Jed Wilkins accounted for three touchdowns, but Addison couldn’t stave off elimination on Friday night, falling to Pickens County 32-20 in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs.
Wilkins scored on a pair of lengthy first-quarter scampers to put the Bulldogs (8-3) in front 12-0, but the Tornadoes (8-3) answered with four straight touchdowns to surge ahead 26-12 with 5:56 left in the third quarter at A.G. Hicks Stadium.
“We started fast and had a couple of opportunities to dig them a little deeper, but we turned it over and finished with five turnovers,” Addison coach David Smothers said. “You can’t beat a good team doing that. We lost some momentum and they hit us with a deep ball to make it 12-6. And right before half, we got to the 2-yard line and the clock ran out. We just didn’t take enough advantage early on.”
Despite that, Addison pulled to within six points (26-20) on Wilkins’ third rushing touchdown — Jordan Hubbert added a 2-point catch shortly afterward — with 8:20 remaining in the matchup.
Pickens County, though, put the game away following a touchdown run with 1:51 left.
The Bulldogs, who were competing in the playoffs for the 11th time under Smothers, will now look ahead to the offseason.
“As far as this group goes, we could’ve been 10-0,” Smothers said. “We had a shot to win the games we lost, but we’re going to miss the seniors. We’ll go back to work soon and get ready for next year. Now, we’re going to support these kids in basketball and baseball and hope they have even more success.”
Class 3A
Sylvania 41, Vinemont 0
The Eagles simply couldn’t get it going Friday night against the No. 9 Rams.
Vinemont (4-7) trailed Sylvania (9-2) just 7-0 after the first quarter, but the home team registered four touchdowns in the second period to build a 35-0 halftime advantage.
The Rams netted a third-quarter touchdown to cap the scoring and will now advance to the second round.
Coach Stephen Robinson’s squad, meanwhile, was competing in the postseason for a fourth straight year.
The last time the program accomplished that particular feat was from 1987-90.
Class 6A
Clay-Chalkville 49, Cullman 7
The Bearcats were unable contain the home team’s explosive offense in Friday night’s loss.
Clay-Chalkville, which entered the postseason ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, scored early and often en route to a 42-0 halftime lead. The Cougars (10-0) led 49-0 before Cullman broke up the shutout on the final play of the game — a 20-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Gaines to Nick Holland.
The Bearcats, playing in their fifth straight postseason, finished their first campaign under coach Danny Stiff with a 5-6 record.