Leeds keeps the upper hand in a short but spirited rivalry with a win over Moody on Friday night. The Green Wave did just enough to escape with a 14-13 Class 5A Region 6 win in a battle of two of the best Class 5A teams in the state.

The second-ranked Green Wave did it with a bunch of defense and a bit of first-half offense. Moody entered the game averaging nearly 50 points per game, led by quarterback Cole McCarty. The No. 3 ranked Blue Devils were held scoreless in the first half, largely because Leeds kept McCarty contained. Leeds took a 14-0 lead at the half on scoring runs by Jeremiah Hunter and Conner Nelson. The second touchdown came with 18 seconds left in the half, and Nelson followed it with a two-point conversion run.

Moody came back after halftime with a pair of touchdown passes from McCarty to University of Arkansas-commit Davion Dozier. The first one came from 17 yards out late in the third quarter. The second one, an 18-yard strike with just over two minutes remaining, was followed by a botched extra point attempt, leaving the Blue Devils (8-1, 4-1) a point short.

Leeds (8-0, 5-0) is 2-13 overall against Moody, with one of those wins coming by forfeit.

Priceville 72, Westminster Christian 45: The Bulldogs clinched a home playoff game and stayed alive for an outright region title with the Class 4A Region 8 win over the Wildcats. Priceville's Jaylen Mosley, Mason Cartee and Blitz Clemons each rushed for more than 100 yards as the Bulldogs gained nearly 600 yards.

Westminster led 25-22 at halftime behind quarterback Brandon Musch. The Bulldogs responded with a 49-point second half and finished with a school record for points in a game. Mosley had four touchdown runs, Cartee had three and Clemons had two. Musch accounted for six touchdowns, with five coming on the ground.

Priceville will travel to Randolph next Friday to play for the region title.

Central-Phenix City 38, Auburn 17: The final unbeaten team in Class 7A is no longer unbeaten. Central-Phenix City (7-2, 6-1) dominated the Region 2 showdown over visiting Auburn (7-1, 5-1).

The Red Devils did not punt during the game. Quarterback Jaylen Epps led an offense that dominated, and Quintavious Billingsley had an interception return for a score.  

Mary G. Montgomery 14, Daphne 9: The Vikings are headed to the Class 7A playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Vikings were 0-7 against Daphne entering the game. They stopped the streak behind the steady play of Jared Hollins and an outstanding defense. Mary G. Montgomery will enter the Class 7A playoffs as the No. 3 team from Region 1.

Calera 52, Helena 51 (4 OT): Calera players might want to start applying for overtime pay after back-to-back marathon games. It took four overtimes and a ton of big plays to outlast Helena on Friday night. A week ago, the Eagles beat Briarwood Christian in a three-overtime game. The Eagles are finding ways to win.

On Friday, Braylyn Farrington's long punt return for a touchdown late in regulation tied the game, and Preston Stokes had three rushing touchdowns in the overtime periods. Stokes' final touchdown run, followed by the extra point, gave Calera a 52-45 lead. Helena answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by Mason Johnson but failed on a two-point conversion pass.

Austin 28, Bob Jones 26: Austin clinched the Class 7A Region 4 title with yet another close win. Four of the Black Bears' region wins have come by one score, so they were accustomed to finding a way to win. A big factor in Friday's win was a pair of blocked extra points by Austin.

Austin's De'Air Young had three touchdown passes in the win. Bob Jones is in a four-way tie for third place with one week of region play remaining.

Fairview 51, Lawrence County 30: Fairview junior Eli Frost rushed for 330 yards and five touchdowns to help his team remain in a first-place tie with Russellville in Class 5A Region 8. Frost now has 2,254 yards rushing on the season.

Arab 34, Guntersville 20: Arab won the program's second region title in its history. The first region title came in 1993. Arab had a pair of interception returns for touchdowns, and Drake Franklin rushed for two touchdowns in the win. Arab (8-1, 6-0) is one win away from tying the 1993 team for a school record in wins.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email steve.irvine@1819news.com.

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