Trojans top defending 6A state champ, face showdown with Parker
The Muscle Shoals broadcast booth shook as if an earthquake struck J.F More Stadium on Nov. 15.
“They are gonna scoop and score!” the team shouted as Muscle Shoals sophomore defensive back Christian Pritchard raced his way down the sideline for the score that would seal the Trojans’ victory over defending Class 6A state champ Clay-Chalkville.
Muscle Shoals not only got revenge on the team that put them out of the playoffs in the third round last season, the Trojans earned their first win in football against the No. 6 Cougars.
The loss is the first in over a year for Clay-Chalkville, which defeated now Alabama superstar receiver Ryan Williams and Saraland in the state title game last year.
The 31-21 victory earns Muscle Shoals a spot in this year’s third round of the postseason against 11-1 Parker, ranked No. 2 in the final Alabama Sportswriters Association poll of the year, compared to the Trojans at No. 8.
While the Clay-Chalkville beast has been slain, it is not the only one lurking in Birmingham.
The Thundering Herd fell to the Trojans in the third round of the playoffs in 2022, but this Parker team is a different animal.
The only blemish on the record so far this season is a 48-26 loss to undefeated Carollton out of Georgia.
The Thundering Herd beat familiar foe Cullman 35-0 in the first round of the playoffs followed by Mountain Brook 28-7.
Parker will likely be the toughest test of the season so far for Muscle Shoals, but the Trojans proved they can play with anyone by beating Clay-Chalkville.
The Trojans (9-2) travel to face the Thundering Herd in a big 6A showdown on Nov. 22, with the winner set to face the victor of Oxford and Fort Payne.
It was Clay-Chalkville that got on the board first early in the first quarter, but Kade Clemmons connected with Anderson Flippo on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cap a 12-play, 61-yard drive and even the contest after a Jorge Garcia PAT.
An interception by Marcus Johnson gave MSHS possession at the Clay-Chalkville 35-yard line.
The Trojans did not waste the opportunity, as big runs by Clemmons and Tari Hampton got Muscle Shoals into field goal range.
A third-down pass fell incomplete, but Garcia put a 28-yard kick through the uprights to put the Trojans back on top 10-7.
Clay-Chalkville would regain the lead at 14-10 just before halftime, and the two teams would trade possessions a couple of times in the third quarter.
The Cougars got into the red zone, but a pass interference call and an incomplete pass stalled the drive.
Clay-Chalkville attempted a 40-yard field goal, but the kick sailed wide.
Muscle Shoals mounted a drive that appeared about to end, but a pass from Clemmons to Bryce Young gave the Trojans a 39-yard gain and first and goal from the 4-yard line.
An illegal motion backed up the Trojans, but not far enough to keep Jaquess Greene from making a 9-yard touchdown run to put Muscle Shoals back on top 17-14.
The Cougars would score quickly and regain the lead at 21-17 with 8:17 remaining in regulation, but those points would prove to be the last for Clay-Chalkville.
The next Trojan drive seemed about to stall, but on fourth and 10 Clemmons hit Flippo for a first down.
Clemmons then connected with Ezra Fowler down to the 11-yard line, but a facemask penalty by the Cougars gave Muscle Shoals a first and goal from the 6-yard line.
A touchdown run made it 24-21 Trojans, but as the Muscle Shoals radio crew said, 3:14 was a “long way to go” against a team like Clay-Chalkville.
The Cougars got the ball inside the Trojans’ 30-yard line with a pass, but the Muscle Shoals defense held CCHS to a fourth and 14.
A delay of game penalty made it fourth and 19 from the Trojan 36.
Clay-Chalkville’s quarterback dropped back to pass, but Muscle Shoals’ coverage was good. The QB was flushed from the pocket on the left side and was forced to run.
A few yards past the line of scrimmage a Trojan defender hit the quarterback so hard the ball popped loose, and it was Pritchard, who already had multiple punt and kick returns for touchdowns on the season, who scooped up the fumble.
He ran up the sideline untouched around 70 yards while the Muscle Shoals side of J.F. Moore Stadium erupted.
“It doesn’t get better than this,” sideline reporter Clint Reck said.
The Trojans went up 31-21 with 59 seconds to play.
Clay-Chalkville did not manage much on the short final drive, and Muscle Shoals had slain the first giant of several in the hunt for a Class 6A state title.
