Arab Falls to Boaz in Marshall County Showdown
BOAZ, AL – The Boaz Pirates powered past Marshall County rival Arab 37-22 in a critical Class 5A, Region 8 matchup Friday night at a packed L.F. Corley Field.
The Pirates improve to 7-2 on the season and 4-2 in region play, clinching the No. 3 seed in Region 8. The Arabian Knights slip to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the region, finishing as the fourth seed.
With region play wrapped up and one regular season game remaining for both squads, the playoff picture is now clear. Boaz will travel to Russellville to face the 6-3 Golden Tigers in the first round on November 7th. Arab will hit the road to Fairview to face the Region 7 champion and 4th ranked Aggies (9-0, 6-0).
Presley Fant delivered a commanding performance for head coach Luke Pruitt’s Pirates rushing for 123 yards and four scores.
The Pirates capitalized on special teams mistakes by the Knights to build an early lead. On the game’s opening possession, a bad snap on an Arab punt attempt gave Boaz the ball at the Arabian Knight 10-yard line. Two plays later, Fant punched it in from 4 yards out for his first score of the night.
Arab’s offense answered with a methodical 12-play drive, capped by a 5-yard touchdown run from Dallas Helton to tie the game at 7-7.
Boaz’s special teams came up big again later in the half when Noah Ford blocked an Arab punt, which Levi Tucker recovered at the Knights’ 25-yard line. Fant quickly found the end zone again, this time on a 19-yard run, putting Boaz ahead 14-7. As the first half expired, Acson Aristhene drilled a 42-yard field goal, extending the Pirates’ lead to 17-7 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, Arab cut the deficit to 17-14 with a 67-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Nick Stephens to Dyland Kirkland.
Boaz responded immediately. On the ensuing possession, Sage Bennett broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 23-14.
The Knights battled back, making it a one-point game with 7:55 remaining. Stephens connected with Kirkland again for a 27-yard touchdown, and a successful 2-point conversion run by Wesley Holland brought the score to 23-22.
The Pirates controlled the final minutes of the game. Fant finished a five-minute drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 30-22 with just under three minutes to play. On the very next play from scrimmage, a fumble by Arab was recovered by Tucker at the Knights’ 26-yard line. Four plays later, Fant put the game on ice with his fourth touchdown, a 4-yard run with 1:40 left on the clock.
Looking ahead, Boaz will close out the regular season, at home, next Friday night against the Class 4A Oneonta Redskins (5-4, 3-4). Head coach Kyle Routon’s Knights will look to finish the regular season strong by welcoming the Priceville Bulldogs (6-3, 4-2) to Brindlee Mountain.
