The saying goes: Defense wins championships.

For Reeltown, that couldn’t have been more true.

It was hard to score points in a thrilling affair between two top dogs in Reeltown and Highland Home. A 34-yard touchdown by sophomore Alijah Woods with six minutes left in the fourth quarter gave Reeltown the lead and a ticket to its second straight AHSAA Class 2A state championship appearance, earning a 6-0 victory .

Coming into the competition, Highland Home was a team that averaged 47 points per game on the offensive side of the ball. However, Reeltown’s defense never gave up, even on the occasional big play.

The Flying Squadron made five trips to the red zone and failed to get into the end zone each time – two missed field goal attempts and three turnovers on downs in Rebels territory.

“It’s just extremely difficult in football these days, no matter who you’re playing against, keeping someone out of the end zone is just an extremely difficult task,” Reeltown coach Matt Johnson said. “For a team like that and for us to keep them out is just a remarkable achievement. It was just kind of survival of the fittest.”

Linebacker Cruise Johnson was a big contributor for the Rebels and seemed to be involved in every play the defense made. Whether he was sent on a blitz, strong in the run game, or covering the middle of the field on passing plays, he was a problem. On the night, he led the team with 13 total tackles and three tackles for a loss.

“It’s a unique situation when you’re coaching your son,” Johnson said. “I don’t give him enough credit but he had an incredible game, 13 tackles, I’m extremely proud of him. I’m hard on him, but just so proud of him. He has struggled with injuries all year, including tonight. He kept improving, but he did a remarkable job. The entire defense, I mean, he had a great game, no doubt, but it’s hard to talk about individuals considering how much effort they all put in for 48 minutes.”

As an outstanding artist, he was not the only one. Senior Baylor Clayton made Highland Homes’ TJ Washington’s day a nightmare. Clayton got to quarterback three times while adding a tackle for a loss and six total tackles on the night.

Although the defense made many plays that night, Woods’ one was the highlight of the entire evening. The Rebels struggled to move the ball all night, only crossing into opponent territory twice in the entire game. However, the offense faced a fourth-and-4 and had no choice but to go for it. Quarterback JaMarkius Smith dropped back and hit Woods 34 yards down the field for the first and only score of the night.

“JaMarkius found aliyah and made a remarkable play,” Johnson said. “We had Tae (Martin) wide open at the start of that drive, but we had just a little bit of pressure. We couldn’t hit him, but if we could have hit him, I think he would have scored, but it worked out great because we can take some time.”

In addition to his touchdown, Woods scored his third straight game with an interception in the second quarter of the contest.

Next up for Reeltown is Tuscaloosa Academy, which defeated Sulligent 20-14. The AHSAA Class 2A State Championship game is Friday at 3 p.m. at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.