Piedmont on Point

Piedmont (AL) – Bulldogs advanced to the Class 3A state finals following their victory over Sylvania. Hayes sets another state record and gets game ball at halffield

Al Muskewitz

Jack Hayes established a new all-time state record for passing on the final play of the quarter. He then set about to lead Piedmont to yet another state championship.

The Piedmont quarterback led their offense to touchdowns on eight of their first possessions. He also accounted for seven of them. This resulted in a 55-22 win over Sylvania in Friday’s Class 3A semifinals at Field of Champions.

For the title, St James (12-2) will face off against Bulldogs (12-2) at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.

This is their sixth trip to finals since 2015, and their seventh under coach Steve Smith. They have won the finals five times, including two of their last three years.

Smith stated, “High school football is the best feeling in the whole world.” That’s the goal everyone has at the start of the year. Although we lost the opener, I think our team did a great job and got better each week. We also found good chemistry on both sides. Their effort tonight is something I cannot praise enough. We played an offensively clean match, I thought.”

Hayes threw four touchdown passes and ran for three more. His touchdown passes were 9, 18, 30 and 30 yards to Ish Betel, respectively. He also ran for three more. A 54-yarder to Rollie pinto was his other touchdown pass. He also had TD runs of 6, 1, and 11 yards. Parker Thornton ran 10-yards late in the second quarter for the Bulldogs’ other touchdown. This gave them a 41-16 halftime advantage.

Hayes was 10-of-11 in passing for 224 yards with three touchdowns in halftime — a 351.96 NCAA passer rating — and 12 of 16 for 259 in game. He ran for 112 yards.

Hayes stated, “Our offense was flawless.” “Every game, I try to improve and this one was perfect.

“I’ve been off the grid a bit the past two weeks, so that’s how we’ve been running it a lot, we hadn’t really connected during the passing game, so I focused this week on getting back to point.”

Smith gave Hayes the ball at midfield after the game, the second such gesture in his coaching career. It was also the first time that Smith has done it in Piedmont’s 17-year history.

Hayes described it as a “big deal” that he was able to show it off in front of his friends and the entire community.

Piedmont was winning the game — Sylvania was able to settle for a field goal on its first drive. But Bethel’s final touchdown proved that it was not.

It was a fourth and long from a distance that was too close for punts and too far to score a field goal. They told Hayes to just keep going. He threw the ball into a crowd. He threw it into a crowd.

Bethel stated, “That was insane.” “I saw it. They tip it. It was all I did, really.

Smith stated, “Sometimes it is just your night.” It was a week of feeling good. It was a wonderful week of preparation. The kids were very positive and practice was excellent this week. It’s easy to worry about this when you aren’t at school. But practice was fantastic all week. This week, we had a lot of energy. Everything went our way tonight.”

Hayes established the state’s all time passing record with a 43-yard pass that was not touchdown on the final play of the quarter. Hayes already holds all-time state records in touchdown passes (now 158), touchdowns accounted (229) and total offense (14,516 yards). The all-time completions record (753), currently second at 716, is his only remaining possibility. He could still win it if the Bulldogs play it in the state finals.

Smith stated that Jack Hayes is most proud about the number of playoff wins and the fact that he was able to lead his team to the third state championship in four years of being a starting quarterback. He’ll be the one to tell you that the records are great, but he’d trade them all for another championship next Thursday.

“I told my guys that I’ve played with someone who’s broken some records for some very prolific people who have been playing in this state. There are a lot great quarterbacks who have also played in this State. For him to be able be on the record boards, it’s not a team thing. It’s a collective effort. It’s also the result of playing many games.”

Both teams scored on their first two possessions. But, it was all over in the second quarter when the Rams (10 4) attempted to take it to the Rams on fourth down from the midfield but failed. They realized the dangers of giving Hayes a small field.

Hayes established the passing yardage records on the first play. The Bulldogs were within the 10, on the last play of the quarter. Hayes was scoring at 6 yards from the goal line three plays later. The Rams got even worse when they lost the kickoff. Three plays later, Hayes was rushing in from the 1.

Tyler Vann, Sylvania’s coach, said that Seven is a really good man. He’ll make you miss many times, even when you reach him. He is a master at using the football. His arm strength is very impressive. He would be a fool to say no to a college that offers him a scholarship.

“He is a winner, man. He is a great player. It’s not my favorite thing to watch him play when he’s on the sidelines. Jack Hayes is a great player and every college should give him the chance.”

Hayes is committed to junior college baseball. But, football isn’t out of the question. He has spoken with Samford, visited Auburn and Jacksonville State.

He said, “I’ll be seeing what my future holds.” “I believe if Mr. Football wins at the end, I’ll get some attention. But if not, I’ll play baseball.”

Piedmont 55, Sylvania 22

Sylvania 10 6 6 0 – 22

Piedmont 14 27 7 7 7 7 -55

S – Conner Andrade 29 FG, 9:46 1Q

P – Ish Bethel 9 pass by Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 7 :48 1Q

S – Josh Scott 17 pass by Jaxson Smith (Conner Andrade kick), 5/02/1Q

P – Ish Bethel 18 pass by Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 2:14 1Q

P – Jack Hayes 6 run, (Sloan Smith kick), 11 :09 2Q

P – Jack Hayes 1 Run (Sloan Smith kick), 9 :43 2Q

P – Rollie pinto 54 pass from Jack Hayes (6:24 2Q)

S – Landon Watkins (62 pass from JaxsonSmith, kick failed), 4:41 2Q

P – Parker Thornton 10 Run (Sloan Smith Kick), 1:50 2Q

P – Jack Hayes 11 run, (Sloan Smith kick), 6:30 PM 3Q

S – Josh Scott 8 pass by Jaxson Smith (kick failure), 2:57 3Q

P – Ish Bethel 30-pass from Jack Hayes (Sloan Smith kick), 9 :31 4Q