PREP FOOTBALL: Gulf Shores slips past Tallassee

TALLASSEE — Mike Smith’s tears rolled down his face.

Even as he congratulated his opponent, Tallassee’s senior running back couldn’t believe the scoreboard.

The Tigers fell 17-13 against Gulf Shores on Friday in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Tallassee failed to score in the second half despite some clock mismanagement by the Gulf Shores coaching staff.

The Dolphins went for it on a fourth-and-4 with 1:29 left in the game. The snap hit a surprised Gulf Shores quarterback, Logan Paul, in the facemask.

Darius Williams recovered for the Tigers to give his team one last chance.

But Tallassee, which ran the ball 49 times for 184 yards, couldn’t complete a pass when it mattered most.

Trey Cochran-Gill’s throw bounced off the hands of receiver L.D. Bell and right to Dolphins linebacker John-David Swiger.

Paul then took two kneel downs in the victory formation to hold on for the win.

“Everyone that knows us knows were not a passing football team,” said Tallassee coach Rodney Dollar said. “We thought we had a chance there at the end, but we couldn’t complete it. We had a fantastic year, and I wouldn’t trade any of these kids for anything.”

The Tigers had a chance to take the lead earlier in the fourth quarter, but Cochran-Gill was sacked by Gulf Shores on fourth down.

Smith finished with 24 carries for 104 yards, but the Tigers’ potent rushing attack failed to score. He also picked off Paul after hurting his shoulder in the second quarter.

Smith went out with a knee injury in the third quarter as the Tigers were driving.

“He had some meniscus problems last year and it’s been bothering him a little bit,” Dollar said.

Smiths absence didn’t go unnoticed. Gulf Shores pressured Gill, who threw an interception on the drive to Jonathan Adams.

It was Adams’ only play on defense. He played wide receiver and caught nine passes for 135 yards for the Dolphins. Adams also caught the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.

The Dolphins offense was the exact opposite of Tallassee.

While the Tigers ran the ball and tried to eat up the clock, Paul completed 17-of-22 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for Gulf Shores.

“We knew they wanted to run it so we made some adjustments at halftime because they were taking way too much time off the clock,” said Gulf Shores coach Mark Freeman. “But thankfully, we hung on there at the end.”

The Dolphins only other touchdown came on a 30-yard pass to Brandon Gottfried, the son of former Alabama basketball coach, Mark Gottfried.

“They caught the passes when it mattered, so I guess they wanted it more,” Smith said. “We didn’t catch the passes when it mattered. I hope they do it big in the playoffs.”

Davis Knapp caught a 2-yard score from Cochran-Gill in the first quarter
for the Tigers’ only touchdown.

Gulf Shores will hit the road again next Friday to play LeFlore in the second round.