As excited as he was with a historic victory at Saraland, Gulf Shores Coach Mark Hudspeth wanted to keep his eye on the prize.
“Still a lot of football left and we still have a lot of …
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As excited as he was with a historic victory at Saraland, Gulf Shores head coach Mark Hudspeth wanted to keep his eye on the prize.
“Still a lot of football left and we still have a lot of room for improvement," Hudspeth said after a 34-24 win over the top-ranked Class 5A Spartans.
The win makes the Dolphins the team to beat in Class 5A Region 1, as they have now started at 3-0 overall and 1-o in distrct play after dropping Saraland to 1-1 (0-1).
With the scene set, let's get into the exciting stuff.
It’s hard to convey enthusiasm via email, but it came through loud and clear from Hudspeth. You could almost hear the guttural cheers and yelps of players on the bus in his words.
“In levels of importance, this is one of my top favorite wins!” Hudspeth said. Also, his 2023 team won a pretty big game, the state championship.
The reason behind the revelry? It’s been almost six years since Saraland lost a game in their home stadium.
It’s been 30 games since the Spartans even lost a regular season game. Each of the last four years, Saraland played for the Class 6A state championship, winning its only title in 2022.
“To break a 41-game home win streak against one of the perennial top teams in the state is definitely a big win!” Hudspeth said. “Great win for the Gulf Shores community! It was a team effort tonight! I thought our conditioning and character were a big factor in the fourth quarter, where we took control of the game.”
Again, his exclamation points.
Most of the excitement in this one came from plays in the kicking game, with each side handing the opposition gifts of field position that ultimately turned into touchdowns.
Early on, it was Gulf Shores presenting those gifts.
Later, with a healthy dose of Elijah Malone’s running and stellar defense, the Dolphins would take those gifts back. A current Jacksonville State commit, Malone ended up with 133 yards on just seven carries to go along with three touchdowns.
With Gulf Shores leading 7-3 on the strength of a 17-yard scamper by senior Janoy Ferguson two plays into the second quarter, the Dolphins attempted an unsuccessful onside kick, giving the Spartans the ball at the Gulf Shores 45.
Just six players later, a 15-yard fade pass to the corner from quarterback and Oklahoma commit Jamison Roberts got the lead back for Saraland with 9:17 left in the half.
The Dolphins couldn’t convert on their next possession after running 10 plays, but they also forced a three-and-out for the Spartans after turning the ball over on downs on the Saraland 43.
But on the ensuing punt, Benton Brereton mishandled the catch, giving Saraland the ball at the Gulf Shores 31 with 1:49 until half time. Roberts made them pay with a nine-yard scoring strike with 19 seconds left in the half to give the Spartans a 17-7 lead.
Gulf Shores announced it had no intention of going quietly like 41 teams before them by opening the second half with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 28-yard sprint from Malone.
With 9:15 left in the third, the Dolphins had cut it to 17-14.
Saraland answered with a nine-play march of its own, capped by Roberts’ third touchdown pass of the night for a 24-14 lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter.
But the rest of the night would belong to the Dolphins, with two pivotal special teams plays and a blast of a 77-yard touchdown run by Malone icing the big win.
After what should have been teams swapping punts, Saraland dropped a kick from Gulf Shores and the Dolphins were set up at the Spartans 26. Two motion penalties quickly had Gulf Shores facing a 1st-and-20.
Quarterback Major Hudspeth responded on 2nd-and-20 with a 30-yard pass to Brereton that brought his team down to the six.
From there, Malone lined up in the wildcat and ran for the score on the first play of the fourth quarter to close within 24-21.
On the strength of passes from Roberts, Saraland moved downfield in 10 plays to a third-and-eight on the Dolphins’ nine. Defensive linemen Adam Duncan and Landon Wallace combined to sack Roberts for a seven-yard loss, setting up a field goal try.
And then, some special teams lightning struck again.
The field goal was blocked by Malone and scooped up by Joc Prince for a long touchdown scamper, giving the visitors a 28-24 lead with 7:29 left in the game.
On the next possession, the Spartans again ran 10 plays only to be stopped on fourth down, as Gulf Shores took over on its own 21 with 3:39 to play.
Then, one final lightning strike occured when Malone broke loose three plays later with a 77-yard touchdown run just 26 seconds after taking over the ball.
Saraland’s final possession ended with a fumble recovery by Kaleb Williams caused by a hit from Gabriel Irvin.
Elijah Malone is fresh off multiple Player of the Week honors from his exploits in a 34-10 win over St. Paul.
He might need to make more room on the mantle.
The senior, usually known as an elite defender, was lights out running the wildcat offensively, rushing seven times for three scores and 133 yards, unofficially.
And as usual, his name was constantly mentioned when the Dolphins were on defense, on top of him even making an impact on special teams with the blocked field goal.
Jamison Roberts for Saraland also lived up to his pedigree with three touchdown passes on 16 of 32 completions for 166 yards, unofficially.
With Saraland lining up for a field goal and a six-point lead with 7:29 left in the game, Malone's block of the attempt and Joc Prince’s scoop and score gave Gulf Shores the lead for the first time since 7-3 two plays into the second quarter.
The Spartans never recovered.
Gulf Shores will be at home to face Blount in a battle of Region 1 Class 5A unbeatens. Blount, now 2-1, beat Murphy, 43-0, on Sept. 4 for its first region win.
Saraland will try to restart that home winning streak as region foe Theodore comes calling next week. Theodore is 1-0 in the region after a 31-28 win over Baldwin County on Sept. 4.
