September 2024

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PAGE 10 September 2024

The list below shows the AHSAA season record for some of the Northeast Alabama football teams as of Friday, September 20. Albertville 0-5 Alexandria 2-2 Arab 3-2 Asbury 0-5 Ashville 1-3 Boaz 3-1 Brindlee Mtn. 0-5 Cedar Bluff 2-3 Cherokee Co. 4-1 Collinsville 3-1 Coosa Christian 4-1 DAR 1-5 Douglas 2-2 Etowah 1-3 Fort Payne 2-2 Fyffe 3-1 Gadsden City 3-1 Gaston 1-3 Gaylesville 2-2 Geraldine 3-1 Glencoe 1-3 Guntersville 5-0 Hokes Bluff 4-0 Ider 0-5 AHSAA Football Records

By Brandon K. Pierce The Sports Ledger The Jacksonville State University football program picked up its first win of the 2024 season on Saturday, September 21, as the Gamecocks cruised to a 44-7 victory over Southern Miss. The Gamecocks' (1-3) offense rolled up 509 yards, and the Jax State defense had six takeaways in what was the program’s best performance of the season. Jax State turned two early interceptions into touchdowns to go up 14-0. Southern Miss scored midway into the second quarter, but Jax State quickly answered to pull ahead 21-7 at halftime. The visiting Eagles had a chance to score just before the break, but Southern Miss fumbled the football into the end zone and the Gamecocks recovered. Jax State came out of the locker room and had a great third quarter. The Gamecocks scored 23 points in the third period, while the defense recorded a second half shutout for the 44-7 victory. Quarterback Tyler Huff paced the Gamecocks with 236 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception. Huff also rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown. Tre Stewart paced the Jax State ground game with 98 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Teammate Anwar Lewis had 67 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jax State Kicker Garrison Rippa had eight points. He was 5-of-6 in extra-point kicks, and he had a 43-yard field goal. Prior to kickoff, the University introduced the 2024 Homecoming court and this year's king and queen. The King is Gemir Scott and the Queen is Germira Scott. They are twins. Jax State will return to action on October 4 at Kennesaw State. It will be the Gamecocks’ first Conference USA game this season. JSU Earns First Win of Season The sixth ranked Tennessee Vols proved they belong in the Top 10 with a dominating 25-15 victory at No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday, September 21, 2024. The Vols improved to 4-0 with the SEC conference opening victory and it marked the 10th time that Tennessee has defeated a ranked opponent under head coach Josh Heupel. Oklahoma struggled early and never really pulled things together, as the Vols defense held the Sooners to only 222 total yards. Tennessee has now held their last five opponents to under 250 yards of total offense. The Vols defense took advantage of an early turnover for the first points of the game. Cornerback Jermod McCoy halted Oklahoma's third drive with an interception, which led to a 27-yard field goal by kicker Max Gilbert. The kick put the Vols on top 3-0. The Sooners tied the game at 3-3 on a 37-yard field goal by Tyler Keltner. That would be as close as the score would be the rest of the game. It was the only time the game was tied, and Oklahoma never led in the game. Tennessee Quarterback Nico Iamaleava tossed a 66- yard touchdown pass to teammate Dont’e Thornton Jr. with three seconds left in the opening quarter to pull ahead 10-3. The Tennessee defense continued to dominate in the second quarter as defensive lineman Jayson Jenkins tackled Oklahoma's running back in the end zone for a safety, to extend Tennessee's lead to 12-3 with 9:12 left in the opening half. Dylan Simpson extended the Vols lead to 19-3 with a one-yard touchdown run with only 1:40 left in the opening half of the SEC opener. Tennessee never found the end zone again as the Vols only managed two field goals in the second half. Gilbert connected on a 41-yard attempt in the third quarter, and he made a 32-yard field goal to seal the win late in the fourth quarter. The Vols defense played great the entire game. However, the Sooners gave them a little trouble late. Oklahoma scored two touchdowns in the final quarter. Jovante Barns capped off a 10 play 68 yard drive when he caught a two yard touchdown pass from backup freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. Barns found the end zone again on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:01 left in the game. The scoring spree was not enough to help the Sooners rally for the win, as they fell to the visiting Vols 25-15. Hawkins paced the Sooners with 132 yards passing and a touchdown. He also led Oklahoma’s ground game with 24 yards rushing. Yes, that right, 24 yards. The Vols defense limited the Sooners to only 36 total rushing yards in the game. Offensively, the Vols rushed for 151 yards. Simpson led the way with 92 yards and his first half rushing touchdown. Teammate DeSean Bishop added 65 yards rushing. Iamaleava led the team with 194 yards passing and a touchdown in his SEC conference debut. Vols Wide Receiver Bru McCoy caught four passes for 92 yards. Tennessee will have an open week, before traveling to Fayetteville to face Arkansas on October 5. Oklahoma is set to travel to Auburn on Saturday, September 28, 2024 for an SEC showdown against the Tigers. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Both teams are coming into the game with conference losses. Auburn fell to Arkansas 24-10 on Saturday in the Tiger’s 2024 conference opener. “No one likes losing, so it was a tough loss. We've got to get back to the drawing board, correct the corrections and come out here and try and knock off a top-20 team next week,” commented Auburn Wide Receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Vols Win 2024 SEC Opener By Brandon K. Pierce The Sports Ledger