CORNER —
The duo of quarterback Blake Byrd and receiver Kerry Smith proved to be potent for Corner, especially when they connected on their third touchdown of the night to give the Yellow Jackets a 24-21 win over Jemison in Corner’s last home game of the regular season.
Byrd hooked up with Smith for a 13-yard scoring strike with 43.7 seconds left in the game to take the lead for good. Then with 4.5 seconds left, Byrd intercepted a Jacob Hatch pass to seal the win.
Hatch opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. But Corner tied it on the first play of the second quarter on a 65-yard bomb. Then after Hatch fumbled the ball early in the Panthers’ next drive, Matt Vatani recovered the miscue at the Jemison 33. Byrd and Smith connected on the first play after the fumble for the score.
Randy Satterfield scored for the Panthers on a 23-yard run with 29.3 second left in the half to tie the score at 14-14 at intermission.
The difference in the scores turned out to be a long field goal from Jackets’ all-state kicker Troy Elliott, who hit from 49 yards — his longest field goal of the season and third-longest of his career — with just under a minute left in the third period.
Jemison took the lead back on a 7-yard touchdown run by Kevin King with a little eless than three minutes to play.
Byrd was 14-for-24 passing for 276 yards for the night, and Smith caught 11 passes for 212 yards, a career best.
Byrd and Smith had one other touchdown pass called back on a penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield.
King led the Panther ground game with 126 yards on 17 carries.
The victory gives Corner a clear shot at a Class 4A playoff berth, as they travel to winless Carbon Hill next week.
Local Sports
Football: Corner 24, Jemison 21
- Local Sports
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Football: Glover to coach, three Pinson Valley players on North roster of All-Star teams
Three Pinson Valley seniors-to-be were named to the roster of the north team, and Indians coach Matt Glover will be an assistant for the north team at the AHSAA North-South All-Star Football Game in Montgomery.
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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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