Falkville used a dominating ground game and a suffocating defense to upset Waterloo in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs. 

Christian Angulo finished the game with 176 yards rushing and six touchdowns, along with four receptions for 50 yards, to lead the Blue Devils attack. 

Falkville finished the game with 508 yards of total offense. The Blue Devils ran the ball 42 times for 266 yards while completing 16 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. 

Angulo scored on runs of 19, two, 28, eight, 35 and 13 yards. Three touchdowns came in the first half, leading to a 21-0 lead. The other three came in the second half to help put the game out of reach. 

Falkville quarterbacks Peyton Sallee and Caden Burnett combined to go 16 of 21 for 242 yards and a touchdown.  

The touchdown was on a 53-yard connection from Sallee to Mikell Philyaw late in the first half to give the Blue Devils a 28-0 halftime lead. 

Philyaw finished the game with five receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown to go along with two carries for 46 yards. 

The Waterloo (8-3) offense came into the game averaging 39.2 points per game. The Cougars were held scoreless by the Blue Devils’ defense for almost three full quarters. 

Waterloo would finally get on the scoreboard with a 10-yard run from Junior Summerhill. 

The Cougars added two more scores in the fourth quarter, a 57-yard touchdown pass from Campbell Parker to Gavin Scott, and an 8-yard touchdown run from Hayden Hester. 

Falkville (7-4) advances to the second round of the state playoffs with the victory. 

The Blue Devils will host Pickens County (9-2) on Friday night at Burl Vest Stadium. This is a rematch from last year’s playoffs when the visiting Tornadoes defeated Falkville 34-15 a year ago.  

Pickens County is coming off a 31-14 victory over Victory Christian.