THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

LINDEN -Linden proved to be the Maplesville Red Devils’ biggest challenge yet this season.

But Maplesville managed to squeeze through to the quarterfinals with a 34-14 win over the Patriots. Previously, the Red Devils averaged 50 points scoring per game and held their opponents to only 11.

The Red Devils’ first drive lasted just over 2 minutes, and Brad Pike was responsible for the first 6 points as he ran the ball in from 16 yards out.

Quarterback Marcus Wilson was the next to score with a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1:20 to go in the first quarter.

“The line had to step up and get key blocks and just dominate up front,” Wilson said.

Pike carried again for 14 more yards, setting the Devils to up score. On the option, Wilson took the ball and rolled to the outside, where he pitched it to Nick Andrews. From there, Andrews ran it in for a 13-yard score with 8:01 remaining in the first half.

The Devil defense stuffed Linden’s next drives with two consecutive sacks. Robert Holloway, Darius Stone, and Jacob Little were responsible for stops that allowed the Devils to take a 20-0 lead into halftime.

Wilson completed a 37-yard pass to put the Devils in the red zone with 1:50 to go in the third quarter. Linden held strong and forced Maplesville to turn it over on downs.

The Patriots took over, and Jermaine Black passed to Sean Richardson for a gain of 47 yards. Maurice Tate took it in for the score from 35 yards out with 11:18 to go in the fourth.

The next possession, Marcus Wilson broke loose for 58 yards to put the Devils on the 15, but the Patriots tightened up and forced another turnover on downs in the red zone.

Nick Andrews made an interception from the Patriot 35 and ran it back into scoring territory. There, Brad Pike stumbled in for the score with 7:18 left in the game.

Linden’s Jermaine Black passed again to Richardson from their own 37-yard line for the 63 yard score. This brought the score to 28-14 with 7:00 to go.

Wilson intercepted a Linden pass to set up the last score of the night. Once inside the 5, he ran in for the touchdown.

When asked what his team would have to do to advance to the state championship game, Wilson said, “We’ve got to come out next week and work harder than we’ve ever worked.”

Maplesville will travel Friday to face Sweet Water in the semifinals for the second year in a row.