By DRUW GIAMALVA, Sports Editor
BOAZ — The Boaz Lady Pirates officially earned the right to host a first round playoff game as they defeated the Mae Jemison Jaguars on Tuesday night to earn a top two spot in Class 5A, Region 8.
“I am proud of the way we played,” Boaz head coach Will Penton said. “We came out fast and executed well. We’re excited about hosting a home playoff game for our third year in a row.”
The win improves Boaz to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in region play. The Region 8 championship will be decided on Tuesday when Boaz meets against the Albertville Aggies who are also undefeated in region play.
The region matchup between Boaz and the Jaguars started with Boaz on offense first.
The Pirates started the drive off strong as quarterback Peyton Hall would pass for a first down to Raina Underwood. After another complete pass to Braelyn Burke, the drive would stall on the Pirates and they would be forced to punt the ball away.
After a three-and-out drive by Mae Jemison, the Pirates would produce their first scoring drive which would see Hall launch a deep 41-yard touchdown pass to Underwood to make it a 6-0 lead.
After another short drive by Mae Jemsion, Boaz would go back to work on offense which started with a first down pass by Hall to Lauren McKee. On a fourth down situation, Hall would come up big with a 10-yard rushing touchdown to put Boaz ahead 14-0 over the Jaguars.
Boaz would cap off the first quarter with one final score from Hall to McKee for an 11-yard passing touchdown. The Pirates would lead 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
To open up the second quarter, the Pirates defense would put up some points as Piper Hales would produce a sack for a safety to put Boaz ahead 23-0 midway through the second quarter.
The Pirates final touchdown of the day would be a 37-yard touchdown pass from Hall to AK Mitchell to send Boaz into halftime with a 30-0 lead.
In the second half, Boaz would put up one final score with London Driver passing a 15-yard touchdown to Avelyn Matthews. The Pirates would go on to take a 36-0 shutout win over the Jaguars.
The Region 8 championship game between Boaz and Albertville will be hosted by the Aggies on October 20. Kick off is set for 7 p.m.
Boaz receiver Arleigh Kate Mitchell produced a 37-yard receiving touchdown in the 36-0 shutout win over Mae Jemison. The Pirates will travel to Albertville on Tuesday for the Class 5A, Region 8 championship game. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. DRUW GIAMALVA l The Leadeer
