By Chris Megginson | For the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – With more than 600 yards of total offense, Montevallo notched its third Class 4A, Region 3 win Oct. 12, beating Sumter Central at home, 38-24.

While pleased with a win, Montevallo Coach Brandon Wilcox says his team left points on the field with three red zone turnovers during the night.

“We didn’t take care of the football like we needed to and finish off some drives. We moved the ball all night, but we didn’t control the line of scrimmage the way I’d like for us to do, but considering we had 24 guys dressed tonight I’m proud of our kids for getting the win … I want to see our team continue to improve and continue to gel,” Wilcox said.

Malik Inabinette paced the Bulldogs with 478 yards of total offense, including 45 on the ground and 433 by air on 23-of-39 passing. He connected with JJ Evans and then ran in the 2-point conversion on a QB-keeper to put the Bulldogs up 8-0 on its first drive. It set the tone for the night, as Evans proved to be Inabinette’s main target, reeling in 10 receptions for 269 yards.

Though Sumter evened the score, 8-8, in the second quarter, Inabinette hit Jamarius Carter for his first of two TD catches to regain the lead. Montevallo once again converted a 2-point try to go up 16-8. The two connected again before the half to give Montevallo a 23-8 halftime lead. Carter finished the game with 105 yards on seven catches, two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.

After Sumter Central pulled within six points, 22-16, Deon Gilliland found the end zone for his only touchdown of the night, and then added a 2-point run to stretch Montevallo’s lead, 30-16. Gilland, who rushed for 133 yards on 19 carries, punched in two 2-point runs in the game.

Montevallo had three other scoring threats stopped by turnovers, fumbling once and throwing two interceptions inside the red zone, allowing Sumter Christian to stay close.

“We could have scored 60 and had a safe lead in the fourth quarter instead of having to battle it out,” Wilcox said.

Sumter got no closer than 20 points though in the fourth quarter, as Inabinette hit Evans late in the game for their second touchdown of the night.

Defensively, Tavicia Tutt collected seven tackles and recovered a fumble, Orlandis Weeks had six stops, including four solo, and Jamari Harris had five tackles and an interception.

Wilcox said he was impressed with Sumter Central.

“They continue to improve,” Wilcox said. “If you look at their games from week one and week two to now, they are a completely different team, literally and figuratively. They’re athletic and are going to be a hard matchup for teams.”

Montevallo (6-1, 3-1 Region 3) will travel to Sipsey Valley on Oct. 19 for its next-to-last region game and final regular season road game. The winner will move into second place in the region behind American Christian Academy.

Montevallo statistician Andy Haynie contributed to this report.