Written by Jim DeWitt

Etowah High School all-purpose back Devin Horton provided one spark after another and his Blue Devils teammates added even more sparkle to capture this week’s Alabama High School Athletic Association Weekly Spotlight for Week Four of the prep football season.

Etowah scored two touchdowns in the final 22.1 seconds to capture a wild 30-26 come-from-behind win over J.O. Johnson at Attalla last Friday night.

Down 26-16 with less than 1:13 remaining, Horton provided the heroics that included two touchdowns in the thrilling final 22 seconds.

The visiting Jaguars were forced to punt with just over a minute remaining and the Blue Devils quickly drove 49 yards on six plays as Horton, who finished the game with 83 yards rushing, scored his third touchdown of the game with those precious 22.1 seconds left to play. Quarterback Dalton Wadley then connected with Darrin Peterson for the two-point conversion to make it 26-24.

Horton then expertly delivered an onside kick for Coach Sam McCorkle’s Blue Devils that was recovered by Etowah just inside Jaguars territory at the 49. Two plays later, Wadley passed 41 yards to Peterson to the 8-yard line with time running out. McCorkle chose to give the ball to Horton one last time in lieu of a field-goal attempt, so the spinning, churning Horton sped toward the goal line where he fumbled just before crossing into the end zone. Teammate Dominick Pinson was there to recover the ball for the winning touchdown as time expired. 

Horton's first touchdown, a 3-yard run in the first quarter, was set up by a blocked punt by senior safety Blake Perry. Pinson ran in the 2-point conversion. Horton's next score came just seconds before intermission on a 5-yard run.

Wadley finished 16-of-29 for 179 yards and Peterson had four important catches to overshadow a fine performance by Johnson quarterback Ronnie McRae, who finished 8-of-14 passing for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

Etowah’s comeback effort edged out incredible efforts by Deshler defensive back Ja’Mel Morris, Parkway Christian return specialist Brian Crooks and St. James sophomore quarterback C.J. Duncan.

MORRIS intercepted four passes in the first half and also caught a touchdown pass to help Desler’s Tigers beat Colbert County 55-18.

Crooks  had two kickoff returns of 89 and 75 yards for touchdowns, a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 4-yard rushing TD in a 41-28 win over Woodville.

Duncan accounted for 437 yards total offense to lead St. James to a 42-12 win over Montgomery Academy. The Trojans (1-4) snapped a nine-game losing streak in the process with a school-record setting 577 total yards. Duncan was 9-of-20 passing for 274 yards and three touchdowns (50, 56 and 25 yards). He also had 11 carries for 163 rushing yards, including a 61-yard TD run. The 437 total yards by Duncan is the ninth best all-time recorded by the AHSAA.

Duncan’s favorite target, sophomore receiver Walker Woodson, grabbed six catches for 160 yards and TDs covering 50 and 56 yards. He also rushed for a TD.

Other highlights from across the state include:

Sammie Coates, Leroy: The senior wide receiver scored all four Leroy touchdowns -- a 99-yard catch, a 33-yard catch, a 14-yard catch and a 2-yard run-- in a 28-24 loss to top-ranked Class 4A Jackson. Coates finished with 7 catches for 182 yards against a defense that allowed only one completion for 7 yards the previous week against UMS-Wright.

Chris Ervin, Pleasant Grove: Caught eight passes for 204 yards and a touchdown in a 24-15 loss to Pelham.

Chris Dukes, UMS-Wright: The senior running back ran for 332 yards and six touchdowns - both career-highs - to lead the Bulldogs to a 66-39 victory over Class 6A Mary Montgomery. Dukes scored on runs of 76, 54, 20, 59, 1 and 20 yards.

Reginald Foster. Goshen:  Combined with teammate Marcus Jackson to lead the Eagles to a 47-24 win over previously unbeaten Pike County. The duo totaled 271 yards rushing and accounted for five touchdowns with Foster gaining 158 yards on 20 carries with three TDs rushing and a 52-yard interception return for another score. Jackson had 113 yards on 16 carries and a 23-yard TD run.

Andre Kincey, Abbeville: Rushed for 211 yards on just 12 carries with touchdown runs of 75 and 81 yards in a 51-6 win over Barbour County.

SLOAN DICKERSON, CENTRAL-FLORENCE: The quarterback was a perfect 5-of-5 passing for 181 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats won a wild 70-36 homecoming game over Butler of Huntsville to set a school record for points in one game. Central finished with 536 total yards and Butler had 505 as the two teams combined for 1,041 total yards. Dickerson’s touchdown passes included a 95-yard scoring toss to Murphy Harrison.

COREY ALEXANDER, PHIL CAMPBELL: Alexander threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more to spark Phil Campbell past Phillips 52-22. He finished with 335 total yards, including 271 passing, with TDs covering 13, 70 and 41 yards – all in the first half.

RYAN HORTON, ATHENS: Caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Rivers with four seconds left to lift Athens past Austin 45-41.  The Black Bears had taken the lead just 35 seconds earlier at 41-38. Horton finished with 197 yards rushing on 33 carries in addition to his clutch TD reception.

LANDON STEPHENS, TANNER: Rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 171 yards and another TD as the Rattlers (4-0) posted their fourth straight shutout of the season with the 40-0 win over West End.

Dominique Harris, Pelham: Had 34 carries for 198 yards and TD runs of 22, 1 and 25 and yards as the Panthers knocked off previously unbeaten Pleasant Grove 24-15.

Ryan Owens, Bayside AcADEMY: The running back totaled 195 yards rushing and two TDs on 28 carries as the Admirals rushed for more than 400 yards en route to a 60-40 win over Mobile Christian.

David Johnson, Shades Valley: Johnson had 21 carries for 253 yards and touchdown runs of 75, 39 and 75 yards in a tough 35-28 setback to Hueytown.

Justin McArthur, Hoover: Finished with 180 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Bucs overcame a 7-6 halftime deficit to beat Gadsden City 33-10. His scoring runs covered 9, 71 and 9 yards.

Deandre Love, Clarke County: The senior scored on runs of 15 and 9 yards, threw a 92-yard TD and returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown as the Bulldogs beat Marengo 35-14..

Jordan Huff, St. Paul's: The sophomore carried 33 times for 204 yard and two touchdowns as the Saints nipped Fairhope 42-40.

Ardarius Stewart, Fultondale: Threw for 170 yards and rushed for 159 for a total of 329 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats beat Oakman 30-6.

Chase Domino, Fairhope: The junior QB completed 23 of 39 passes for 347 yards and three TDs in a 42-40 loss to St. Paul's.

Kyle Crabtree, Fort Payne: The senior quarterback carried 20 times for 109 yards and one touchdown and completed 8-of-18 passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats rallied from a 9-0 deficit to beat Cullman 36-9. The touchdown passes covered 30 and 7 yards to give him 16 on the year with just one interception.

Jacob Thomas, Clay-Chalkville: Was 11-of-13 passing in the Cougars’ 33-6 win over Sparkman to finish with 279 yards and TD passes of 3 and 14 yards. He tacked on a 4-yard TD run.

Dallas Tidwell, Gardendale: Was 21-of-32 passing for 234 yards and a touchdown as the Rockets rallied late to beat Buckhorn 26-19.

Jeremy Johnson, Carver-Montgomery: The sophomore quarterback was 24-of-29 passing for 274 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score in the Wolverines’ 34-31 loss at Colquitt County, GA. It was Carver’s first loss of the year.

Kase Kelly, Highland Home: The quarterback accounted for 269 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-22 win over Georgiana. Kelly rushed for 206 yards and two TDs on 34 carries and completed 6-of-7 passes for 63 yards and two scores.

Michael Gilmore, Erwin: Was 11-of-16 passing for 285 yards with two touchdowns to lead the Eagles past Mortimer Jordan28-6.

Kaleb Harris, Pinson Valley:  Completed 12-of-17 passes for 274 yards and three TDs in a 55-13 win over Springville.

Michael Wright, Geraldine: The junior inside linebacker finished with 13 tackles, two interceptions and two passes broken up as the Bulldogs won a critical Class 3A, Region 7 game at Pisgah 32-24. Both of his interceptions came in the fourth quarter. The second came on the first play after Pisgah recovered an onside kick with a minute left to play.

Shaquille Calhoun, Woodlawn: Had 12 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception in a 35-12 win over Talladega. Teammate Cassanova McKinzy also had 11 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery as the Colonels posted their first win of the season.

Ben McKinney, Vincent: Made 12 tackles to go with two touchdown receptions in the Jackets’ 21-14 loss to Montevallo.

Ryan Mason, Pleasant Grove: Made 16 tackles in a 24-15 loss to Pelham.

Derrick Moncrief, Prattville: The defensive back picked off an Opelika pass in the end zone with less than 20 seconds to play to preserve a 24-21 Lions win. The play came on third-and-goal at the Prattville 4.

DeAndre Graves, Stanhope Elmore: The defensive back picked off two passes, including one at the Stanhope 1-yard line, in a 28-6 win over Dothan.

CAMeron Haynes, Pelham: Kicked a 50-yard field goal and three extra points and punted for a 53-yard average in the Panthers’ 24-15 win over Pleasant Grove. 

Malcolm Cyrus, Autaugaville: The multi-purpose player scored twice on punt returns (55 and 30 yards) and rushed for 86 yards on six carries in a 34-14 win over Montgomery Catholic. 

Tyler Deal, Ariton: Registered 15 tackles, including two for safeties, in a 30-16 loss to New Brockton.