A pair of first-half touchdown throws from sophomore Jaylyn Thibodeaux and a 65-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by senior Maddox Balius helped the Daphne Trojans secure a key win in the Class 7A Region 1 playoff picture by a 36-14 margin over the Foley Lions on the road.

Junior Jaecyn Myles (20 yards) and freshman Labrayln Coleman (13 yards) were on the receiving ends of Thibodeaux’s scoring passes as senior Mikkel Willoughby scored a pair of short-yardage rushing touchdowns for Daphne in the first half.

Balius punctuated the Trojans’ defensive effort, which included a safety, by recovering a fumble forced by classmate Marquaes Lambert and returning it 65 yards for a touchdown to increase the visitors’ lead to 36-7 just before halftime.

Foley hit pay dirt at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters thanks to a 42-yard touchdown pass from junior Nelson Thompson to senior Kaden Adams and a short-yardage rushing touchdown from senior Jaylon Domingue, respectively.

Daphne moved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in region play with a home matchup against Baker up next. The Hornets fell to 3-1 overall with a non-region loss to Jackson in Week 4 and will enter the matchup with the Trojans with a 2-0 mark in region play.

The Lions similarly fell to 3-1 overall and now sit 2-1 in the region with a bye on next week’s schedule. Foley will travel to Fairhope next on Oct. 4.

St. Michael Cardinals 45, Satsuma Gators 7

For the first time in program history, the St. Michael Cardinals started a season 4-0 thanks to a dominating effort on the road.

Sophomore quarterback Gunner Rivers threw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, 4 of which went to junior receiver Tucker Tomlinson who finished with 184 receiving yards according to the Wild Cardinal Network. Junior Noah Moss caught Rivers’ other touchdown pass to go along with 70 receiving yards and added a rushing touchdown as part of a 40-yard effort on the ground.

St. Michael led 38-0 at the halftime break where the Cardinals had amassed 344 total yards compared to Satsuma’s 87. The St. Michael offense also registered 12 first downs before the Gators recorded their second. The Cardinals finished with a 474-245 edge in total offensive yards.

Junior kicker Patricio Garcia converted all of his point-after tries for St. Michael and added a 47-yard field goal to help his team record its second-straight 40-point game.

The Cardinals are set to return home next week with a 2-0 record within Class 4A Region 1 when the Escambia Academy Blue Devils come to town with a 1-3 overall mark and 0-2 record in region play following a 13-6 loss to Mobile Christian.

Fairhope Pirates 42, Davidson Warriors 25

Although Davidson opened the scoring, Fairhope immediately responded with an 80-yard connection from senior quarterback Jackson Robertson to junior Bryon Martin who took a swing pass around the edge and the rest of the way to the end zone.

The Pirates built to a 21-18 halftime lead thanks in part to two big plays from junior Andres Hunt who first caught a pass over the middle around midfield then outraced everyone else to pay dirt to complete a 64-yard passing connection from Robertson. Hunt then took a reverse 31 yards to the doorstep where Robertson finished the drive with a short-yardage rushing score.

Martin provided another explosive play out of the gates of the second half when he returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Senior Jahaven Johnson added a 32-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter to extend Fairhope’s lead over Davidson to 35-18.

Pirate senior PJ Harbin capped the scoring with a rushing touchdown of his own to help his team improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 within Class 7A Region 1. A road trip to the Robertsdale Golden Bears, who dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in region play with a 41-3 loss to MGM, awaits Fairhope next week.

Gulf Shores Dolphins 28, McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets 10

Senior Mississippi State commit Kolin Wilson scored on touchdown runs of 9, 3, 51 and 61 yards to help Gulf Shores secure its first win of the season.

The Dolphins improved to 1-3 overall and 1-1 within Class 6A Region 1 with another road trip on next week’s docket. Gulf Shores is set to face a Blount Leopard team fresh off a bye week following a 12-6, double-overtime win over Murphy to move to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in region play.

Other Week 4 finals

B.C. Rain Red Raiders 36, Elberta Warriors 16

Bayside Academy Admirals 33, Monroe County Tigers 0

Clarke County Bulldogs 28, Bayshore Christian Eagles 0

MGM Vikings 41, Robertsdale Golden Bears 3

Orange Beach Makos 42, W.S. Neal Eagles 32

Saraland Spartans 42, Spanish Fort Toros 17

South Choctaw Rebels 54, Snook Christian Eagles 0

Theodore Bobcats 28, Baldwin County Tigers 7