Verbena’s offense moved the ball, but could not keep pace with the Aliceville Yellow Jackets in front of the Red Devil faithful on Friday.

The Red Devils lost 60-21 and suffered its first region loss of the season.

“They just outmanned us defensive,” Verbena head coach Mike Harris said. “We’ve had a couple of major injuries, and it’s just killing us right now.”

As has been the case during the early part of the season, Verbena moved the chains with a precision passing attack with quarterback Tristan Short pulling the trigger.

“Tristan’s got great field vision,” Harris said. “Now we’ve just got to give him a little more time to pass.”

Short targeted an array of receivers that included Juwan Tyus, Anthony Miller and Imanai Walls, as the offense missed one of its weapons with running back Hakeem Underwood sidelined due to an injury.

“Hakeem definitely helps out in the passing game, because you’ve always got to respect him on the run,” Short said.

Verbena trailed 22-7 at halftime, thanks to a fumble recovery by Christian Blauch in the red zone that prevented a larger deficit.

Miller accounted for the first half scoring on a 22-yard touchdown run down the left sideline. Short connected on a pair of second half scoring strikes to Tyus.

“They [teammates] know where I’m going with the ball,” Short said. “We flow well together.”

However, the big plays proved the difference, as Aliceville scored on a 90-yard kickoff return and the first play of both the third and fourth quarters.

“I don’t see anybody beating them in our region,” Harris said. “They are a tough team and they are going to make a lot of people look real bad.”

Despite the loss, the Red Devils remain in good position with an overall record of 2-2 and 2-1 in Region 4-2A.