MONTGOMERY – Maplesville’s Red Devils limited Fyffe to no first downs in the first half Friday night in the final game of the 2025 AHSAA Kickoff Classic at Cramton Bowl. The team also finished the game with 29 first downs on the way to a dominating 35-6 win over Fyffe to open the prep football season for both teams.
    The Red Devils (1-0), coached by Brad Abbott, controlled the line of scrimmage on both side of the ball on the way to the win over Fyffe’s Red Devils (0-1). The loss was just the 59^th in the Hall-of-Fame career of Fyffe’s Coach Paul Benefield, who stands at 360-59 ranking second in the state among active coaches in the AHSAA.
     Maplesville dominated the first half on both sides of the ball to build a 14-0 lead.
The Red Devils drove 68 yards on six carries in just under three minutes for a touchdown on its first possession with Jediah Works battling through the Fyffe defense for a 29-yard scoring run just three minutes into the first period.
    Maplesville marched 88 yards on a grueling 13-play drive on its next series with a 19-yard TD pass from quarterback Pearce Yeargan to slot back Colby Mitchell at 1:34 for their second score to take a 14-0 at the 5:34 mark.
    Meanwhile, the defense of Coach Brad Abbott stifled Fyffe, limiting the visiting Red Devils to no first downs and just 13 total yards on 12 offensive snaps. Maplesville, on the other hand, had 236 total yards on 39 plays with 133 rushing and 103 passing and had time of possession of 17:23 to Fyffe’s 6:37.
   The Fyffe defense, however, stopped several Maplesville possessions thanks in part to a 63-yard punt by Maddox Doss which was downed by the hustling Fyffe coverage inside the 1-yard line.
   Maplesville took over in the second half right where it left off – stopping Fyffe on the first possession and marched quickly to its third TD with 6:29 on the third-quarter clock capping the 69-yard, 10-play drive with a 5-yard run by Nehemiah McCary. .
Fyffe running back Ryder Gipson lit a fire for his team on the next possession with a 26-yard run inside Maplesville territory and Benefield then called a pass from Doss to receiver Hunter Lathem who was brought down at the 1-yard line. Doss drove off tackle into the end zone on the next play to close the Maplesville lead to 21-6 with 5:52 left in the third quarter. The try for two came up a half-yard short.
   Maplesville quarterback Yeargan connected with Davarien Clark for a 39-yard pass play to the Maplesville 13-yard line, however, and slowed down Fyffe’s brief momentum. Two plays later, McCary scored on another 5-yard run up the middle to push his team to a 28-6 lead with 3:02 remaining in the third period.
    Maplesville tacked on a final TD midway through the fourth period with Eli Hubbert catching an 11-yard pass from Yeargan for the TD with 5:24 remaining.
   Yeargan completed 16-of-24 passes for 213 yards and two TDs – guiding Maplesville to 445 total yards on 69 plays and 29 first downs. The first downs rank as fifth most in a single game in AHSAA history, according to the AHSAA Record Book. The record (35) was set by Westminster Christian Academy in 2022 versus Madison County in a 70-42 win, and by Central-Florence in a 70-69 victory over Westminster Christian in the same year. Westminster also had 32 first downs in that game, and McGill-Toolen had 31 in a 56-3 triumph over Davidson in 2013.
    Hubbert finished as Maplesville’s leading receiver with six catches for 54 yards. McCary had 89 rushing yards on 15 carries with two scores, and Works finished with 72 yards and one TD on 13 carries. Maplesville won the time of possession with 32:16 to Fyffe’s 15:44.
    Fyffe finished the game with 104 total yards on 29 plays with 73 rushing yards and 31 passing yards and just three first downs. Gipson led Fyffe with 43 rushing yards on 11 carries. Doss was 1-of-4 passing and also punted four times for a 42.5 average.
    Defensively, Hubbert had seven tackles, Cade Smith, Luke Gray, and Von Woods had six each for Maplesville. Gipson led Fyffe with 15 stops.

AHSAA Kickoff Classic History
All games have been played at CRAMTON BOWL
2025
Maplesville 35, Fyffe 6
Pike Road 21, Prattville 14
2024
T.R. Miller 28, Reeltown 7
Carver-Montgomery 41, Vestavia Hills 19
2023
Thompson 44, Opelika 13
Beauregard 29, Selma 6
2022
Helena 28, Chelsea 6
Auburn 17, Hoover 14
2021
Handley 55, Guntersville 21
Dothan 42, Bob Jones 32
2020
Pike Road 63, Montgomery Catholic 34
Prattville 40, Wetumpka 10
2019
Hoover 17, Central-Phenix City 14
Carver-Montgomery 18, Jeff Davis 13
2018
Clarke County 20, Sweet Water 14
Thompson 38, James Clemens 7
2017
Hewitt-Trussville 49, Pell City 10
Maplesville 20, Fyffe 7
2016
Andalusia 34, Brooks 13
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 42, Demopolis 7
Hoover 23, Central-Phenix City 7
2015
Bob Jones 37, Carver-Montgomery 30
Gordo 28, Glencoe 21
Madison Academy 19, Leeds 14
2014
Spanish Fort 42, Stanhope Elmore 14
Opelika 20, Carver-Montgomery 16
Dadeville 14, Piedmont 8
2013
Benjamin Russell 28, Walker 14
Straughn 35, Walter Wellborn 26
Bob Jones 23, Enterprise 20
2012
Spanish Fort 33, Muscle Shoals 22
Central of Clay County 25, Beauregard 13
McGill-Toolen 27, Northridge 0
2011
Hueytown 36, Thomasville 27
Hamilton 38, Sweet Water 35
Daphne 24, Clay-Chalkville 21

2010
Opelika 34, Greenville 6
Auburn 30, Spain Park 3
Jackson 30, Trinity Presbyterian 8                                     

2009
Prattville 37, Carver-Montgomery 0
T.R. Miller 27, Leeds 7
Hoover 32, Oxford 27

2008
Prattville vs. Oxford, canceled due to inclement weather

2007
Prattville 36, North Gwinnett, Ga. 3

2006
Hoover 38, UMS-Wright 0
Clay-County 41, Addison 6