The saying is defense wins championships.
For Reeltown that could not have been more true.
In a nailbiting affair between two top dogs in Reeltown and Highland Home, points were hard to come. A 34-yard touchdown from sophomore Alijah Woods with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter gave Reeltown the lead and its ticket to its second consecutive appearance in the AHSAA Class 2A state championship, pulling out a 6-0 victory.
Heading into the contest, Highland Home was a team that averaged 47 points per game on the offensive side of the ball. However, the Reeltown defense never waivered even when faced with the occasional big play.
The Flying Squadron made five trips to the red zone and each time couldn’t punch it into the end zone — two missed field goal tries and three turnover on downs in Rebels territory.
“Nowadays, with football, it is just extremely difficult, regardless of who you're playing, to keep anybody out of the end zone, that is just an extremely difficult task,” Reeltown coach Matt Johnson said. “For a team like that and for us, to keep them out, it's just a remarkable effort. It was just kind of survival of the fittest there.”
Linebacker Cruise Johnson stepped up big time for the Rebels, seemingly involved in every play made by the defense. Whether it be when he was sent on a blitz, being stout in the run game or covering the middle of the field on passing plays he was a problem. On the night he led the team with 13 total tackles and three tackles for a loss.
“It's a unique situation when you coach your son,” Johnson said. “I don't give him enough credit, but he had an unbelievable game, 13 tackles, I'm extremely proud of him. I'm hard on him but just so proud of him. He's battled through injury all year long, as well as tonight. He just kept stepping up, but he did a remarkable job. The whole defense, I mean he had a great game, no doubt but it's hard to talk about individuals with the effort that they all gave for 48 minutes.”
He was not alone as a standout performer. Senior Baylor Clayton made Highland Homes’s T.J. Washington's day a nightmare. Clayton found his way to the quarterback on three separate occasions while adding one tackle for a loss and six total tackles on the night.
Although the defense made many plays on the night, the one Woods made was the highlight of the entire night. The Rebels struggled to move the ball all night and only crossed into enemy territory twice the entire game. However, the offense was faced with a fourth and four with no other option but to go for it. Quarterback JaMarkius Smith dropped back and hit Woods 34-yard down the field for the first and only score of the night.
“JaMarkius found Alijah and made a remarkable play,” Johnson said. “We had Tae (Martin) wide open earlier in that drive, but we had just a little bit of pressure. We couldn't get it to him, but if we could have hit that one, I think he would have scored but it worked out great because we're able to take some time off the clock.”
In addition to his touchdown, Woods notched his third straight game with an interception coming in the second quarter of the contest.
Next up for Reeltown is Tuscaloosa Academy, which took down Sulligent 20-14. The AHSAA Class 2A State Championship game will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the Protective Stadium in Birmingham.