History was made on gridirons in Gulf Shores and Birmingham where the top-ranked Dolphins locked up their first undefeated regular season in program history and Foley senior Kolton Nero cemented his spot on the Mount Rushmore of Lion running backs as the new single-game and single-season rushing leader.

Playoff-bound squads from Daphne and Bayside Academy closed their regular seasons with victories in Week 11 before hitting the road for first-round playoff games next week.

Foley 38, Jackson-Olin 26

With a single-game record of 331 rushing yards, senior running back Kolton Nero also set single-season records with 2,045 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground in Foley’s 100th football season.

The AHSAA All-Star beat a family member for the single-game record where Nero’s uncle, Lewis Wilson, previously held the single-game record at 308 yards against Theodore in 1983 according to South Baldwin Sports and the WHEP Radio Network. Nero, in his final game with the Foley Lions, increased the single-season rushing record by 214 yards and set a new per-game rushing record by more than 60 yards.

In his 10 games played, Nero eclipsed triple-digit rushing yards in all but two games and scored multiple rushing touchdowns in all but three. Half of his 100-plus-yard nights surpassed 250 yards.

The Lions finished the 2023 season 5-5 overall and 2-4 within Class 7A Region 1.

No. 1 Gulf Shores 43, B.C. Rain 21

The 2023 Gulf Shores Dolphins can add another first to their list of accomplishments this season: an undefeated regular season.

Senior Ronnie Royal, an NC State commit and AHSAA All-Star, provided a special teams trifecta in the first half alone where he had three return touchdowns on various types of kicks. Trailing by a touchdown, Gulf Shores senior Kingston Lowe was credited with a safety to make a 7-2 deficit with 8:15 left in the first half.

The ensuing freekick was returned 55 yards for a touchdown before Royal answered a B.C. Rain touchdown with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to steal the lead back at 16-14 with 4:46 left in the second quarter. After a Red Raider three and out, Royal delivered a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown just 3:23 before halftime.

Dolphin junior Kolin Wilson complemented the effort with a hat trick of rushing touchdowns from 18, 4 and 5 yards out which helped register 35 unanswered points and put the game out of reach. Wilson finished with 106 rushing yards on 19 carries for his 8th triple-digit rushing game of the season where he’s scored at least 1 touchdown in each of his 10 contests.

Senior Isaiah Hammac led the way with 9 tackles on top of 4 tackles for loss from Lowe as well as an interception from sophomore Landon Everett.

Gulf Shores finished the 2023 regular season 10-0 overall and 8-0 within Class 5A Region 1. The Beauregard Hornets (6-4, 2-3 in 5A-R4) are set to travel to Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium on Friday to open the first round of the state playoffs.

OTHER WEEK 11 FINAL SCORES

Bayside Academy 35, Alabama Christian 7

The Admirals finished 8-2 and 5-2 in Class 4A Region 1. Bayside Academy is set to hit the road for the first round of the playoffs against the Jacksonville Golden Eagles (8-2, 5-1 in 4A-R4) Friday night.

Citronelle 35, Elberta 24

The Warriors finished 2-8 and 1-7 in Class 5A Region 1.

Daphne 50, Hillcrest Evergreen 18

The Trojans finished 6-4 and 4-2 in Class 7A Region 1. Daphne is scheduled for an away first-round playoff game against the Enterprise Wildcats (8-2, 6-2 in 7A-R2) Friday night.