ORANGE BEACH – It got ugly early and often.

Class 2A Monroe County was outmanned and overwhelmed by Orange Beach, 56-0, as the Makos moved to 2-0 on the year with wins against teams from lower divisions.

Orange Beach scored five touchdowns by different players in just a quarter and a half of play, inflating the lead to 49-0 by halftime. The tone was set with a four-play, 76-yard drive to open the game.

Monroe County helped the Makos with several dropped or botched quarterback snaps and drops by the punter to continually give Orange Beach a short field. In the first half, Orange Beach started possessions on the Monroe County 26, 29, 30, 21 and 34.

Big plays by the Makos in the first half:

• John Gentry's 45-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to set up the first touchdown by Devin Gause with just 1:07 off the game clock.
• An 11-yard TD run by Verchaun Simms with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
• A 23-yard flea-flicker pass from Tucker to Deundrea Gray to set up the third touchdown, a six-yard run by freshman Jace Kidd.
• A 38-yard touchdown run by Cayden Fitzgerald on a reverse for a 28-0 lead as the first quarter ended. Tucker had an 18-yard completion to William Woodson the play before.
• A one-yard run by Gray following three straight carries by Gray of 6, 13 and 10 yards for a 35-0 lead.
• A six-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Mann to  Clint Miller set up by a 14-yard sweep by Kidd for a 42-0 lead half way through the second quarter.
• The final first-half score came on a pass from Ingram to Ayden Lowry covering 30 yards with just 38 seconds left before halftime and a 49-0 lead.

Officials and coaches from both teams decided to play 10-minute quarters in the second half with minimal clock stoppages.

With the clock on overdrive, there were only 10 plays from scrimmage in the fourth quarter including the Makos’ only second-half score.

Walker Bilbo ran up the middle for a six-yard score with 2:52 left set up by a 33-yard pass from Ingram to fellow quarterback Mann who lined up at receiver on the play.

Primetime Performers

No one Mako stood out statistically but several Makos stood out for individual plays on offense and defense.

Starting quarterback Tucker Wade was just 5-for-6 before backups senior Jackson Mann and freshman Colton Ingram took over.

Defensively, the Tigers were harassed from all sides by Mako defenders throughout the evening.

Defining Moments

The opening kickoff and possession?

Orange Beach went 76 yards in just four plays, with the final six yards being a rushing touchdown by Gause.

The big play on the drive was a 45-yard sweep by Gentry to the Tigers’ 21.

Up Next

Things will ramp up a bit as Orange Beach opens Region 1 play by hosting  Vigor (2-0), which blew out Mary Montgomery, 47-3, on Friday.

Monroe County, 0-1, travels to winless Hillcrest-Evergreen on Sept. 4.