Foley hands Fairhope first loss with 17 unanswered points in fourth quarter

Spanish Fort, St. Paul’s need three overtimes but Toros pull out a win from another tight game

By Cole McNanna
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 10/3/22

Week 7 of the high school football season brought mayhem between Foley’s upset of Baldwin County’s last unbeaten team and the No. 2-ranked Fairhope Pirates as well as Spanish Fort’s …

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Foley hands Fairhope first loss with 17 unanswered points in fourth quarter

Spanish Fort, St. Paul’s need three overtimes but Toros pull out a win from another tight game

Posted

Week 7 of the high school football season brought mayhem between Foley’s upset of Baldwin County’s last unbeaten team and the No. 2-ranked Fairhope Pirates as well as Spanish Fort’s triple-overtime win over St. Paul’s on the road.

Elsewhere, Gulf Shores rolled over Williamson and will host Elberta Thursday night for another big region game.

Foley 39, No. 2 Fairhope 38

The Lions’ victory over the Pirates not only snapped Fairhope’s five-game win streak in the series but also handed the Pirates their first loss of the season to end their bid for an undefeated season.

Foley trailed 38-22 after three quarters of play but stormed back in the final frame of regulation and finally took a lead with 1:42 left in the game on a 23-yard field goal from Matthew Owen.

Kolton Nero opened the fourth-quarter scoring with his second rushing touchdown – his third of the night after a game-opening touchdown throw to Makai Mitchell – before Alabama commit Perry Thompson caught his second touchdown in the front corner of the end zone.

Fairhope senior Caden Creel quarterbacked the hosts to a second-half lead behind two rushing touchdowns and a throwing touchdown to Qualin McCants who added a rushing touchdown of his own. Classmate Ryan McNeill nailed a first-quarter field goal but was injured and unavailable down the stretch of the close contest.

Next up: The Lions (3-3, 2-1 in 7A Region 1) travel to Daphne (3-3, 3-0) Friday and the Pirates (5-1, 2-1) travel to face Alma-Bryant (3-3, 0-3) Thursday.

Spanish Fort 41, St. Paul’s 38 (3 OT)

The cardiac bulls from Spanish Fort maneuvered another tight finish at the end and came out on top with a second dramatic victory in as many weeks after three overtimes against the St. Paul’s Episcopal Saints.

UAB commit Jacob Godfrey’s fourth touchdown run of the night sealed the deal for the Toros after a Saints field goal opened the scoring in the third overtime period. Earlier in overtime, Spanish Fort’s Khamron Jackson scored on a 10-yard reverse and Brayden Walker connected on a touchdown pass to Anthony Passarelli.

After the season-opening loss to Fairhope on Nolan Phillips’ last-second pick-six, the Toros fell by one possession to the Theodore Bobcats in Week 5 after holding a lead earlier in the contest. Last week, Spanish Fort erased a 15-point deficit to come out on top of Daphne, 18-15.

Next up: The Toros (4-3, 3-2 in 6A Region 1) will host McGill-Toolen (5-2, 3-1) Friday.

No. 7 Gulf Shores 51, Williamson 12

The Dolphins’ thunder-and-lightning duo of running backs did the most damage on the road Friday night. JR Gardner hit pay dirt three times and Ronnie Royal added two more rushing touchdowns to pace the Gulf Shores offense.

Brendon Byrd ran for one touchdown and threw one score to Braden Jackson and Will Langston nailed a 36-yard field goal to help the Dolphins register just their fourth 50-point game in program history, according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, where they’ve won all four.

Gulf Shores last eclipsed half a century last season, 55-6 over Satsuma Oct. 29, but before that it was Sept. 27, 2013, when the Dolphins’ 57-31 win over Baldwin County marked the most points scored in a single game so far.

Next up: Gulf Shores (6-1, 4-1 in 5A Region 1) will host Elberta (1-5, 1-3) Thursday.

Other Baldwin County final scores

St. Michael 49, Orange Beach 41 (Thursday)

Next up: The Cardinals (4-3, 3-1) will travel to face Wilcox Central Friday while the Makos (3-2, 2-2) will travel to face Bayside Academy, also on Friday.

McGill-Toolen 27, Baldwin County 9

Next up: The Tigers (0-6, 0-4) host No. 1 Saraland Friday.

Murphy 47, Robertsdale 20

Next up: The Golden Bears (0-6, 0-5) host St. Paul’s Episcopal Thursday.

St. Patrick 56, Snook Christian 18

Next up: The Eagles (0-6, 0-1) travel to face Jackson Academy Friday.

No. 10 T.R. Miller 28, Bayside Academy 3

Next up: The Admirals (4-2, 2-2) host Orange Beach Friday.

No. 1 UMS-Wright 34, Elberta 13

Next up: The Warriors (1-5, 1-3) travel to Gulf Shores Thursday.