MISSISSIPPI/ALABAMA ALL STAR FOOTBALL CLASSIC 2024 SUMMARY
In a game that featured seven lead changes and a late 17-point fourth quarter rally, the Alabama All-Stars defeated the Mississippi All-Stars 35 to 29 in the 38th Annual Mississippi Alabama All-Star Football Classic at Hancock-Whitney Stadium, Abraham A. Mitchell Field, on the campus of South Alabama in Mobile, AL, on December 14, 2024. The Alabama win was the team’s fifth win in a row and increased the Alabama series lead to 27-11 overall.
Alabama scored first on a 14-play, 80-yard drive consuming 6:01 minutes featuring a 16-yard pass from K. J. Lacey to receiver Carson Gill, both Saraland teammates, and a pass interference penalty on Mississippi. Lacey, named MVP for Alabama, finished with a record-setting performance of 21 passes completed on 36 attempts for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Lacey’s totals set series game records for pass attempts, pass completions, and passing yards. On third-and-goal at the four-yard line, Lacey connected with Carver’s T. K. Norman on a scoring pass with 2:42 left in the first quarter. Alabama led 7-0 after Cleat Forrest of Alexandria booted the extra point.
Mississippi countered quickly as Mississippi MVP Deuce Knight of George County drove his team 74 yards on 6 plays in 2:07 capped off by a 33-yard touchdown pass to tight end Maddox Lynch of Warren Central. Evan Noel of St. Stanislaus missed the extra point and Alabama kept a 7-6 lead with 26 seconds left in the quarter. For the game, Knight was 17-of-23 passing for 176 yards and 1 touchdown and ran for 139 yards and 2 TDs on 14 rush attempts.
The Magnolia State squad then took a 12-7 lead at the 7:02 mark of the second quarter as Anthony Hopson of Neshoba Central recovered a fumble in the end zone on a punt attempt by Cleat Forrest. Tupelo’s Noah Gillon’s two-point conversion failed on the first lead change of the day.
MISSISSIPPI/ALABAMA ALL STAR FOOTBALL CLASSIC 2022 SUMMARY
2022 Despite a solid Mississippi All-Star defense that dominated three quarters of the game, the Alabama All-Stars rallied with two late fourth quarter touchdowns to win their third straight victory in the series by defeating the Mississippi All-Stars 14-10 in the 36th Annual Mississippi Alabama All-Star Football Classic at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, on December 10, 2022. The win added to the Alabama series lead at 25-11 overall.
A flurry of turnovers was the highlight of the first quarter. Southaven’s John Slaughter picked off a pass by Alabama’s Christopher Vizzina of Briarwood Christian at the Alabama 29, but an ensuing sack and fumble on Bray Hubbard of Ocean Springs by Alabama’s Klark Cleveland of Auburn gave Alabama the ball right back at the Mississippi 46-yard line. Two plays later, Alex Sanford of Oxford forced a fumble by Alabama’s Earl Woods of Hueytown which was recovered by Mississippi’s Jeleel Fleming of Vicksburg that placed the ball at Mississippi’s 34-yard line. Mississippi then drove 11 plays and 49 yards in 6:07 before Bart Edmiston of Ocean Springs drilled a 35-yard field goal to give Mississippi a 3-0 lead with 1:30 left in the quarter.
In the second quarter, the teams battled back-and-forth with Mississippi’s defense holding Alabama to no points and only 20 yards of total offense for the first half. Besides the fumble recovery by Jeleel Fleming, Fleming intercepted another Alabama pass by Earl Woods to halt another drive and increase the turnover numbers to 2 interceptions and a lost fumble in the first half for the Alabama squad. Mississippi maintained the 3-0 lead at the halftime break.
In the third quarter, after forcing another Alabama punt, Mississippi went 4 plays and 73 yards in 1:52 to score the game’s first touchdown. D’Marium Perteet of South Panola raced 52 yards for the Mississippi six-pointer with 9:04 on the clock and Bart Edmiston added the extra point for a 10-0 Mississippi lead. Following an exchange of punts, Alabama drove 68 yards in 12 plays to the Mississippi 1 yard line, but a goal line stand saw Jaylen Aborom of Oak Grove recover a fumble on fourth-and-goal by Peter Woods of Thompson to thwart the Alabama scoring chance.
Alabama rallied late in the fourth quarter bolstered by a Mississippi unnecessary roughness penalty. Alabama marched 40 yards in 4 plays in 2:17 to score their first touchdown as Earl Woods tallied on a 4-yard run. Peyton Argent of Hoover booted the extra point and Alabama sliced the Mississippi lead to 10-7 with 8:42 to play in the game. Mississippi responded with a 49-yard drive that chewed up 4:47, but Bart Edmiston missed a key 38-yard field goal attempt that gave Alabama the ball at their own 21-yard line with 3:55 to play.
Alabama then drove 79 yards in 8 plays and 1:20 for the winning touchdown. Facing a fourth-and-four play at the 46-yard line, Alabama QB Christopher Vizzina connected with Prattville receiver Kameran Shanks for 33 yards to the Mississippi 21. Three plays later, Vizzina fired a perfect pass to Davion Dozier of Moody who outjumped the Mississippi defensive backs for the go-ahead touchdown. Peyton Argent added the point after touchdown and Alabama led for the first time 14-10 with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi took over on its own 30-yard line with one last chance, but Mack Howard of Oxford threw an interception to T. J. Metcalf of Pinson Valley at the 32-yard line with 2:27 remaining. Alabama’s Khalifa Keith from A. H. Parker broke off a 27-yard run for a first down and Alabama ran out the clock for the win.
Defensive stars and the game’s leading tacklers received the Most Valuable Player Awards for the game. The Alabama MVP was Peter Woods of Thompson who had 6 solo tackles and 2 assists for a total of 8 tackles with 2 QB sacks and 7 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Suntarine Perkins of Raleigh was selected as the Mississippi MVP for his outstanding performance in making 9 solo tackles with 1 assist for a total of 10 tackles with 3 tackles for loss and one pass break-up.
The leading passer for Mississippi was Bray Hubbard of Ocean Springs who completed 4-of-8 for 44 yards and no interceptions. Alabama was led in passing by Christopher Vizzina of Briarwood Christian who connected on 8-of-13 passes for 80 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Alabama was led in rushing by Earl Woods of Hueytown who also split time at quarterback and gained 63 yards on 12 rushes with 1 touchdown and a 29-yard run. Mississippi was led in rushing by D’Marium Perteet of South Panola who ran for 87 yards on 6 carries including the 52-yard touchdown. The standout receivers were Mississippi’s Ayden Williams of Ridgeland who had 1 catch for 43 yards and Alabama’s Kameron Shanks of Prattville who snagged 3 passes for 88 yards.
Both defenses were the true story of the contest. Mississippi had 40 total tackles with 3 QB sacks and 14 tackles for loss with 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries along with 2 interceptions and 4 pass break-ups. Alabama racked up 55 total tackles with 5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss with 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery along with 1 interception and 2 pass break-ups. Alabama was 2-of-12 on third down conversions and 1-of-2 on fourth down with the key fourth quarter pass on the game-winning drive being the only conversion. Mississippi was 2-of-10 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down conversions. Mississippi had 14 first downs to Alabama’s 12, but the late rally gave Alabama the edge in offense as they ran 53 plays for 209 yards while Mississippi had 50 plays for 189 yards.
