Baldwin County football roundup: Orange Beach defense dominates, Bayside Academy extends winning streak

Spanish Fort rolls in road victory thanks in part to 218 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns from King

BY COLE McNANNA
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 10/6/24

In what was their most important region games so far, the Orange Beach Makos and Bayside Academy Admirals extended winning streaks with the regular season winding down.

The Orange Beach defense …

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Baldwin County football roundup: Orange Beach defense dominates, Bayside Academy extends winning streak

Spanish Fort rolls in road victory thanks in part to 218 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns from King

Posted

In what was their most important region games so far, the Orange Beach Makos and Bayside Academy Admirals extended winning streaks with the regular season winding down.

The Orange Beach defense limited the Escambia County Blue Devils to 17 yards of offense and one first down in a 38-6 home win. The Makos also forced five turnovers to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in Class 4A Region 1.

Orange Beach’s fourth-consecutive win also all but locked up a playoff spot with three region contests remaining. The Makos are scheduled to host top-ranked Jackson next week before road games against Mobile Christian and St. Michael Catholic. Orange Beach missed the postseason last year after hosting first-rounds games the previous two years in a row.

Bayside Academy Admirals 28, Hillcrest Evergreen Jaguars 20

Bayside Academy outlasted Hillcrest Evergreen for a fifth-straight victory which maintained second place in Class 3A Region 1. The Admirals improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in region with home games remaining against Cottage Hill Christian and T.R. Miller as well as an away battle against Excel.

Although a two-game shutout streak was not extended, the Bayside Academy defense is now averaging only 11.7 points per game which is the fourth-least in 3A.

Junior all-state linebacker Billy Neill’s nose for the end zone as a running back continued with a pair of rushing touchdowns to complement two touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Bo Miller, one on the ground and one through the air to classmate Ladd Powers.

Spanish Fort Toros 42, Blount Leopards 12

EJ King led the way as Spanish Fort rolled over Blount behind the senior running back who racked up 218 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns to earn a third-straight Toro victory. Spanish Fort improved to 6-1 overall and 4-1 within Class 6A Region 1 with home games scheduled against Gulf Shores and McGill-Toolen before a road trip to play St. Paul’s.

King’s effort on Friday marked his third triple-digit rushing night so far on top of 109-yard and 137-yard games against Theodore and Baldwin County, respectively. His 5 rushing touchdowns also pushed his season total to 12 on the ground in addition to 1 passing score.

Junior quarterback Aaden Shamburger delivered a 23-yard touchdown pass to senior Nehemiah Hixon to cap the Toros’ scoring. Defensively, fellow senior Bishop Burkhalter led the Toros with 15 total tackles and 2 for loss.

Other Week 7 final scores

Baker Hornets 47, Robertsdale Golden Bears 0

Daphne Trojans 34, Davidson Warriors 14

Fairhope 30, Foley 7

Jackson 55, St. Michael 16

Lighthouse Christian Stingrays 39, Snook Christian Eagles 0

Saraland Spartans 55, Baldwin County Tigers 16

St. Paul’s Saints 26, Gulf Shores Dolphins 14

Vigor Wolves 40, Elberta Warriors 0

Washington County Bulldogs 44, Bayshore Christian Eagles 21