By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
ALEXANDRIA – Moody traveled to Alexandria’s Lou Scales Stadium on Friday night to take on the Alexandria Valley Cubs in the opening region matchup of the year for each team. The Blue Devils used a balanced offensive attack and an opportunistic defense that caused numerous turnovers, despite being down two players in the defensive backfield, to walk away with the 42-7 victory over region the Valley Cubs.
Coach Jake Ganus coaches up Kaleb Goff in the Blue Devils’ 42-7 win over Alexandria on September 8, 2023.
Photo by: Madi Snow Photography/Average Joes Sports Talk
The scoring got started when Charlie Johnston found Aidan Robinson on a third and 15 from 17 yards out to put the Blue Devils up 7-0 at the 7:09 mark of the first quarter. Moody was not finished scoring in the first as the defense would hold Alexandria to a punt and, after a nice return from KD Barnes, the Blue Devils would set up shop at the Valley Cubs’ 45. They would drive the ball down to the four-yard line where Abram Jackson would punch it in to make it 14-0 with 54 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Moody would not slow down in the second quarter, scoring their first touchdown of the period on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Johnston to Robinson with 2:16 to go in the half. With the score now 21-0, the Valley Cubs would get on the board after a big 82-yard pass play to close the gap by a touchdown, to 21-7. The Blue Devils would drive the ball down once again and, after a Blaine Burke touchdown was called back due to holding, Moody would go to the well again and give it to Burke from 14 yards out for the score to give the Blue Devils a 28-7 lead and that is how the half would end.
Moody came out of the locker room and, despite having success on offense, they could not find the end zone early. They would give the ball up on fourth down 3 times. However, each time, they would get the ball back on a turnover by the Valley Cubs. With 2: 25 to go in the quarter, the Blue Devils would go back to a play that had success earlier, but was called back due to a holding penalty, the jet sweep from Johnston to KD Barnes. This time, there was no penalty and the Hewitt Trussville transfer took it to the house from 50 yards out to put the visitors up 35-7.
In the fourth, Moody would begin putting in the substitutes and get a lot of players involved in the game. One player that was all over the field all night finally got the payoff for his hard work on the night. With 6:09 to go in the game, Marshall Teofilo found paydirt from 11 yards out to end the scoring for Moody and make it 42-7, which would be the final.
“Great opportunity to play. We have the greatest players and coaches in the state and I am grateful that God gave us the ability to play this game,” said Teofilo
AJ Madison had a monster night on defense for the Blue Devils, grabbing an interception and recovering 2 fumbles to “put out the fire” for the Blue Devils when they found themselves in tough defensive situations. “We dominated like I said we would on the Coach Ganus Show. It wasn’t only me but it was my teammates. Everyone being where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. We showed them what Moody does tonight.”
Despite some sloppy play, Coach Jake Ganus was proud of his team. “This was good. It is a tough place to play. There is lots of tradition and the fans are great here and they are loud. It’s a great atmosphere. I am proud of the kids and the way they finished. We had a sloppy third quarter. Overall I’m glad we got a lot of guys on the field.”
The win was the first for Moody at Lou Scales Stadium since 2005, so it was a big one for the Blue Devils. This coming week, they take on Bishop McNamara High School out of Maryland. Head coach Gregory Calhoun is a UAB graduate.
Friday night will be a historic night at The Bill as this will be the first time Moody has ever taken on an out-of-state team.
“They reached out and, we got it scheduled. They’ve got multiple players with SEC offers. They won’t bring as many fans so we need our fans to pack the house and show them how it’s done in the south.”
