By Scott Nickerson
Elmore/Autauga News
The Stanhope Elmore football team traveled to Cramton Bowl in Montgomery on Thursday night, hoping a win over Sidney Lanier in a Class 6A Region 2 matchup would propel them to a strong finish of the second half of the season and a playoff birth. However, the Poets were just too strong offensively, leading from start to finish and scoring touchdowns on their first six possessions of the game, before coasting to a 41-17 victory on homecoming.
After the Mustangs played five of their first six games in front of a home crowd, with a loud student section, on a Friday night, the atmosphere of this game was notably different at the start. Playing on a school night, just before Fall Break for Elmore County schools, not many students made the trip for either team, and when the bands weren’t playing, fans could easily hear the coaches yelling out instructions to their players.
The Mustangs fumbled on the third play of the game, and the Poets took over on the Stanhope Elmore side of the field. The Poets scored from 31-yards out on the first play, but it was called back because of a holding. It did not matter, because the Poets then scored on the first play from 40-yards out. A two-point conversion put Sidney Lanier up 8-0.
Stanhope Elmore responded with a solid drive, ending in a 32-yard field goal from Jacob Bryant, to cut the Poets lead to 8-3. Less than three minutes later, the high-powered Lanier offense scored again, this time from a 41-yard touchdown pass, to go up 15-3.
The Mustangs tried another field goal attempt on the next possession, but it went wide left. The Poets responded early in the 2nd quarter, converting a 33-yard reception and then scoring on a 10-yard rush. The Poets lead was 21-3.
Down 18 points, the Mustangs offense came alive in the 2nd quarter. Senior receiver Jackson Thomas, a Troy commit, had a 25-yard reception, and followed that up with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 21-10.
On the Poets’ next offensive possession, they faced their first 4th down of the game, albeit only needing one yard. The Mustangs needed a stop, but were unable to get one, as the Poets ran for a 12-yard touchdown on the play.
Still, the Mustangs did not give up, utilizing the clock wisely, and marching down the field. Bryant found Senior Tight End Colton Walls down the middle of the field for a couple of big yardage plays. With only 8 seconds remaining in the half, and the Mustangs realizing they needed touchdowns and not field goals, they ran a play from the 18-yard line, once again finding Walls in the middle of the field, and he scored a touchdown with two seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to a manageable 10 points at the half, 27-17.
After scoring touchdowns on all four possessions in the first half, the Lanier offense faced a 4th and 8 the first time they had the ball in the second half. Again, the Poets converted, and the Mustangs could sense that they had let their best opportunity of getting a stop slip away. The Poets went down and scored a touchdown. A Mustangs fumble led to another Lanier touchdown, and the game was out of reach at 41-17 heading into the final quarter, where neither team was able to put any points on the board.
Bryant had a phenomenal first half for the Mustangs, passing 15-19 for 267 yards and 1 touchdown. In the second half, he had 13 yards with an interception. Jackson Thomas had 7 receptions for 79 yards. He also had a rushing touchdown.
The loss drops Stanhope Elmore to 1-6 on the season, and 1-3 in Class 6A Region 2. The loss eliminates the Mustangs from playoff contention with three weeks left in the season. It will be the second year in a row the Mustangs have missed the playoffs.
Stanhope Elmore will return to action next Friday night in a home game against Pike Road, the defending Class 5A champions that moved up the Class 6A this season. It will be senior night for the Stanhope Elmore senior class.
