BIRMINGHAM – Mars Hill Bible School entered the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Class 3A championship game against Bayside Academy at Protective Stadium in an unfamiliar position – locked in a tight game.

   The Panthers (15-0) entered the game having scored at least 41 points in its 14 wins and won them all by at least 24 points. When Bayside Academy’s Davis Barnett threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Walker Collins in the final minute of the third quarter, it cut Mars Hill’s lead to 17-14 and put the Panthers in a situation they hadn’t faced this season.

    “That’s why you put in all that work (in the offseason),” Mars Hill coach Darrell Higgins said. “When it happened, we were ready for it.”
    Mars Hill responded with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives and pulled away for a 38-21 victory. The win pushed the Panthers’ current winning streak to a 20 in a row and secured a second straight Class 3A championship.
    Higgins has now led Mars Hill to four state titles, winning Class 1A in 2018, Class 2A in 2020 and Class 3A in 2024 and 2025. The Panthers won all four title games by double digits. The loss ended a 13-game winning streak for Bayside (13-2).
    Mars Hill rolled up 398 yards rushing against Bayside, coached by Barrett Trotter. Penn ran 25 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns. To earn Class 3A state championship game MVP. Penn’s 89-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter essentially ended Bayside’s comeback bid, and he added TD runs of 2 and 3 yards.
     Hudson Higgins – the head coach’s son – added 22 carries for 195 yards and touchdown runs of 34 yards in the first half and 4 yards in the game’s final minute.
    “They’ve got great players and an efficient offense,” Trotter said. “They run the wing-T as good as anybody I’ve seen.”
    Mars Hill jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, using an 11-play, 99-yard drive to score the game’s first TD on Penn’s 2-yard run. Higgins then delivered his  34-yard TD run with 2:49 to go before halftime. Bayside answered with a quick six-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Noah Cain’s 1-yard run with 48 seconds to go before halftime.
     Mars Hill led 14-6 at halftime, and kicker Carson Longshore kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 17-6 with 3:55 to go in the third quarter. Bayside then drove 62 yards in eight plays, and Barnett’s TD pass to Collins and 2-point run by Billy Neill made it 17-14.
     Mars Hill then took control. Penn capped a six-play 65-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring run to make it 24-14. After a Bayside punt rolled dead at the Panthers 9, Penn raced 89 yards for the game-clinching TD.
    “I was looking up at the jumbotron to make sure no one was going to catch me,” said Penn, who added seven tackles on defense.
    Barnett finished 22-of-37 passing for 283 yards and a touchdown. Monroe Partin caught seven passes for 84 yards. Cain had two catches for 57 yards and also scored on a 1-yard run. Neill led the Bayside defense with 9½ tackles.
   The 2025 Super 7 continues Thursday with championship games in Class 1A, and 5A on Thursday, followed by titles games in Classes 2A, 4A, and 6A on Friday.
   All games are being televised by the AHSAA TV Network to every home in the state over the Alabama Public Television network and is being live video streamed over the NFHS Network subscriber-based platform. WOTM TV’s Vince Earley is the executive producer.
   Thursday’s slate includes Maplesville (14-0) and defending champion Wadley (13-0) in the 1A final for the second straight year. Moody (12-2) and Vigor (12-2) cap Thursday’s action in the Class 5A finals at 7 p.m.  
   Friday’s championships begin at 11 a.m., with the Class 4A finals between defending champion Jackson (12-2) and Anniston (14-0). Coosa Christian (12-2) plays Lanett (12-2) in the 2A finals at 3 p.m. Saraland (13-0) and Clay-Chalkville (14-0) close out the week at 7 p.m. in the much-anticipated Class 6A final.

AHSAA 2025 SUPER 7 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Protective Stadium, Birmingham
THURSDAY, DEC. 4         
Class 3A Boys’ Championship
Mars Hill Bible (15-0) 38, Bayside Academy (13-2) 21
Class 1A Boys’ Championship
Maplesville (14-0) vs. Wadley (13-0), Thurs., Dec. 4, 3 p.m.
CLASS 5A Boys’ Championship
Vigor (12-2) vs. Moody 12-2), Thurs., Dec. 4, 7 p.m.

AHSAA 2025 SUPER 7 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
FRIDAY, DEC. 5   
Class 4A Boys’ Championship
Jackson (12-2) vs. Anniston (14-0), Fri., Dec. 5, 11 a.m.
Class 2A Boys’ Championship
Lanett (12-2) vs. Coosa Christian (12-2), Fri., Dec. 5, 3 p.m.
CLASS 6A
Saraland (13-0) vs. Clay-Chalkville (14-0), Fri., Dec. 5, 7 p.m.

AHSAA 2025 SUPER 7 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3 
Class 1A/5A Girls’ Flag Championship
Moody (22-3) 27, Montgomery Catholic (21-5) 18
Class 6A/7A Girls’ Flag Championship
Central-Phenix City (20-0) 46, Vestavia Hills (28-2) 7
CLASS 7A Boys’ Championship
Thompson (11-3) 48, Opelika (10-4) 10