High School Sports

Handley quarterback Darius Finley had to fight to keep his team together when it seemed as if things were falling apart right before his eyes early in the Tigers' 17-0 shutout victory over Anniston.

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Anniston's Darious Bowie intercepted Finley inside Handley territory on the Tiger's first offensive possession and Bulldogs' defensive lineman Michael Boone forced a fumble on the next possession to give Anniston the ball.

"I had to try to get back focused," said Finley, a 6-2, 165-pound sophomore. "It's hard when you just threw a pick, but I came back, threw the ball a little bit and stayed focused."

Anniston was unable to convert either of the Tigers' turnovers into scores, turning the ball over on downs at the Handley 21-yard line following the interception and punting it away after the fumble recovery.

Meanwhile, Handley, ranked No. 7 in the state in the Alabama Sportswriters Association Class 4A poll, recouped and regrouped as the Tigers proceeded to hang 17 unanswered points on the Bulldogs in front of their Homecoming crowd at "Chink" Lott Memorial Stadium.

The first quarter ended in a scoreless tie, but Finley got his got his swagger back on the first possession of the second quarter. He found wide receiver Jay Bray in one-on-one coverage on a 46-yard reception that eventually set up Finley's 6-yard touchdown run with 8:40 to play in the second quarter. That gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead followed by an extra point from Austin Fetner.

"He's matured as a quarterback," Mike Battles said of his signal-caller. "He's our leader and next year there's no limit to what he might be able to do. He settles everybody down. But of course, he's been doing it for two years now."

Finley finished with 31 yards rushing and 67 yards passing, completing 3 of 6 attempts. He also didn't mind voicing the fact that he wasn't 100 percent pleased with his team's performance.

"The offensive line," he said. "They've got to play better. We've all got play better."

The Tigers only other touchdown came with a 45 seconds remaining in the second quarter, when running back Shaquille Trammell took one in from 5 yards out and Handley led 14-0.

"We've got a good running game," said Finely of Handley's ground attack, which produced 158 yards. "I'll hand it off to No. 1 (Trammell) and No. 7 (Justin Brown) all day."

A long punt return by Bray set up Fetner's 28-yard field goal with 4:53 to play in the third which wound up being the game's final score.

Brown led all rushers with 84 yards on 12 carries while Trammell finished with 32 yards and caught a pass for nine yards. Handley improved to 4-1 and 3-1 in Region 4.

Anniston's defense was stout as ever, but poor field position, especially in the second half, put the unit's collective backs against the wall as the Tiger's found success running the ball straight up the middle.

"I was surprised," Battles said, referring to his interior attack. "Anniston is good on defense and they're going to win some ball games down the road. Our kids played hard and sometimes we got whipped."

Offensively, the Bulldogs never could get anything going. After a 46-yard run by Boone on the second play of the game, the Bulldogs managed just 51 yards of offense.

"We opened up with a good drive," said second-year Anniston coach Alex Wilson. "Then, we just stalled."

The lost drops Anniston's record to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in region play. The Bulldogs will travel to Munford next week for a pivotal Region 4 matchup against the Lions, who've won three in a row to even their record after losing their first three games.

"It's a big game," Wilson said. "We've just got to keep getting reps, hang on to the football and execute."

Anniston sophomore quarterback Josiah Atkins completed just 5 of 18 attempts for 36 yards. Bulldogs wide receiver Kelvin Duncan caught four passes for 31 yards.

Handley travels to region foe Childersburg next week.