Eagles topple Southeastern to return to Class 2A semifinals

Story By Jason Bowen and Brad Nevels

Change was a hot topic around the Pisgah football program this offseason, but the regular season has produced more of the same from the Eagles.

No. 3-ranked Pisgah is headed to the Class 2A state semifinals for the third time in four seasons thanks to a soggy 26-15 quarterfinal win over Southeastern Friday night in Remlap.

It’s the fifth all-time state semifinal appearance for Pisgah (11-2) since the AHSAA instituted its five-round playoff format in 1984. 

The Eagles will host No. 2 Coosa Christian (11-2), a 17-0 quarterfinal-round winner over No. 9 Tuscaloosa Academy,  in the semifinals next Friday night. State semifinal winners advance to play in the AHSAA Super 7 Football Championships at Protective Stadium in Birmingham Dec. 3-5. The Class 2A state championship game is Friday, Dec. 5 at 3 p.m.

After losing key starters to graduation and undergoing a coaching change when Luke Pruitt took the head-coaching job at Boaz after seven years leading the Eagles, Pisgah quickly promoted offensive coordinator Adam Gilbert to the head-coaching role last April and went back to work with the same expectations as before.

“It was a lot of change, but things stayed the same,” Gilbert said. “We didn’t hide from expectations because we knew what we’re capable of and here we are. Yes, we’ve got good coaches and great community support, but at the end of the day, we just coach a bunch of winners and that’s all they know how to do.”

Pisgah’s high-octane offense struggled with the rain and wet-field conditions Friday, as a touchdown with 1:25 before halftime allowed the Eagles to avoid not scoring a touchdown in the opening half for the first time in four seasons.

“Our advantage was speed, and (the rain) took it away, but both teams had to play in it,” Gilbert said.

Pisgah got on the board first with a 19-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Cutter Mays to Caleb Jenkins on a fourth-down play just before halftime. Southeastern (10-3) drove into the red zone and threatened to score just before the half ended, but Jake Johnson broke up the Mustangs’ screen pass on fourth down to keep Pisgah in front at halftime.

After an interception by Jackson Smalley in the Mustangs’ first possession of the second half, Pisgah took over at its own 24-yard-line and needed just three plays to score. Jett Jeffery’s 3-yard touchdown run was set up by Mason Gass’s 69-yard run on the first play of the drive. A short Pisgah punt gave Southeastern good field position with 3:55 left in the third quarter. Two plays later the Mustangs got on the board on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jericho Pendleton to Josh Smith. But Pisgah answered back with a 52-yard touchdown on a third down screen pass from Mays to Landon Watkins, and on the second play of Southeastern’s ensuing possession, Smalley jumped a short pass and took his second interception 35 yards to the end zone. After three failed two point attempts, the Eagles converted when Mays found Jeffery as Pisgah extended its lead to 26-7 in 59 seconds of game time. 

Gilbert said the pick-six was a game-changing play.

“It’s funny how those little things you work on Monday or Tuesday, then don’t hit them again, come back to play in the game,” Gilbert said. “We told our corners to attack if they set up in ‘strong twins’ and try to throw the quick screen and Jack did it.”

Pendleton’s second touchdown pass and two-point conversion toss pulled Southeastern to within 26-15 with 9:30 left in the game, but interceptions by Jenkins and Jeffery on back-to-back possessions sealed the victory for the Eagles, who had five interceptions on the night, including two each from Jenkins and Smalley.

Watkins led the Eagles offensive attack with 150 total yards, 76 receiving and 74 rushing. Mays completed 10 of 16 passes for 132 yards and Gass added 85 yards on the ground.

Since the start of the 202 season, Pisgah is 45-9 with two region championships, four Class 2A state quarterfinal appearances and three state semifinal appearances. 

“That’s just the culture that’s been built, and (these seniors have) been a huge part of building it,” Gilbert said. “I’ll go to battle with them any day.”