Ramsay holds off No. 10 Scottsboro's comeback attempt in Round 2

Wildcats finish 9-3, win region title in Vann's first season as head coach

Jason Bowen

Scottsboro head coach Tyler Vann stood at midfield, a look of anguish on his face as he rewound the previous four quarters through this mind and the consequences of the result — a season-ending loss.

“(Hate) that it’s over,” Vann said.  

No. 10-ranked Scottsboro fell behind by three scores in the first half before rallying to within seven in the third quarter, but the visiting Ramsay made two big defensive stands in the second half to defeat the Wildcats 40-27 in the second round of the Class 5A Playoffs at Trammell Stadium Friday night.

The loss ended Vann’s first season at Scottsboro, which included the program’s first region championship since 2016, with a 9-3 record. 

“Proud of the fight (of our players). We just didn’t execute good enough to win the game,” Vann said. “I let them down tonight. I’ve got to do a better job. Hurts me for the community that we couldn’t find to get a win for them. That’s my job, to find a way to win games for them. We’re supposed to win at home in the playoffs, and everything we do going forward is to make sure we don’t ever lose again at home.”

Scottsboro nearly put together an improbable rally. 

Ramsay (8-3), last year’s Class 5A runner-up and the 2022 5A state champion, used a big first half from junior running back Jayden Martin to build its lead. 

Martin had a 42-yard touchdown run and a 34-yard touchdown catch from Colorado recruit Kameron Keenan to give the Rams a 14-0 first-quarter lead. After Scottsboro freshman Connor Vaden blocked a Ramsay punt, which led to Jacobi Edmondson’s 15-yard touchdown run, Martin scored touchdowns on three consecutive carries covering 40, 68 and 72 yards as Ramsay built a 34-12 lead in the second quarter. He ran for 243 of his 298 rushing yards in the first half.

But Scottsboro, which got a 2-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Jake Jones late in the second quarter, grabbed momentum at the end of the half when senior Tyler Shelton came down in the end zone with Jones’ 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired. Jones’ then threw a two-point conversion pass to Trip Nelson to pull Scottsboro within 34-20 at halftime.

The Wildcats started the third quarter with a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive that was finished off with Jones’ 7-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Gilbert and Cole Raeuchle’s extra point, cutting the Ramsay lead to 34-27 with 5:33 left in the third quarter.

Scottsboro then forced Ramsay to punt, but the Wildcats fumbled on the first play of their ensuing offensive possession, and Ramsay turned it into Ladarian Berry’s 3-yard touchdown run with 7 seconds left in the third quarter.

Scottsboro drove to the Ramsay 4-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but a false start penalty pushed it back to fourth-and-7 and the Wildcats were unable to complete a fourth-down pass in the end zone. Scottsboro’s final two possessions ended on downs and with an interception.

“I thought we had opportunities there in the second half to win,” Vann said. “I thought the defense played good, gave up just seven points in the second half. 

Got the stop we needed, had a chance to drive down and tie it – we turn it over. Then fourth-and-2, we false start — just mental mistakes we haven’t been making in big situations.”

Ramsay visits No. 4 Moody in the Class 5A quarterfinals next week, 

“They’re a really good football team,” Vann said of the Rams. “They’ve been to the championship game a lot, they know how to win, know how to win in the playoffs. Our guys just kept fighting and not quitting. They just have a willingness fight and to continue to fight regardless of the situation, the down and distance, the scoreboard. I’m super proud of them for that.”

Jones, a four-year starter for Scottsboro, finished with 124 rushing yards and a touchdown on 30 carries and was 8-of-21 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Shelton made two catches for 92 yards and Gilbert had 23 yards rushing and 23 receiving while Edmondson ran for 33 yards.

Vann lauded the players for the efforts this season and to buying in to the changes he and the new coaching staff introduced following his hire back in January.

“I think it says a lot about this team, this senior group,” he said. “I’m super proud of these seniors and what they’ve done. It’s something they can look back on and be proud of.”