By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – The Moody Blue Devils may be the hottest team in 5A and they proved on Friday night as they hosted Arab in round one of the playoffs, walking away with a 49-7 win to propel them to the second round.
The Moody defense awaits the call.
Credit: Johnny Sanders
The Blue Devils started the game with the ball and, just three minutes after the action started, Charlie Johnston was finding Josiah Dozier for a 10-yard touchdown. At the 9:01 mark of the first quarter, the home team would find themselves on top 7-0.
The Moody Defense would continue to show that they are one of the most dominate units in all of football as they held Arab to a punt on their first drive.
Moody would go to work and at the 3:42 mark of the first, the deadly combination of Johnston to Dozier would strike again, this time from 39 yards away, making it 14-0 Moody.
Moody would hold the Knights to another punt, but Kaleb Goff would fumble the ball at the 10-yard line. Arab would use a reverse pass to cover the 10 yards and put up their first points of the game. With 10:47 to go in the second, Arab would close the gap, making it 14-7 Moody.
After a penalty on the kickoff, the Blue Devils found themselves backed up to their own two-yard line. Johnston would find both Dozier and Braden Wright for big plays on the drive, setting the offense up at the one-yard line where Bravis Cave Jr would punch it in for the score and make it 21-7 Blue Devils.
Arab would get the ball back and try to convert on a fourth and short, but the Moody defense would hold them. With 3:58 to go in the second, Johnston would find Dozier for the third time on the night, this time for a 21-yard score to make it 28-7 Moody.
Another failed fourth down would lead to a La’Kamren Meadows touchdown from three yards out. The halftime score would be 35-7, all Blue Devils.
The Kevin James show would officially start in the third quarter as the third-string running back would run the ball on every drive of Moody’s first offensive drive, including a six-yard dash into the end zone to make it 42-7.
The final touchdown of the night came on what would be the play of the night. Johnston would throw a deep ball to Dozier with a defensive player in position to make the play. Instead, Dozier high-pointed the ball and took it from the defender and hit the ground running for the 78-yard score. Moody would go up 49-7 on that play and that would be the final.
Johnston finished the night 14 of 18 for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Dozier had six catches for 185 yards and four touchdowns on the night. Kevin James led the team in rushing, going for 123 yards on 14 carries and the one touchdown. The defense held Arab under 100 total yards of offense.
“All glory to God, like I said last time we talked at the Leeds game. Without Him, I’m nothing. It takes hard work and dedication,” said Josiah Dozier. “I battled some health issues this week.
Moody’s Josiah Dozier hauls in one of his four touchdowns against Arab.
Credit: Johnny Sanders
Charlie is the best!”
Johnston said, “All glory to God. I am really proud of our team. It was a good week of practice and it showed on the field. We had a good mindset and the coaches made good calls. Line protected great. I am very proud of our team. Josiah is someone I can trust. I can throw to him and he’s going to get it. All of our receivers are reliable.”
Bailey Abercrombie said, “This means a lot. I love Moody. They took me in when I moved from Gardendale to here. They do everything well and prestigious and top notch. It helps us to get big wins like this. Offensive lines have to pick between me and Cam (Mallory). We can’t be blocked one-on-one. It’s fun playing with him.”
“I’m very proud of our team. It was a complete game. We played complimentary football tonight. With the exception of a few drives, we scored. On defense, outside of giving them the ball at the 10, we stopped them all night. I thought, on tape, they were the best offensive line in 5A and I feel like our defensive line handled them well tonight. Josiah is having some great nights now. In the past three games, he had nine catches and seven touchdowns. On offense now we are finding our rhythm. Defenses have to make a decision on stopping the run or pass and we are good at both now. It’s exciting.”
The Blue Devils will travel to Wenonah next week to take on the Dragons, who beat Russellville 30-28 on Friday.
