The Spanish Fort Toros and St. Michael Cardinals rolled to big wins in their respective regions Friday night where both allowed single-digit points to their opponents and staked claim to second place in the standings.

Spanish Fort improved to 4-1 in Class 6A Region 1 with a 35-6 victory over St. Paul’s where junior Nehemiah Hixon scored through the air and on special teams with a punt returned for a touchdown.

St. Michael moved to 3-1 in Class 4A Region 1 thanks in part to a fourth straight game with more than 250 passing yards for freshman Gunner Rivers in a 49-3 decision over Orange Beach. The quarterback racked up 275 yards on 13 completions with 3 touchdowns to go along with his first touchdown catch, a 1-yard connection from senior running back Martin Corte.

Rivers currently holds the lead for passing yards in Alabama according to MaxPreps’ standings as of Monday, Oct. 9. In 7 games, he has thrown for 1,985 yards on 150 completions with 22 touchdowns against 2 interceptions. He holds a 58-yard lead over second-place Huntley Dees from Jackson Academy who has played eight games.

Spanish Fort 35, St. Paul’s 6

Senior linebacker and Alabama commit Sterling Dixon returned from what was thought to be a season-ending injury and led the Toro defense with 12 total tackles and 2.5 sacks for the unit’s third single-digit allowance of the season.

On the other side of the ball, Hixon collected 156 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns where he found himself on the passing side of a scoring connection. The athlete finished with 67 rushing yards on 7 carries, 4 catches for 29 receiving yards, a 13-yard touchdown pass and a 42-yard punt return for a score.

Senior tight end Chandler Wilson caught Hixon’s touchdown pass as part of a 21-yard, 2-catch night to complement classmate Gabe Myers’ 4 catches for 73 receiving yards and a touchdown. Fellow senior Blake Smith led the offensive line with 4 of the unit’s 9 pancake blocks.

Sophomore quarterback Aaden Shamburger connected on 13-of-18 passing attempts for 166 yards and added 49 rushing yards on 7 carries. Junior Sawyer Wilson caught Shamburger’s other scoring throw, a 25-yard reception, on top of 78 rushing yards on 14 carries with a touchdown.

Junior Newton Gardner also played a crucial role on Spanish Fort’s defense and special teams where he contributed 8 tackles between 4 solos and 4 assists with 1 tackle for a loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup and 3 punts for 127 yards and an average of 42.3 with 1 downed inside the 20-yard line.

Senior Javontae Walton was not far behind with 7 total tackles (1 solo and 6 assists) and 2 pass breakups where he also pulled down his third interception of the season.

Up next: The Toros (5-2, 4-1) take on McGill-Toolen (4-2, 3-1) on the road.

St. Michael 49, Orange Beach 3

Sophomore Brody Jones similarly scored in multiple disciplines as St. Michael tied its program record for single-game scoring for a fifth time and second time this season. Jones caught 5 passes for 102 receiving yards and a touchdown, added a 21-yard touchdown run and also returned an interception 47 yards to pay dirt.

Junior Brady Zdyb led the Cardinal defense with a season-high 8 tackles between 7 solos and 1 assist as well as 2 tackles for loss.

Senior Parker Baas (2 solos and 3 assists) and junior classmates Toby Edmiston (2 solos and 3 assists) and Ollie Deese (3 solos and 2 assists) all registered 5 total tackles where Baas added 2 tackles for loss and Edmiston recorded 1. Sophomore Bryce Marston provided 3 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss and pulled down his second interception of the season.

Corte converted a trick-play opportunity and threw a touchdown pass to his freshman quarterback to go along with his 83 rushing yards on 13 carries and 5 catches for 62 receiving yards with a touchdown.

Rivers finished with 275 yards on 13-of-17 passing with 3 touchdowns and added a 4-yard rush on top of his 1-yard touchdown catch. Sophomore Noah Moss supplemented the effort with 63 rushing yards on 9 carries with a touchdown as well as a 73-yard touchdown catch.

Up next: The Cardinals (4-2, 3-1) are set to return home and face Wilcox Central (1-5, 0-4) on Thursday. The Makos (0-6, 0-4) are set to host Bayside Academy (4-2, 2-2) on Friday.

OTHER WEEK 7 FINALS

No. 3 Jackson Academy 48, Snook Christian 26

Up next: The Eagles (0-6, 0-2) are scheduled to host Wilcox Academy (6-2, 2-0) on Friday.

McGill-Toolen 34, Baldwin County 23

Preston Kiper: 15-of-22 passing for 113 yards with 1 touchdown

Damorien Andrews: 7 catches for 29 receiving yards with a one-handed touchdown catch; 28 rushing yards on 3 carries

Hayden Coley: 4-of-9 passing for 63 yards with 1 touchdown

Ti Mims: 9 catches for 106 receiving yards; 21 rushing yards on 5 carries

LeJames Daniel: 21-yard touchdown catch

Jamarion Marshall: 47 rushing yards on 8 carries

Up next: The Tigers (1-5, 1-3) will hit the road to face No. 1 Saraland (7-0, 5-0) on Friday.

UMS-Wright 55, Elberta 13

Up next: the Warriors (2-4, 1-3) are set to host No. 1 Gulf Shores (7-0, 5-0) for a Friday contest.

Murphy 39, Robertsdale 27

Andrew McDaniel: 3-of-7 passing for 44 yards with 1 touchdown

Aiden Valrie: 3 catches for 44 receiving yards with 1 touchdown; 129 rushing yards on 23 carries with 2 touchdowns

Deven McCovery: 69 rushing yards on 13 carries with 1 touchdown

Up next: The Golden Bears (0-6, 0-5) are scheduled for an away game against St. Paul’s (4-2, 2-2) on Friday.

Foley 21, Fairhope 17

Up next: The Lions improved to 3-3 overall and 1-2 within Class 7A Region 1. Foley is set for another home game next week against the Alma-Bryant Hurricanes (2-3, 0-2). The Pirates fell to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in region play. Fairhope will return home next week for another rivalry matchup, this one against the Daphne Trojans (4-3, 3-1).

No. 1 Gulf Shores 45, Williamson 14

Up next: The Dolphins improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in region play. Gulf Shores is set to face the Elberta Warriors (2-4, 1-2) on the road in another game within Class 5A Region 1 on Friday, Oct. 13.

T.R. Miller 31, Bayside Academy 17

Up next: The Admirals fell to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in region play with an away contest against the Orange Beach Makos (0-6, 0-4) set for Week 8.