JASPER —
Walker celebrated a homecoming win 37-0 over the Hayden Friday night, securing a playoff berth for the Vikings and dashing any hopes the winless Wildcats had of a miracle march to the post-season.
Hayden's defense started the game off playing well, forcing a Walker punt on it's first possession. But the Wildcats' offense sputtered, and was forced to punt on its first possession also.
On the first play following the Cats punt, quarterback Blake Wilkes — son of former Hayden QB Wayne Wilkes — hit Sa'Darius Key for a 33-yard touchdown pass.
An onside kick was recovered by Walker at the Hayden 41. The Hayden defense held and forced a 39-yard field goal attempt, which was hit by Joseph Pedraza to put the Vikings up 10-0 with six minutes left in the first quarter.
The Vikings found paydirt again on their next possession when Wilkes hit Quadarius Key for 40 yards and a touchdown with 56 seconds on the opening quarter.
After the teams swapped punts, Hayden again got into Viking territory, but turned the ball over on downs at the Walker 37. Walker's Pedraza connected on a 46-yard field goal on their next possession.
Walker then put the game out of reach on a 33 yard pass from Bryant Atkins to Quadarius Key. That put the score at 24-0 with only :34 left in the half.
Walker would add a couple of touchdowns in the second half, the first coming with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter as Tyler Phillips ran in from five yards out.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Carlton Durrough ran in from the 1 to put Hayden out of its misery.
The leading rusher for the Cats was Dylan Putnam, who had 32 yards on nine carries. Austin King led Wildcat receivers with a single catch for 44 yards; Pressley Niblett added two catches for 28 yards.
Corey Ward was 8-17-0 passing for 95 yards.
The win improves Walker to 4-2 overall, 4-0 in the region, while Hayden drops to 0-6 and 0-4.
The Wildcats will travel for the third time in a row as they will take on the Blue Devils of Mortimer Jordan.
Local Sports
Football: Walker 37, Hayden 0
Winless Wildcats eliminated from post-season contention
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Hayden wins AHSAA 5A state softball championship
Brooke Meadows' lead-off home run in the first inning held up as the only run of the game, as Hayden defeated Scottsboro 1-0 Saturday to win the AHSAA Class 5A state softball championship.
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State softball tournament: Hayden advances to championship game with 2-0 win over Scottsboro
All it took was one big hit, and that came off the bat of Katie Parr.
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State softball tournament: Hayden 3, Saraland 2 (10 innings)
Brooke Meadows hit a lead-off double, then scored the winning run when Meleah Hargett bunted her way on base as Hayden defeated Saraland 3-2 in 10 innings in the quarterfinal round of the AHSAA Class 5A state softball tournament.
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State softball tournament: Hayden 12, Shelby County 0 (6 innings)
Hayden has advanced to the winner's bracket second round of the AHSAA Class 5A state softball tournament, thanks to a 12-0 beatdown of Shelby County that ended after six innings.
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State softball tournament: Corner eliminated by Oak Grove
After breezing through their regional qualifying tournament without a loss, then dispensing with a top-10 opponent in the first round of the state tournament, Corner’s softball team showed all the appearances of a juggernaut headed for a big finish to the season.
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Regional softball qualifiers: Corner, Hayden advance to state tournament
Corner took the express lane, while Hayden took the back roads with lots of twists and turns.
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Baseball playoff semifinals: Hartselle 7-10, Pinson Valley 2-0
Pinson Valley’s pitching had no answer for Hartselle’s bats.
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Boys soccer semifinals: St. Paul's Episcopal 2,Pinson Valley 1 (shootout)
Pinson Valley’s boys soccer team has seen this show before, and it wasn’t any better the second time.
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Softball regionals: Tuscaloosa in rain delay
The opening of the AHSAA North Central Regional Softball Tournament will not get started on time, thanks to rain in the Tuscaloosa area.
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Gardendale athletes sign scholarships at annual ceremony
Eleven graduating senior athletes at Gardendale High School were honored Thursday night in the school's annual scholarship signing ceremony.
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