High School

Clay-Chalkville 31, Saraland 28: updates, scoring plays from Alabama 4A football championship

Get live score updates and highlights from the 2023 Class 6A AHSAA high school football state championship game

Tyler Cleveland, SBLive Sports

Saraland is one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, but the Spartans had their hands full on Friday when they took on undefeated Clay-Chalkville in the Alabama AHSAA Class 6A state championship.

Both teams were undefeated and loaded with talent. 

Read below for our live updates recap from the Alabama Class 2A high school football state championship game is going.

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FOURTH QUARTER UPDATES

FINAL: CLAY-CHALKVILLE 31, SARALAND 28 The Cougars have upset the defending state champs with a fourth-down stop to end the game. Lacey nearly scored on a quarterback draw, but the Clay-Chalkville defense gets the stop at the three-yard line!

CLAY-CHALKVILLE 31, SARALAND 28 The Cougars’ drive stalls in the red zone but Antone Ellison drills the 26-yard field goal to give the Cougars their first lead of the game. Just 2:27 left in this one.

THIRD QUARTER UPDATES

End of the 3rd Quarter We're all tied up at 28-28 headed to the fourth quarter. Saraland has a first down at the Clay-Chalkville 35-yard line when we resume.

CLAY-CHALKVILLE 28, SARALAND 28 Mbakwe is a one-man wrecking crew. He just ran threw half a dozen arm tackles on the way to another rushing TD. That gives him four tonight. Just 1:49 to go in the third quarter.

Missed Field Goal Saraland marched 45 yards but the Cougar defense turned them away inside the 10-yard line. A penalty backed the Spartans up to the 20, and a field goal attempt hooked just left. As a side note, Spartan receiver Ryan Williams up to 180 yards on six catches with two touchdowns. He also has a score rushing and an 85-yard kick return touchdown.

FUMBLE! Saraland senior lineman Jermaine Paramore Jr. just stripped the ball right out of Mbakwe’s hands, and the Spartans go right back to work.

SARALAND 28, CLAY-CHALKVILLE 21 Ryan Williams takes the opening kickoff of the second half 85 yards to the house. That’s his fourth touchdown of the night. Saraland retakes the lead just 12 seconds into the second half.

SECOND QUARTER UPDATES

HALFTIME We've reached the halftime break. Clay-Chalkville has gone tit-for-tat with the defending state champs. Saraland will get the ball to start the second half.

CLAY-CHALKVILLE 21, SARALAND 21 Mbakwe answers right back with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Mario Craver. These two star quarterbacks are putting on a show in this first half.

SARALAND 21, CLAY-CHALKVILLE 14 Touchdown Saraland! Ryan Williams takes the direct snap from the four-yard line and walks in for his third TD of the evening. He’s well on his way to another championship game MVP performance. Just 1:44 left in the first half.

CLAY CHALKVILLE 14, SARALAND 14 Mbakwe led another long TD drive, converting a key 4th-&-2 in the red zone before scoring two plays later on a three-yard run. We’re all square with 7:15 to go in the second quarter.

FIRST QUARTER UPDATES

End of the 1st Quarter Clay-Chalkville will face a 3rd-&-3 near midfield when we resume.

SARALAND 14, CLAY-CHALKVILLE 7 The Cougars are gonna need three good men to cover Ryan Williams. The Alabama commit gets wide open again and Lacey hits him in stride for a 77-yard touchdown. Just 2:20 left in the first quarter now.

CLAY-CHALKVILLE 7, SARALAND 7 Jaylen Mbakwe hit Mario Craver for a 41-yard pass, then kept it himself for a 12-yard touchdown scramble. The Cougars looked pretty proficient there, and they've tied this game.

College coaches in the house There's no shortage of big-time college football coaches at Bryant-Denny Stadium for this game. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian are both in the house.

SARALAND 7, CLAY-CHALKVILLE 0 KJ Lacey hit Ryan Williams for a 63-yard touchdown pass on the Spartans' first play from scrimmage. Williams, the Alabama commit, was wide open and Lacey hit him in stride.

PREGAME UPDATES

We’re underway! Saraland won the toss and deferred to the second half. Here we go!

7:10 p.m. kickoff The Class 2A Championship between Fyffe and Reeltown ended on time, and both teams are out on the field for pregame warmups. We should be set for a 7:10 p.m. kickoff after pregame introductions.

More coverage: SBLive Sports features in-depth coverage of Alabama high school football including season previews, team rankings, top player lists and much more. Follow your favorite teams on SBLive's live high school football scoreboard and download the SBLive Sports App.

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Published
Tyler Cleveland, SBLive Sports
TYLER CLEVELAND, SBLIVE SPORTS

SBLive Mississippi reporter Tyler Cleveland has been covering sports in the Magnolia State since 2005. He attended Ole Miss and Southern Miss and worked previously at the Hattiesburg American, Clarion-Ledger and Rivals.com. You can reach him at tyler@scorebooklive.com.

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