BY SCOTT NICKERSON
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
The Benjamin Russell Wildcats learned a hard lesson Friday night in the Class 6A Region 3 opener. The lesson was that Mustang Running Back Antonio Trone could not be taken down with an arm tackle. It took two, three, sometimes four defenders to take him down. The Stanhope Elmore High School offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, ensuring that if the Wildcats did get multiple defenders to Trone, it was usually four or five yards down field at the earliest. The success of the offensive line was seen in the fact that the Mustangs rushed the ball 32 times on the night, and only had one play for negative yards. And it wasn’t just the rushing attack, SEHS quarterback Jacob Bryant was sharp, going 9-11 for 110 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, helping the Mustangs pull away late for a 42-20 victory.
The Mustangs scored on their first three possessions of the game. On the first drive, receiver Jackson Thomas took a pitch around the right side for a 47-yard gain. A few plays later, he hauled in a 10-yard pass in the back of the end zone to give the Mustangs a lead less than three minutes into the game.
The Stanhope Elmore defense held the Wildcats on a 4th and 1 attempt at midfield on the next possession, and the Mustangs took advantage of the field position, with Bryant finding receiver Kneikao Jackson for a 36-yard touchdown pass. The Mustangs led 14-0 less than five minutes into the game.
The Wildcats showed exciting potential with their pass happy offense, when sophomore quarterback Gabe Benton tossed a 57-yard touchdown pass moments later to cut the score to a one possession game.
The Mustangs answered on the next drive. Facing a 4th and 2 at the Wildcats 12-yard line, the Mustangs drew the defense offsides, picking up a first down. The next play, Trone scored his first touchdown.
In the latter part of the 2nd quarter, the Wildcats drove the ball deep in Mustangs’ territory, and faced a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line. The Wildcats tried a pitch to the left side, but the Mustangs defense delivered a punishing hit on the ball carrier. Defensive back Deshaun Coffee scooped up the ball and ran 90-yards downfield before being tackled by the Wildcats sophomore quarterback, one of the most impressive hustle plays so far this season. The hustle paid off, as the Wildcats intercepted a pass a few plays later. The Wildcats missed a field goal to end the 1st half, and the Mustangs went into the locker room ahead 21-7.
The Wildcats opened the 3rd quarter and marched down the field behind Benton’s passing, scoring from 11-yards out. The Mustangs answer was Trone. He ran the ball five straight times, once a 31-yard effort in which he broke five tackles that took almost every Wildcat defensive player to stop the running back. He later scored from 6-yards out to put the Mustangs ahead 28-14.
Trone had another impressive play in the 4th quarter, carrying defenders again for 21yards, before setting up his third score of the night to move SEHS ahead 35-14.
Mustangs’ defensive back Pat Williams made his second interception of the game on the next possession, leading to the final SEHS score, 24-yard pass from Bryant to Colton Walls.
BRHS scored late on a 66-yard TD pass from Benton, to finish out the scoring, 42-20 in favor of Stanhope Elmore.
For the night, Trone rushed 24 times for 171 yards and 3 TDs. Bryant threw 3 touchdown passes to three different receivers. Six players recorded a reception for Stanhope Elmore. Pat Williams had two interceptions for the defense. Although BRHS racked up 325 yards through the air, the Mustangs defense held BRHS to just 23 yards rushing and forced 3 turnovers.
Next week the Mustangs return home to host the Pelham Panthers, the defending Class 6A Region 3 champ. The Panthers are 2-1 on the year, and 1-0 in Region 3. They are coming off a 34-20 win over Calera. Although it is early in the season, this game could go a long way in determining the Region 3 championship.
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