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The Shelby County Wildcats clinched the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game in a dominant showing on the road at Selma. (For the Reporter/Doug Horton)

The Shelby County Wildcats clinched the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game in a dominant showing on the road at Selma. (For the Reporter/Doug Horton)

By SCOTT MIMS | Special to the Reporter

SELMA — The Shelby County Wildcats held the Selma Saints to one touchdown in a region victory Friday night, Oct. 18 for a final score of 43-6 at Selma High School.

The win wraps up the No. 2 seed out of Class 5A, Region 3 for the Wildcats, guaranteeing a home playoff game at Papa McCombs Stadium.

Shelby County coach Zeb Ellison said the team got off to a relatively slow start but responded well to the halftime talk, more than doubling their lead by the end of the game.

“We played a great game. We had several pass breakups; the defensive front played very well tonight and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback,” Ellison said, highlighting the two pick-six plays by Andres McGinnis—one from 30 yards and another from 50 yards out.

Shelby County’s Ryan Sipes put up the first points in the first quarter, and TJ Minton kicked the PAT to make it 7-0. Selma swiftly answered with a kickoff return for a touchdown; however, the two-point conversion failed.

Anthony Palmieri countered Selma’s move with a 45-yard rushing touchdown with 4 minutes left in the first quarter.

After a turnover on downs, Sipes completed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Eli Holliman and then rushed for a conversion, making it 22-6 by halftime.

Following McGinnis’ two pick sixes in the third and fourth quarters, Tyson Duncan found the end zone on a 40-yard run. Another PAT from Minton capped the play to result in the final score.

In all, Shelby County gained 247 yards rushing on 47 carries. Palmieri had 170 yards on 27 carries, and Duncan had 87 yards on eight carries.

Quarterback Ryan Sipes threw 1-for-3 for a total 31 passing yards and a touchdown, while the team as a whole amassed 278 yards on the evening.

Cale Blevins led the team in tackles with five. He tied with Cooper Pennington, Cambell Aderholt and Garrett Barnes in solo tackles with four each. Dominic Woods had three tackles for loss and two of Pennington’s four tackles were for a loss.

McGinnis broke up a team-high four passes in addition to his two pick-sixes and Woods and Aderholt each broke up two passes each.

Shelby County’s next matchup will be at East Limestone on Nov. 1. That game will conclude regular season play for the Wildcats.

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