The Phil Campbell High School varsity football team (6-3, 6-1) routed Class 2A Region 7 foe Falkville High School (4-5, 3-4) 42-16 on Friday night to earn its sixth-straight victory.
Phil Campbell, playing on the road, had the contest all but wrapped up by halftime. Leading 28-0 at the break, the Bobcats ultimately scored 42 unanswered points before Falkville finally broke the shutout in the fourth quarter.
Two passing touchdowns by senior quarterback Hayston Scott—the first, a 42-yarder to junior Braxton Downey; the other, a 33-yard completion to senior Austin Elliott—put PCHS up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Scott finished the game with six completions for 135 yards, giving him 1,191 passing yards for the season.
In the second quarter, Downey did more damage, this time on the ground, with touchdown rushes of eight and 14 yards. Downey ended the night with seven carries for 54 yards.
In the second half, Elliott found the endzone for the second time and scored the first of Phil Campbell’s final two touchdowns with 3:00 left in the third quarter. With one of his two rushing attempts on the night, the Bobcat playmaker ran 59 yards to put PCHS up 35-0.
In addition to his 59 rushing yards, Elliott also had four receptions for a team-high 76 yards.
Phil Campbell’s final touchdown of the night came via the special teams unit. Fielding one of Falkville’s three punts in the game, freshman River Karr scored his first touchdown of the season by returning the ball 46 yards.
Down 42-0, the hosts scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was far too little too late for the Blue Devils to orchestrate a comeback.
The 42-16 win keeps the Bobcats in a three-way tie with Lexington and Colbert County for first place in the region with one regular season game remaining. The AHSAA’s tie-breaker rules for this scenario are a bit convoluted, but the bottom line for the Bobcats is they need to beat their longest-running rival Hackleburg in their season finale to have a chance at winning the region. A finish anywhere from first to third in the region is still possible for PCHS, depending on the results of week 10 games.
Phil Campbell will travel to Ray Family Stadium to face Hackleburg (8-1) on Thursday, September 29.