Football Friday Night: RCHS runs past Wadley, Handley gets homecoming win over Lanett

Last year’s game between RCHS and Wadley went to overtime before RCHS came away with the win, and with both of this year’s teams undefeated and looking fairly evenly matched going into Friday’s contest in Wedowee, another close game seemed to be in store.

And of course, that’s not at all how it went.

RCHS came up with a series of big plays in the second quarter to blow open what was a 14-6 Tiger lead, on their way to a 49-6 final score.

RCHS running back Mo Winston scored four rushing touchdowns for the second straight game, and the Tigers’ vaunted ground game went over 300 total yards for the fifth time in as many games this season. RCHS kept their record unblemished with the win, and according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society it was the 500^th victory in program history.

As impressive as the Tigers were on offense, they may have also put together their best defensive outing of the season against a Wadley team that came into the game undefeated and ranked No. 8 in the state in Class 1A.

RCHS outgained Wadley 320-108 on the ground, with all but 27 of those 108 yards coming on Wadley’s only scoring play – an 81-yard touchdown run by Frisco Robertson on Wadley’s second play from scrimmage.

The teams entered the second quarter in a 14-6 contest, but a series of big plays in RCHS’s favor gave the Tigers a big lead in a hurry. Two Wadley turnovers and an onside kick recovery by RCHS led to the Tigers scoring three touchdowns in a span of five and a half minutes of game time. The lead ballooned to 34-6 before the Tigers added one more touchdown late in the second to take a 42-6 advantage into the locker room.

Winston scored two of those four second-quarter touchdowns and added one more in the third to close out the scoring after he scored the first touchdown of the game as well. He finished with 88 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries and also caught one pass for 11 yards to finish with 99 yards from scrimmage.

Amari Molden led the Tigers with 10 carries for 119 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

RCHS also got short rushing touchdowns from Austin Terrell and Blane Barber.

Robertson finished as Wadley’s leading rusher with a net of 68 yards on four carries. RCHS held the dynamic Wadley duo of Jaquez Wilkes and Cortavion Lynch to 35 yards on 20 carries.

RCHS remains undefeated and raises its record to 5-0 with the win, while they hand Wadley its first loss of the season. The Bulldogs fall to 5-1.

Randolph County will return to region play next week at Saks. Wadley has the week off.

Handley 42, Lanett 27

The only drama in Handley’s homecoming win against Lanett Friday was which of the five senior ladies on the Handley homecoming court would be crowned homecoming queen.

Handley built a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and started playing backups before the start of the second quarter on their way to a not-nearly-as-close-as-it-looks 42-27 win.

Zanautika Smith was crowned homecoming queen, and Handley raised its record to 5-1 with the victory, a bounce-back result after last week’s tough loss at Clay Central.

Handley will host Anniston next week in a pivotal region matchup.

Other scores

Clay Central 48, Alexandria 13