Spanish Fort gets victory over Eufaula

EUFAULA — Eufaula’s season ended on a disappointing note Friday as the Tigers were trounced by sixth-ranked Spanish Fort 45-14 in the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A Playoffs.

Home field advantage meant little for the Tigers (6-5) as they trailed 21-0 just one minute into the second quarter. The visiting Toros (9-2) from Baldwin County scored 38 points before Eufaula finally scored in the fourth quarter.

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“They were good, but we made them look better,” EHS coach Dan Klages said. “They wanted it more than we did. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Their kids executed their game plan. We had a game plan too, but we didn’t execute it.”

Spanish Fort rushed for 355 yards with many of those yards coming after contact. Senior quarterback Patrick Mcgavin led the Toros with 149 rushing yards on 13 carries. Sophomore back Otis Smith, who ran several plays out of the wildcat formation, finished with 101 rushing yards.

The Toros scored their first points on defense, though. A botched Eufaula handoff attempt inside Tiger territory was snatched by Spanish Fort linebacker Evan Pezent. He returned the fumble 27 yards for a touchdown. Derrick Hosch booted the extra point kick, and the Toros led 7-0 with 10:12 remaining in the first quarter.

Both teams traded punts before the Tigers began a promising drive midway through the first quarter. They started at their 1-yard line but promptly moved inside Spanish Fort territory. However, the Tigers failed to pick up a yard on two plays after having third and one from the Toros’ 45.

“You have to be able to overcome that,” Klages said of the fumble and stalled drive.

Spanish Fort capitalized on the short field and scored late in the first quarter on Smith’s 23-yard touchdown out of the wildcat.

The Toros also scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter — on a 17-yard run by Elijah Peters and 5-yard touchdown pass from Mcgavin to Wes Runnels. Hosch converted on all of the extra point kicks, and the halftime score was 28-0.

A 38-yard field goal by Hosch and a 1-yard touchdown run by Smith gave the Toros a 38-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. Eufaula then scored a pair of touchdowns to make the score more respectable. EHS quarterback Demonte Jett completed a 61-yard touchdown pass to Tyreece Mayo for the Tigers’ first points. Jett later scored from one yard out and ran in the two-point conversion, making the score 38-14. His second touchdown came after he successfully recovered an onside kick.

Spanish Fort completed the scoring midway through the fourth quarter when Mcgavin completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Davares Ambrose.