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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Licks and picks.

That mantra echoed throughout the Maplesville High School defense started as a rallying cry, but it has transformed into an identity for a defense that is one win away from a state title.

One of the best traits any defense can have is physicality, and delivering ‘licks’ has been a staple of the Maplesville defense this season. Players at every level of the defense are not afraid to stick their nose into the fray and make a stop. That is evident in the wide array of leading tacklers on the team, and it was against Elba High School in the Class 1A state semifinal.

Many went into the game seeing it as a crowning moment for Elba running back Alvin Henderson to cross over 11,000 rushing yards for his high school career and step into rarified air as only the fourth high school running back ever to eclipse the mark. He needed 234 yards to do that, and needed one rushing touchdown to break his own single-season touchdown record he set in 2023 at 61.

He achieved neither.

“Alignment and assignments, we got outnumbered on the outside (in the first half) and made adjustments to that,” Undra Rush, Maplesville defensive coordinator, said. “I told the boys, ‘We have to empty the tank and not save anything, whatever happens, happens and leave it on the field.’ We have been doing that all year long, and this defense is relentless. We have 11 dogs on defense, and five more on the sidelines ready to go at all times. It was a team effort on offense and defense, made things happen, got a turnover when we needed one and made the stops when we needed and made big plays.”

Senior linebacker Dee Elliott echoed Rush’s sentiment about containment being the name of the game against Henderson, and he believes it was a vital piece to their success against him. According to statistics on MaxPreps, Henderson has had only 13 games of less than 200 yards rushing from 2022-2024, and in many of those 13 games he ran for 160-199 yards. Maplesville surrendering 153 yards is one of, and arguably the best effort if you consider the game was a state semifinal, the best efforts against the Auburn University commit over the last three seasons.

Rush pinpointed the final regular season game against Alabama Christian Academy for his defense as a turning point. Maplesville played the Class 3A school tightly throughout the game, and it fell short 32-29 on a last-second score by ACA. However, it was not the scoreboard that the Red Devils’ players and coaches were concerned about. It was the valuable reps, schemes and offense that ACA ran and how it would prepare them for games well down the road, like in the semifinals. Everything the Maplesville football program does is calculated, and it shows up in the most important moments.

“It clicked for us,” Rush said. “Everything that (head) coach (Brad) Abbott put together for this season, all the games we scheduled prepared us for this moment right here. We were ready to go.”

The eye test could prove Maplesville’s defense is a force, but the statistics do it well too.  They have given up 246 total points this season with 67 of them came in two games against Class 3A ACA and Class 5A Holtville High School, leaving just 179 points against Class 1A or 2A schools. That is 17.5 points allowed per game overall, and 14.9 points allowed per game against Class 1A or 2A. In other words, on average, teams in Maplesville’s classification have just two touchdowns to work with before they get to a point where scoring becomes very difficult.

The AHSAA Class 1A State Championship Game will be a war of attrition as unbeaten Wadley High School comes into the game averaging 55.5 points per game on offense. Something has to give in Birmingham, and Elliott and the Maplesville defense are determined to not let it be them.

“This is something special,” Elliott said. “I am glad we could work together to get this win, because no one expected us to go this far, but now we are here. They do not have anything to say to us now. I grew up with these boys playing, and it feels good to go to state with them.”