Less than three minutes into its game with the Robertsdale Golden Bears, Foley Lion Jackson Dixon was running all over the field helping spot the Lions a 10-0 lead over the home team. They never …
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Less than three minutes into its game with the Robertsdale Golden Bears, Foley senior Jackson Dixon was running all over the field to help spot the Lions a 10-0 lead over the home team.
They never looked back.
Foley scored 24 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second and cruised to a 52-7 Class 6A Region 1 win at Robertsdale.
The Lions are now 4-2 in the region and 5-3 overall, while Robertsdale fell to 1-6 in region play and 1-7 on the season.
Its win and Mary Montgomery’s 20-19 victory over Daphne create a log jam at the top of the region standings, but it appears the four of eight teams that will make the playoffs are set. The final rankings of that top four are not.
Foley will end region play next week when Mary Montgomery comes to town with its 5-1 region record, tied with Daphne and Fairhope, who are also 5-1. They play in Daphne on the same night.
Depending on the outcomes, any of those 5-1 teams could end up as region champ.
Dixon got things started against Robertsdale with a kickoff return to the Bears' 45, and Foley took seven plays to set up senior Matthew Hudson for a 28-yard field goal and an early 3-0 lead. On the second play of the drive, Dixon caught a 32-yard pass from junior Makai Holmes to the Bears' 16, where the drive eventually stalled.
Foley surprised the Bears with a pooch on the ensuing kickoff, and the Lions took over the ball at the Bear 38. It took just one play--a 38-yard pass by junior Judah Spencer to a streaking Dixon--and Hudson’s PAT made it 10-0 with 9:28 left in the first quarter.
The next Lion score capped an 88-yard drive, which was helped by 30 yards in Robertsdale penalties and finished off by a 10-yard run from Holmes for a 17-0 lead after Hudson’s PAT.
The Lions immediately recovered yet another fumbled Bear kickoff and started at the Robertsdale 43. Senior Xy Green did the work the rest of the way, catching a pass for a 12-yard gain, running a draw for eight and then picking up the final nine yards for a touchdown and a 24-0 score with 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
To start the second quarter, Foley recovered a Bear fumble at the Robertsdale 20 and scored a play soon after when Holmes linked up with Dixon to push the score to 31-0.
A Spencer seven-yard touchdown pass and a 77-yard run by Dixon rounded out the scoring in the first half at 45-0.
The only score for the Lions in the second half came on a one-yard run by junior Isaac Delaney.
Robertsdale got on the board early in the fourth quarter when sophomore Mykeel Smith, who was a determined runner all night for the Bears, scored from five yards out and sophomore Riley Crutchfield added the PAT for the final 52-7 score.
Dixon ran wild, scoring three touchdowns, including two on receptions and the 77-yard jaunt. His kickoff return also set up the Lions’ first score.
For Robertsdale, Smith had a well-earned 58 yards on 14 carries, the Bears' only touchdown and caught three passes.
On Foley’s first kickoff, the Bears mishandled the pooch and the Lions recovered for the first of five turnovers it would take advantage of on the night, including another recovery on a kickoff.
Foley will play Mary Montgomery in a game that could decide playoff pairings in the region while Robertsdale will end region play at Baker.
