Sweet Water pummels ALJ in return to 1A play
SWEET WATER, Ala.—Sweet Water showed little mercy to its old intra-county rival Friday night, blasting A.L. Johnson 42-6 in its return to Class 1A, Region 1 play.
The teams played to a scoreless tie through two quarters but the Bulldogs turned the Eagles every which way but loose in the second frame en route to a 21-0 halftime lead. Jacory Brown scored on a 10-yard run with 6:43 to play in the half before Jonah Smith hit Hunter Mendenhall on an 11-yard touchdown strike for the 14-0 advantage. Smith then went over the top to Will Huckabee for a 21-yard score and the three-possession lead going into the locker room.
Shamar Lewis scored on a 5-yard run with 7:19 to play in the third quarter before Braiden Broussard hit Damion Young for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 2:09 to go in the frame.
Jaylin Johnson capped the Bulldog scoring with a 5-yard run with 9:10 to go in the game.
Deandre Croom scored the lone Eagle touchdown of the night with a 47-yard sprint with 8:07 to play in the contest.
Sweet Water was up to its old 1A tricks with 52 plays for 372 yards that included 278 on the ground. The Bulldogs also managed 94 yards through the air. ALJ countered with 118 yards on 35 plays and turned the ball over three times. Sweet Water outpaced ALJ 19-5 in first downs.
Lewis had 121 yards on 12 carries. Johnson added 56 yards on six runs. Croom had 53 yards on two totes for the Eagles.
R.J. Rodgers and Trent Sams each had an interception for Sweet Water.
A.L. Johnson (0-3, 0-1) will look to get into the win column next week when it travels to Fruitdale. Sweet Water (1-1, 1-0) hosts Marengo (2-0, 1-0) in what promises to be a slugfest next Friday.
