Courtesy of al.com
Etowah scored 21 unanswered points in the second half and defeated Madison County, 28-13, in a Class 5A, Region 7 game on Friday (Oct 23) in Gurley.
With the victory, the Blue Devils clinched second place in the region standings and earned the right to host a first-round playoff game. Etowah has won six out of their last seven games since an 0-2 start.
“We didn’t finish drives in the first half,” said Etowah head coach Drew Noles. [Madison County] has a good team. It was a good football game, for sure.”
Trailing 13-7 with 9:07 remaining in the third quarter, Etowah (6-3, 5-1) took control when Stacy Williams scampered in for a 9-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the game at 14-13.
Etowah quarterback Andy Noles tossed two touchdowns in the fourth quarter – a 45-yarder to Paul Ruiz and a 34-yarder to Emil Smith with 5:30 to play.
The Tigers managed to only score six points off of three Etowah turnovers. Madison County also lost a fumble while going into the end zone for a touchdown and missed a 28-yard field goal and an extra point.
Williams had a game-high 263 yards rushing on 28 carries. Darius Moore gained 48 yards on six attempts, while Ruiz ran eight times for 27 yards.
Andy Noles completed 6-of-8 passes for 183 yards. Ruiz caught three passes for 64 yards.
The Blue Devils close out the regular season this Friday (Oct. 30) at home against St. Clair County.
