Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
The Stanhope Elmore offense exploded Thursday night in the regular season finale against the Calera Eagles, helping the Mustangs coast to a 49-33 victory. The Mustangs completed the regular season with a record of 7-3. It’s the most wins in a season at Stanhope Elmore since 2019.
“It’s always good to have a winning season, we want this group to continue to establish the standards and expectations for SE football going forward,” said Stanhope Elmore Football Coach Hunter Adams.
The Mustangs’ Jay Stone returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. After holding the Eagles to a 3 and out, the Mustangs got the ball with good field position, and in four plays running back Dee Barnes scored to put the Mustangs up 14-0 just four minutes into the game.
The Eagles struck back quickly with two touchdowns to tie the game at 14, but the end of the 1st half belonged to the Mustangs. Facing a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, Stanhope Elmore quarterback Davis Foshee sneaked the ball in for the go ahead score. After a Mustang interception, Foshee then connected with Tra Smith on his first touchdown pass of the night, a 6-yard pass that put the Mustangs ahead 28-14 heading into the halftime break.
Calera got the ball to start the 2nd half, and drove inside the Mustangs’ 20-yard line, but the Mustangs defense came up with a stop. A few plays later, Foshee found Deondre Washington for a highlight reel 29-yard touchdown pass.
The Eagles answered with a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter, but the Mustangs pulled away in the 4th, with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Foshee to Leland Merritt, and a 1-yard touchdown run by Barnes.
With two touchdown rushes, the junior sets the all-time school record for touchdowns in a season with 29. Also, Barnes topped the 2,000 yard mark for the season, finishing with 2,017 yards.
Coach Adams credited not just Barnes, but the guys blocking for him up front. “They are a hard working group, and work well together as a unit. We rotate about 7 offensive lineman, but it starts with seniors Macin James, Gabe Lewis, and Raul Garrido. They are all smart, physical guys that play hard and play together,” said Adams.
A week after passing for over 100 yards and 1 touchdown at Wetumpka, Foshee had the biggest game of his career, again passing for over 100 yards to go along with 3 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown.
“Davis continues to emerge as a leader and a winner at quarterback. He has the ideal temperament and football mind that you expect from a coach’s son. His effectiveness has coincided with the maturity of our wide receiver group, which are all sophomores,” said Coach Adams.
Finishing as the #3 seed in Class 6A Region 2, the Mustangs will travel to Theodore next week for the 1st round of the Class 6A playoffs. The Bobcats are the #2 seed in Region 1 and are currently 6-3. They will play Blount tonight in their regular season finale.
“Theodore is a big, physical football team. Head Coach Steve Mask has been coaching and winning football games longer than I’ve been alive,” said Coach Adams. “They rely on a tremendously physical run game, have a dual threat quarterback, and their defensive front seven is very strong. It will definitely be a huge challenge, but one we are excited to undertake.”
