Maplesville football wins AHSAA Class 1A state title over Wadley

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BIRMINGHAM — Maplesville football got its revenge and won the AHSAA Class 1A state title on Thursday at Protective Stadium.

The Red Devils (15-0) pulled away for a 42-14 win over Wadley (13-1), which beat Maplesville in this game last year. Class of 2028 linebacker Nehemiah McCary, who holds Alabama and Auburn offers, ran for 182 yards and two scores in the win.

Auburn signee Jaquez Wilkes, who was held to 43 rushing yards and a touchdown with five tackles, did not play in the second half for Wadley. He appeared near the end of the third quarter on crutches.

Maplesville ran out to a early two-touchdown lead, thanks in part to a fumble on Wadley's first offensive play. It extended a seven-point halftime lead with 21 points in the second half, thanks to two touchdowns by McCary, who added three tackles.

Pearce Yeargan got the scoring started for Maplesville with a 4-yard run and then caught a touchdown pass on a trick play. Yeargan completed his hat trick with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Ty Bailey.

The Maplesville defense, which came into the matchup allowing just 3.2 points per game with 10 shutouts, slowed a vaunted Bulldogs offense that averaged north of 49 points per game.

Jaylon Marable and Cortavion Lynch added the other scores for Wadley.

Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Maplesville football wins AHSAA Class 1A state title over Wadley

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