After not playing a home football game for the last five weeks “Homecoming” took on a whole new meaning for everyone as ACA hosted Slocumb in familiar surroundings. The week ended on a high note as Alabama Christian defeated the visiting Red Tops 35-15. After building a 35-0 lead in the third quarter, the bench was cleared as multiple players saw playing time. Eleven different players carried the ball on the night including center Cam Sutton. I imagine no one had that on their bingo card.
Slocumb got the ball first and Cam Sutton set the tone for the night as he tackled the ball carrier for a two-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage. Three plays later the visitors punted to ACA for their first drive of the night. The Eagles ran the ball seven times in a row using five different rushers to move the ball to Slocumb’s 16-yard line. An eight yard pass to Teilan Tyson-Long got the Eagles half the way there and Christian Snipes covered the last eight with his legs for a 7-0 lead with 6:17 left in the first. The drive covered 72 yards in nine plays and lasted a little over three and a half minutes. On the ensuing kickoff, David Johnson bounced the ball into the air and Beau Gainey beat the Red Top returners to the spot at the Slocumb 37-yard line to give the ball back to ACA. The offense converted a 3rd and 10 on a 17-yard pass from Snipes to Ethan Dabney to keep the drive alive and Dabney capped the possession with a 2-yard run on 4th and goal for a 14-0 advantage.
Once the Slocumb offense got back on the field, they put together a nice drive and moved the ball to the Eagle 21-yard line. However, that was far as they moved due to a penalty and a 4th down sack by Tydarius Moore. Neither team scored for the remainder of the half as both teams had the ball two more times. Micah Merritt ended the half with a sack on the final play. Although the Red Tops outgained ACA by a wide margin in the second period, they were unable to score.
Bryson Dabney opened the second half with a 27-yard kick return to give the Eagles great field position at the Slocumb 44-yard line. Dabney finished the drive with a 22-yard touchdown reception on the only pass play of the possession. ACA led 21-0 with 8:56 left in the third. The defense forced a fumble on a sack by Tydarius Moore to give the ball right back to the offense at midfield. Facing a 4th and 6 on the Slocumb 14-yard line, Christian Snipes connected with Beau Gainey for a score to push the lead to 28-0. On the second play of the next possession, Keenan McCarthy forced a fumble on a sack at the Slocumb 10-yard line. On 3rd and goal from the five, ACA had a little fun as they ran the Philly Special for a score as Bryson Dabney threw to Snipes for the touchdown. The good guys led 35-0 with 1:35 left in the third.
As the game moved into the final quarter, ACA shuffled a lot of players on and off the field as they substituted freely. Slocumb drove all the way to the Eagle 1-yard line before they were turned away on a 4th and goal. The highlight of the drive was a trick play that gave the Red Tops an apparent touchdown only to have a 10 minute conversation between the officials and the coaches that ultimately waved the score off for an ineligible man downfield. The good news was the defense prevented a score, the bad news was the offense took over on the one. Two plays later, the visitors scored their first points with a safety. Slocumb scored again from the short field after the free kick to cut the score to 35-8 with 7:35 left in the game. The offense did its job by holding the ball for 6:37 before giving it back to Slocumb. The Red Tops scored on the final play of the game for the final 35-15 margin.
Mekhi Gardner led the defense with eight tackles followed by Bryson Dabney with six. Levi Summers and Aidan Whites both added five tackles. Micah Merritt was the team’s leading rusher with 69 yards on nine carries and also had two sacks. Christian Snipes finished with 67 yards on the ground with a touchdown and 74 yards through the air with two touchdowns. Beau Gainey was the top receiver with two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.