Help us with our award-winning sports coverage

Capsules

seven receiving touchdowns. … RB Davion Thomas scored the lone touchdown for the Mustangs last week.

Four Downs

Wetumpka beat Greenville, 42-21, last week; Stanhope lost to Prattville, 49-10.

Wetumpka beat Stanhope, 8-7, last season to end the Mustangs’ season.

Wetumpka is 2-1 in AHSAA Class 6A, Region 2; Stanhope Elmore is 1-1.

Stanhope Elmore has lost three games by one possession this season.

NEXT UP: Wetumpka hosts Carver; Stanhope Elmore at Lanier.

BANKS ACADEMY AT EDGEWOOD ACADEMY (2-3)

The Players

Edgewood Academy: QB Austin Champion has completed 33 of 60 passes for 597 yards and five touchdowns. … ATH Gabe LeMaster rushed for 183 yards on 22 attempts last week. He has two 100-yard performances this season. … ATH Bradley Boone has totaled 430 yards and three touchdowns this year.

Four Downs

Edgewood beat Fort Dale, 21-14, last week; Banks beat Coosa Valley, 33-14.

Edgewood beat Banks, 26-12, last season. Edgewood is 2-0 against Banks all-time. This is a non-region matchup.

NEXT UP: Edgewood Academy at Macon East Academy; Banks **

JEMISON (2-3) AT HOLTVILLE (2-3)

The Players

Holtville: RB Shawn Brackett has rushed for 437 yards and 10 touchdowns this season; he also has 20 catches for 226 yards. … WR Erik Adkins has 21 catches for 320 yards and four touchdowns. … LB Conner Hackett has recorded 61 tackles and 14 tackles for loss.

Four Downs

Holtville lost to West Blocton, 26-7, last week; Jemison beat Montevallo, 20-12.

Both Holtville and Jemison are 1-1 in AHSAA Class 5A, Region 3.

Jemison beat Holtville, 35-14, the last time they met in 2013.

Holtville’s offense has only scored two touchdowns in its last two games.

NEXT UP: Holtville at Marbury; Jemison hosts Demopolis.

Rivalry

is what people will remember. But for the purposes of what our team has set out to do, this is just another region football game.”

The Indians (5-1, 2-1) are off to a great start this season under Woods’ first year. Wetumpka has already reached last year’s win total and the Indians are fighting for a home playoff spot midway through region play.

Stanhope Elmore (1-4, 1-1) has not had the hottest start to their season, but the Mustangs’ record does not tell the whole story. Three of their four losses have come by only one possession, and the Mustangs had the ball and a chance to tie it on their last possession in each game.

The only loss by more than a touchdown was last week against 7A Prattville.

Woods knows the record is no indication of what Stanhope Elmore brings to the table, and he is throwing records out the window this week.

“People who watch film, which are the coaches, understand that the record is not what represents how good a football team is,” Woods said. “This Stanhope team is only a handful of plays away from only having one loss. … I think Stanhope is the best one-win football team in the state right now. They have players like they always do traditionally, we have players like we do traditionally, and that’s what makes for a good football game.”

Stanhope Elmore’s offense has been talented this year, but a slight change from what the Mustangs are used to. Instead of primarily running the football, Stanhope has thrown the ball more than past teams.

Quarterback Jacob Bryant is in the midst of a stellar season, and receiver Jackson Thomas, a Troy commit, is scoring touchdowns in every game this season. He has yet to find a defen - sive back who can keep him out of the end zone.

Woods and the Indians have not faced a passing attack like Stanhope’s yet this season, but he also believes the Mustangs have not faced a defense like his yet.

“That’s kind of the same thing that Baker did, but Baker didn’t want to do that against us,” Woods said of the passing attack. “That’s because of what we do and how we play defensively. That’s going to be a fun matchup seeing what they come out and try to do and want to do versus what we do. No team has faced our defense unless you’ve actually faced our defense.” point of attack and the linebackers fly around. They have a lot of different guys who run the ball and run the ball hard.”

Tallassee’s led by quarterback Tyler Ellis, who is in his fourth year of starting for the Tigers.

Ellis has mostly been known as a passer in his time at Tallassee, but has evolved into more of a dual-threat quarterback his senior year. This season alone, Ellis has rushed for 481 yards and has totaled 10 touchdowns.

If anyone knows dual-threat quarterbacks, it’s Caldwell and Elmore County. Caldwell was a dual-threat who shined both at the high school and college level, and he coaches one of the best in the state in Payton Stephenson.

Stephenson has both rushed and passed for over 2,000 yards in two years as the starting quarterback. This season, he’s already passed for 770 yards and rushed for 406. He has 17 touchdowns on the year.

So what stands out to Caldwell when looking at Tallassee’s Ellis?

“He’s tough to tackle and gets downhill fast. Once you get momentum going, it’s tougher to get someone down rather than running east to west. They do a good job in their scheme of being able to keep you off balanced, running powers and traps and different formations. They try to out-formation you and out-flank you sometimes. It’s a tough task to prepare for. It’s going to be a difficult game like it always is.”

When Elmore County takes the field, it will be without lineman Nicobe Hooks. Hooks, one of the team’s best linemen, was injured against St. Clair County and is now out for the season after having to have surgery.

Pet of the Week – Chi

Humane Society of Elmore County News

By Rea Cord Executive Director

Do you know about our Tail’s End Thrift Store co-located with our Shelter at 255 Central Plank Road, Wetumpka? As a nonprofit organization fundraising is at the top of our priorities so that we can continue our mission to help the 4000 animals that come through our doors each year. Our 100 percent volunteer run thrift store is a vital asset and our single largest fund-raising activity. The store is open for shopping Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. –3 p.m. and you might be amazed at what you can find there.

Chi is a four-year-old male Lab, about 65 lbs.

He came to the shelter when his former owner felt they did not have enough room for him.

Chi would love a big, fenced yard to romp in but also couch time to help you watch TV. He loves attention and tummy rubs and is good with other dogs and cats.

Adoption fees are $100 for dogs and $50 for cats under one-year-old; cats over one-year-old can be adopted by approved adopters for a fee of their choosing. This adoption fee completely covers the mandatory spay or neuter, basic immunizations, de-worming, microchip, heartworm check for dogs, rabies vaccination if old enough, free health exam with your participating veterinarian.

If you are interested in meeting Chi or any of the shelter’s pets, the first step is the adoption application you can do online at https:// elmorehumane.org/ adoption-applicationonline-form2.html. Once approved, the shelter will coordinate with you to set up an appointment to meet and adopt.

The Elmore County Humane Society shelter is located at 255 Central Plank Road, Wetumpka, AL, 36092, their phone number is 334-567-3377 and their website is www. elmorehumane.org for more information.

Our store carries donated clothing, furniture, collectibles, art, books, jewelry, appliances, electronics, furniture and so much more. We are incredibly grateful to all who donate items since that is where this all starts, and all donations are tax-deductible. Our volunteers are there to receive donations Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.; please do not leave donations outside of these hours as items left outside are subject to theft and the weather. Please note that we do not accept stained/dirty/ dry-rotted clothing, broken appliances/tools/ electronics/furniture, the old-style heavy televisions, old style large/heavy computer monitors, mattresses and obviously soiled or damaged furniture.

Of course, our thrift store wouldn’t even be open if not for our incredible group of dedicated volunteers who are there to receive, sort, price, place and sell donated items. We are indeed blessed with volunteers who give of their time so that all profit goes to our shelter to ensure we can continue helping sick, injured and homeless pets. These volunteers are running a first-class thrift store operation and if you have not been there to shop, you are truly missing out as there is something for everyone.

Right now, we can use more volunteers and donated items as sales have been quite brisk this summer. With spring yard sales and house cleaning starting up we will be receiving even more donations so can always use more volunteers to help. Besides volunteering during the store’s normal hours of operation there are opportunities on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with sorting, pricing, and placing items so all the new items are ready for sale by Thursday. Please stop by between 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday to check it out and talk to the folks about volunteering. While you are there, please also thank our volunteers for their endless hard work operating our thrift store as all proceeds go to our shelter to ensure we can be there for all the pets that come to us needing our help.

To our shoppers/ donors/supporters – you will find super deals and high-quality items at our thrift store. Our volunteers take great effort in cleaning items, making sure clothes are all in good condition and checking that electronics/appliances work. Shoppers can feel confident in getting nice items when you come shop with us while also supporting what we think is a great cause! And many thanks to all who do shop at our Tail’s End Thrift Store - we greatly appreciate your support! We hope you shop and adopt!