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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Maplesville High School took care of Florala High School 35-6 in the first round of the AHSAA Class 1A State Football Playoffs on Nov. 8. Defense was the calling card for the Red Devils in round one as they flexed their muscle with takeaways and big sacks.

Maplesville blitzed the four seed out of Class 1A Region 2 to start the game, beginning with Nehemiah McCary breaking off a 59-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage. His two-point conversion run made it 8-0 early.

Florala’s first possession of the game was halted quickly as Colby Mitchell caught the tip-drill interception, the first of three interceptions by the Red Devils in the first half. After an interception of their own by Florala, Mitchell grabbed his second pick, and this time returned it six yards for the touchdown to push the lead to 15-0.

Maplesville continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal, and a long pass from Pearce Yeargan to James Jones down to the one-yard line set up McCary for his second rushing touchdown. The point after was missed to leave the score at 21-0 after the first quarter.

McCary ran for a team high 113 yards on 11 carries and the two scores.

“They were all over the field tonight, and our defense was locked in and they were locked in all week,” Maplesville head coach Brad Abbott said. “They had a chip on their shoulder coming in and hearing about (Florala’s) passing game and their running back, and we heard a lot of noise … They took this one personally, and I thought they got after it really good tonight.”

Florala managed to slow down Maplesville throughout the second quarter until Ty Bailey pulled in the third interception of the half for the Red Devils and returned it 75 yards for the touchdown with a handful of seconds left to send the hosts into halftime on top 28-0.

The Maplesville defense was a juggernaut, giving up just 123 total yards while piling up four sacks, with Von Woods getting two and a half of them, and the three interceptions. Luke Gray led the defense with five tackles, followed by Cade Smith with four.

While the defense stayed true, Maplesville pushed across another score in the third quarter — a five-yard touchdown by Yeargan. Florala did manage a late touchdown to avoid the shutout.

The first-round win was Maplesville’s 16th consecutive first-round playoff win, winning each time since 2009.

“There is a little pressure too, and I did not sleep a lot this week and was nervous about tonight for that reason,” Abbott said. “You do not want to be the team to end that streak, but I need to start having more faith in the kids. They are a very mature bunch, and they do not doubt their abilities. Sometimes I do not think they are serious about it, but then they show up and play like they did tonight and prove me wrong. They can continue to do that as long as they want to if they play like they did tonight.”

Maplesville (9-2) moves on to the second round and will host Sweet Water High School on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.