We Speak Flag / 7v7 Football

Osborne Seals a Classic: Tallassee Edges Stanhope Elmore 20-19 and Turns Toward Greensboro

Published

1 hour ago

November 2, 2026

The Stanhope Elmore Lady Mustangs huddle on the field before the Oct. 29 game at Tallassee.

Photo via Stanhope Elmore High School media (@stanhopeelmoremedia) on Instagram.

The Tallassee Times reported a finish worthy of a trophy on Thursday night, Oct. 29, as Tallassee rallied past Stanhope Elmore 20-19 at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium in the regular season finale, according to the newspaper’s account of the game.

The Tigers trailed 19-13 late in the fourth quarter before driving the field for the tying touchdown and converting the extra point that put them in front 20-19. Stanhope Elmore had one last chance, but Marlee Osborne intercepted a pass late in the quarter to seal the win. Osborne plays on both sides of the ball for the Tigers, and none of her plays this season were bigger.

The comeback closed a regular season of nine wins and two losses for Tallassee, and a region championship run that included a 27-0 win over Booker T. Washington for the region title. Head coach Pat Love has built the program from its launch in 2024 into a winner, with 33 wins, five losses and one tie. The only teams to beat the Tigers this season were Central-Phenix City and Montgomery Catholic, the top two teams in the state in the MaxPreps rankings.

There is one more reason the loss column matters less this November. Under the new private school bracket, Tallassee cannot run into Montgomery Catholic this postseason. Catholic is the program that knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs in each of the past two years. With freshman quarterback Jordyn Morris running the offense, Tallassee opens the Class 1A through 4A playoffs at home against Greensboro on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. Stanhope Elmore, playing in Class 5A, hosts Brookwood in its own first round game.

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We Speak Flag / 7v7 Football

James Clemens Gets the Hardest Draw in 6A: A Playoff Trip to Hewitt-Trussville

Published

1 hour ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

James Clemens players in action during the Jets' Oct. 20 win over Mae Jemison.

Photo by 100Shotz Media via James Clemens girls flag (@jchsgirlsflag) on Instagram.

Every bracket has a draw nobody wants, and in Class 6A it belongs to James Clemens. The Jets travel to Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. for a first round playoff game, a road trip confirmed on Hewitt-Trussville’s official athletics schedule.

James Clemens, from Madison, won six of its 14 games and closed the regular season the right way, with a 6-0 shutout win at Columbia on Oct. 27. The Jets’ wins include a 36-6 rout of Bob Jones, a 35-0 shutout of St. John Paul II, a 31-13 win over Mae Jemison on Oct. 20 and an 18-0 shutout of Hazel Green. The losses show the gap the Jets have to close. Gadsden City beat them 36-6 on Oct. 22, and Sparkman edged them 13-6 on Oct. 13.

Hewitt-Trussville is the standard on the other sideline. The Huskies are one of the powers of the 6A bracket, and the program’s flag account still points to the inaugural state title it won in 2021, before flag became an official AHSAA championship sport.

Three of the Jets’ six wins were shutouts, so the defense has traveled before. The game is also one of eight first round matchups in the Class 6A bracket, while eight other teams, including Spain Park and Smiths Station, sit out the week on byes and wait for the winners.

For James Clemens, the math is simple. The Jets have already shown they can pitch a shutout and score in bunches against their own level. Tuesday asks them to do it in the hardest building in the bracket.