Story By Druw Giamalva | Special to The Sentinel

In the opening of Class 5A Region 8 play, it was the Scottsboro Wildcats who stood tall over the Boaz Pirates in a 41-7 beatdown at L.F. Corely Jr. Stadium. 

The Wildcats were led by senior running back Jacobi Edmondson who produced 307 total offensive yards (227 rushing yards) and five touchdowns for the Wildcats. 

“[Jacobi] has done a really good job in the weight room,” said Scottsboro head coach Tyler Vann. “He did a really good job, caught some passes in the backfield. I have been super proud of his effort.”

Scottsboro (2-1, 1-0) will look to add another Class 5A, Region 8 win next Friday as they host the Douglas Eagles at Pat Trammell Stadium. The Boaz Pirates (2-1, 0-1) will enjoy a rest week before playing Douglas on September 19 at Arthur Jarvis Stadium. 

The battle between the Pirates and the Wildcats started with Boaz being on offense first. Despite early success which included a first down run by Boaz receiver Sage Bennett, freshman quarterback Beau Bennett was picked off by junior Jake Tumer which set up the Wildcats at the 40-yard line. 

It only took Scottsboro three plays to put the first points on the board as Edmondson would rush for a 33-yard rushing touchdown. A good PAT by senior kicker Cole Raeuchie would give the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead. 

On the Pirates next drive, penalties would deflect all the positives that they produced which included a false start and a holding call. On third and 11, Boaz running back Presley Fant would rush for nine yards, but the Pirates decided to punt on fourth-and-two at their own 40-yard line. 

With the Wildcats back on offense, the Pirate defense would step up in a big way with Boaz safety Dayton Porter recovering a fumble and giving the ball to Boaz inside the 40-yard line. 

With the ball back in the Pirates hands, Beau Bennett would toss an 8-yard pass to tight end Jaxxon Taylor to put Boaz on the 30-yard line, but an interception on the next play by sophomore Conner Vaden would give the ball back to Scottsboro.

The Wildcats would expand their lead even further in the second quarter with Edmondson collecting his second and third touchdown of the night. Edmondson’s second touchdown would come from 9-yards out putting the Wildcats up 14-0. Edmondson’s third touchdown of the night was through the air as sophomore quarterback Colton Harding would toss a 42-yard touchdown to Edmondson. The Wildcats would take a 21-0 lead into the second half.

To open up the second half, the Pirates would show some fight in their first possession as Fant would run for a long 58-yard rushing touchdown. A good PAT by Acson Aristhene would cut the Wildcat lead to 21-7. 

After two drives that ended in no points for either Boaz or Scottsboro, the Wildcats would end the drought to expand their lead to 28-7. It only took four plays from the 50-yard line for Edmondson to produce his fourth touchdown of the night. Edmondson collected all 50 yards and capped it off with a 29-yard rushing touchdown to put the Wildcats up by three touchdowns to enter the fourth quarter. 

In their first possession of the fourth quarter, Edmondson would collect his fifth and final touchdown of the night with another deep 20-yard passing touchdown by Harding. Scottsboro would have a commanding 35-7 lead with just 3:18 left on the clock.

In Boaz’s final offensive drive, the Scottsboro defense would put the cherry on top with a fumble recovery by junior Aiden Rains that was returned for a 22-yard recovery touchdown. The Wildcats would go on to win 41-7. 

Along with Edmondson, offensive leaders included Harding who finished 9-of-11 with 133 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Senior Jayden Gilbert added two catches for 28 yards. Gilbert also ran 11 times for 48 yards. 

Leading Boaz was Fant who finished with 22 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown. The Scottsboro defense held Beau Bennett to just 72 passing yards. 

“I think we did a really good job overall,” Vann said. “[Boaz] did a lot of things that were tough on us as far as slanting and getting a bunch of guys in the box that we hadn’t seen. I knew they were going to do something that we had not seen on film but I was proud of our guys.”

Vann and the Wildcats will prepare for a region matchup next week with a very athletic Douglas team that is undefeated at 2-0. 

“Douglas is very athletic at skill positions that I have seen,” Vann said. “Our guys have to understand that we are going to get everyone's best shot in the region. There are going to be people that play really hard against us. I tell them all the time that it is not about the other team, it is about Scottsboro and how we prepare and how we play,” Vann concluded. 

› Druw Giamalva is the sports editor of The Sand Mountain Reporter.