate in the Capital One Orange Bowl against ACC champion Florida State, Missouri will play Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and Ole Miss will play Penn State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando selected Tennessee from the SEC to play Iowa of the Big Ten. This marks the tenth year the Conference has assigned league schools to an “SEC Bowl Pool” that includes six postseason games. The SEC Bowl Pool includes the TaxAct Texas Bowl in Houston, the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. In alternating years, the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl replaced the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in the SEC Bowl Pool. Texas A&M will play in the TaxAct Texas Bowl in Houston, Kentucky will play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Auburn will play in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville and LSU will play in the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa. The SEC Bowl Pool participants are determined after conversations with bowl partners and discussions with school personnel in order to create a lineup of compelling bowl games. This process, as approved by the institutions of the SEC, provides an opportunity to create intriguing matchups and varying assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations. Because four SEC teams were selected to play in the CFP’s New Year’s Six bowl games, only four of the SEC Bowl Pool games will include SEC schools. 2023 Super 7 Football The 2023 AHSAA Super 7 State Football Championship games were held on December 6-8 at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The State Champions include: Class 1A: Leroy 28 - Coosa Christian 21 Class 2A: Fyffe 43 - Reeltown 24 Class 3A: Mobile Christian 55 - Madison Academy 28 Class 4A: Montgomery Catholic 35 - Cherokee County 0 Class 5A: Gulf Shores 21 - Ramsay 14 Class 6A: Clay Chalkville 31 - Saraland 28 Class 7A: Central Phenix 21 - Thompson 19
Alabama running back Jam Miller (#26) scores a touchdown against Georgia during the SEC Championship game at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, December 2, 2023. The Crimson Tide picked up a 27-24 win, to snap Georgia's 29 game winning streak and earn this year's title. Photo Courtesy of Alabama Athletics 2023 SEC CHAMPS
Prior to the CFP, the Tide defeated the Fighting Irish (2013 BCS National Championship Game at the Orange Bowl), LSU (2012 BCS National Championship Game at
the Allstate Sugar Bowl), Michigan State (2011 Capital One Bowl), Texas (2010 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl) and Colorado (2007 Independence Bowl).
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