By Kelsey Prose
What’s better than a senior night victory on the final game of the regular season? A record-breaking night, that’s what! During Fort Payne’s 32-7 victory over the North Jackson Chiefs, Auburn commit Alex McPherson broke the AHSAA state record for the longest field goal from snap to hold when he booted a 61-yard field goal in the final minutes of the game. McPherson broke the record set by his older brother and current kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals, Evan McPherson (60 yards set in 2017).
Fort Payne (6-4) was shut out on their first drive of the game, but on the first snap of their next possession, Jake Barnes found Ricky Adame for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The Wildcats scored again on the first play when Kaden Dubose cut up the middle and broke free for 56-yards and six points. McPherson hit his first field goal for 55-yards to extend the Cats lead to 17-0 and added three more points just before the half off a 52-yarder.
North Jackson’s offense was shut down by the Wildcats, and they punted on their first six possessions and didn’t cross midfield until late in the second quarter. Fort Payne added six points when Adame juked his way for a 58-yard touchdown pushing the Cats to 26-0 lead.
North Jackson found the endzone towards the end of the third quarter on fourth down when Dalton Morris carried the ball 58-yards to give the Chiefs their lone touchdown.
Fort Payne’s final six points would come from McPherson’s foot as he nailed a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth and then ended the game with his record-breaking kick.
The Wildcats put up 300 yards against the Chiefs with 119 rushing yards. Dubose rushed for 94 yards with a touchdown while Connor Cash was the favorite target for Barnes with three catches on 24 yards, while Adame earned 113 yards on two receptions with two touchdowns.
Fort Payne begins their post-season journey by traveling to Region 5’s No. 2-seed Briarwood Christian (9-1, 5-1) for round one of the playoffs on Friday, November 5.
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