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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Verbena High School’s perfect season came to an end on Oct. 11, falling 22-8 on the road at Autauga Academy.

“They have a really good team, they controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half and it was the first time we have had that happen to us all year,” Verbena head coach Allen Brothers said. “We just could not seem to get anything rolling in rhythm in the second half. Credit to them, and we just struggled to maintain any type of leverage.”

Autauga struck early in the first quarter, but the Red Devils stopped the two-point conversion to hold the score at 6-0 where it stood after the opening quarter. Jaxson Kelley punched in a rushing touchdown in the second quarter, and after a two-point conversion from Jacob Morris, Verbena took an 8-6 lead. However, Autauga nullified the lead and took it back before halftime, and put it away with a touchdown and two-point conversion in the second half.

“We were the last undefeated team across three or four regions in 1A, and everybody is good at this point who are in the playoffs and we may see, so we need to come back next week and work hard,” Allen Brothers said. “It is still one game at a time, I love the effort we gave (against Autauga Academy) and we were just outmatched in a few areas, and that is going to happen sometimes.”

Verbena (6-1) hosts Autaugaville High School on Oct. 18 in its next game in Class 1A Region 4 play, and the Red Devils could still earn a home playoff game if they win their final two region games. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.