FOLEY, Alabama – The stars rose in south Alabama Thursday night as the Foley Lions and the Daphne Trojans showcased to the nation the glory of their players, coaches and fans, and proved that this southern county has two of the best football programs in the country.

But, the fifth-ranked Lions (6-0, 4-0, 6A Region 2) would win the battle, beating long-time rival and second-ranked Daphne 16-14 at Ivan Jones Stadium.  

Under the lights, with ESPN2 cameras readying for the national broadcast at 8 p.m., Foley and Daphne fans filled the stands wondering if the Lions would vindicate themselves from a heartbreaking loss last year against Daphne, or if Trojans running back Reggie Hunt would run away again with the victory.  

“You could hear a pin drop,” one fan said reflecting on the moment when the Trojans scored a last minute touchdown - silencing the Foley crowd - on a fumble recovery to win the game.  

But, this time around the Trojans (5-1, 2-1) didn’t sneak away with the win and Hunt wouldn’t gain 301 yards as the Lions’ defensive halted the would-be Auburn star to 31 yards on 15 carries and held quarterback slash running back Coley White to 114 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown.  

“It was a tough loss but that happens in life,” Daphne coach Glenn Vickery said after the game. “Everything is not perfect and it’s one of those lessons.  Now we have to get back up for next week.  We have to get ready for another big game (against Fairhope).

“Give Foley credit.  Their defense did a great job.”

And so they did: the Lions-D made big plays early in the first quarter with D.J. Jones sacking White on the Trojans nine-yard line and Isaiah Thomas followed up with another bone-breaking sack, holding the Trojans scoreless going into the second quarter.  

“Our defense really stepped it up,” said Foley coach Todd Watson.  “(Daphne is) very explosive on offense.  They got some great players, and great coaches and (our) defense just played their hearts out.

“We were on the field for a long time in the hot night in October…I’m proud of our guys.”

Early in the first quarter, Lions’ senior quarterback Devin Smith hooked up with show-time Julio Jones on a 30-yard bomb, giving Foley a 7-0 lead.    

Smith would go 7-of-18 for the night, throwing for 103 yards and two touchdowns, both scores going to Jones, who faced double, and sometimes triple, coverage throughout the evening.  

Overall, Jones caught six passes for 97 yards, including the game winning, ESPN highlight reel worthy, 28-yard touchdown strike from Smith that gave the Lions a 16-14 edge with 9:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.  

On the same drive right before the catch, Jones unexpectedly dropped a pass, the ball just barely trickling off his finger tips, in the corner of the end zone

“I had to go out there and redeem myself,” Jones said, who is the No. 1 ranked high school recruit on the ESPN 150, a nationwide ranking of the top prep football prospects.  

“I got to be a playmaker and I got to make a play,” Jones said after the game.

Jones humbly deflected questions about ESPN’s national broadcast and how he believed he stood out to the country.  

“I mean it feels good but you know…we came back (in the second half) to play the game of football,” Jones said.

ESPN has been covering high school football consistently since 2004 and this year the network will broadcast 16 games, according to Tilea S. Coleman, a spokesperson for ESPN.  

Coleman said that ESPN2 - which broadcasted the game - reaches about 400,000 households from coast to coast

“We look at it from a recruiting standpoint” for colleges, Coleman noted, and also for football fans who “have a desire to know where these players come from and where they are going to play” college ball.

Tom Scofield, the game’s producer, said in an interview before kickoff: “The overall philosophy is to bring the college stars of tomorrow into the living room today…(and) combine that with (south Alabama) being a great football area.”

“We really want the rest of the country to know the passion with football here,” he said.  

Lions’ running back LaVance Mitchell also showed the national audience why football reins supreme in southern Alabama, running for 127 yards on 18 carries, and earning much need first-downs that put the Lions’ into scoring position.

By half-time, Mitchell had an incredible seven yards per carry average with 8 carries for 59 yards.  

The Trojans had a chance late in the fourth quarter down 16-14, but they had 99 yards to go with only 2 minutes and 38 seconds left on the clock since Jones sped down the field on a Lions’ punt, downing the ball on the Trojans one-yard line.  

White nimbly completed two short passes, taking the ball nearly to the 30, but D.J. Jones and Justin Anderson consecutively sacked the shifty Trojan quarterback, giving the Trojans a long third and 17 with barely one minute remaining.       

White launched a 19-yard pass to Le’Andre Walton for the first down and the Trojans eased themselves into Lions’ territory, just over the 50 with 15 seconds on the clock.    

But, Robert Lester intercepted White’s pass over the middle at the 25 yard line, running over the 50 into Trojans’ territory and was just knocked out of bounds as the clock hit zero.

“Foley wins it, Foley wins it, 16 to 14,” yelled Jack Williams, the Lions’ well-known play by play announcer, immediately after the final play, over throngs of screaming fans.  

(Will Mezick and Tony Whitehead contributed to this report)