MCCALLA, Ala. – Ameriol Finley and Davares Ambrose bullied McAdory’s defense for 317 rushing yards and the Spanish Fort defense grabbed three interceptions as the Toros knocked off the McAdory Yellow Jackets 37-16 on Friday in a 5A semifinal.

Finley had 152 yards rushing and three touchdowns and had a touchdown pass to Billy Harris, while Ambrose rushed for 165 yards and a score. The Toros (12-2) will play Briarwood Christian (13-1) on Thursday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn for the 5A state championship.

“We feel like we have a very solid offensive line,” Spanish Fort coach Bryant Vincent said. “We have a great defense and we are solid in the kicking game. And we made some clutch passes tonight, too. We can throw the ball, but we just take what the defense gives us.

“I am extremely proud of our entire football team. It takes an entire team in all three phases to make it to the state championship.”

Spanish Fort’s defense held McAdory quarterback Brandon Bender to just 105 yards passing and had interceptions from Daniel Pond (2) and Shane English and forced a Bender fumble.

“Our defense had a great game plan going in, and the kids came out and executed it and played extremely well,” Vincent said. “McAdory has a great football team. They are extremely fast. They are in the semifinals for a reason. They fought their tails off and we were just able to come up and make a lot of big plays.”

The Toro offensive line, anchored by Auburn-bound center Reese Dismukes, dominated McAdory’s defensive line as Spanish Fort rushed for more than 300 yards for the second straight week.

“No one was going to stop us from winning this game,” Dismukes said. “We just did everything we had to and came out with a victory. I give it up to all my offensive buddies and the o-line. They just played a great game. They allowed (Finley) and Ambrose to do all the things they do.”

The Toros set the tone early, driving 67 yards in seven plays for a touchdown on the first possession of the game. Finley carried four times on the drive and had an 8-yard touchdown while Ambrose rushed three times.

After Pond returned his first interception to the McAdory 21, Finley scored on a one-yard run after a six-play drive. The Toros recovered a mishandled Yellow Jacket punt snap at the McAdory 15, and Finley scored again three plays later.

McAdory’s lone first-half points came on a safety and the Toros led 20-2 at the half.

McAdory drove 68 yards on the opening possession of the second half and Bender scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.

Pond intercepted another Yellow Jacket pass and returned it to the McAdory 18 and Finley threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Harris on the next play.

McAdory would score its final points on a 60-yard halfback pass from Emmett Terry to Jordan Dudley in the third quarter.

Spanish Fort added a 25-yard field goal from Bobby Creighton and a 39-yard touchdown run from Ambrose in the fourth quarter.

Below: Ameriol Finley runs for a touchdown for Spanish Fort against McAdory. Video by Eric Mann.

Below: Davares Ambrose runs for a Spanish Fort first down against McAdory. Video by Eric Mann.