Linden thumps Brantley in quarterfinal round

BRANTLEY — Linden (10-2) punched its ticket to the Class 1A semifinals Friday night with a dominating 41-0 win over Brantley.

The Patriots got three Dequan Charleston touchdowns in the first half to help anchor the effort, jumping out to a 28-0 lead by halftime.

Charleston intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown with 10:20 to go in the game’s first quarter.

After Justin Jenkins scored on a 10-yard run with 8:19 left in the frame, Charleston found the end zone again on a 35-yard run to make it 21-0.

With 3:37 left before half, Charleston scored on a 19-yard spring to push the advantage to 28-0.

Linden went on to add a touchdown in each of the game’s final two quarters. C.J. Robinson found DeVonta Poole for a 41-yard touchdown strike with 11:47 to go in the third quarter, putting the Pats up 34-0. James Jones added a 70-yard touchdown run with 10:42 to play to cap the scoring.

The Pats amassed 297 yards on the ground on 42 carries and completed 5 of 6 passes for 82 yards.

The result marked the first postseason win over Brantley and pulled the lifetime series between the schools to 3-3. Each of those games has come in the Andro Williams era.

More importantly, Linden set up its much-anticipated rematch with reigning state champion and Class 1A, Region 4 No. 1 seed Maplesville, which beat Georgiana 36-28 Friday night. The Patriots lost to Maplesville 20-7 Sept. 18.

The game will mark the third straight week the Pats have hit the road in the playoffs. Kickoff is set for Friday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. in Maplesville.