The defense we thought we might see last week showed up and dominated in the home opener. The Eagles held the Goshen ground attack to 35 yards and forced four turnovers in a convincing 27-6 victory. All three phases of the game improved over their week one performance.
Neither offense could garner any momentum in the early going. The combined five possessions in the first quarter resulted in two punts, two turnovers, and a blocked field goal. ACA was held to minus two yards of offense in the opening stanza. The highlight of the quarter was the first of two Bryson Dabney interceptions. Goshen began to move the ball to start the second and held possession for over four minutes but eventually had to punt it back to the home team. Alabama Christian’s initial drive of the second period posted the first points of the night as the offense moved 70 yards in eight plays in just over three minutes. The unit overcame three penalties as they moved down the field. Christian Snipes converted a big third down to start the drive as he found Jackson Burton-Elahiyan on an 18-yard pass play. The duo hooked up two more times on the drive, the first on a 39-yard play to the visiting Eagles 14-yard line. Two plays later, Snipes put the ball up in the air and let his big tight end go get for a 13-yard touchdown. Even Burton-Elayihan’s teammates bounced off him as he corralled the ball for the 6-0 lead. Both teams had two more shots to score in the first half but the defenses held their ground and the score remained 6-0 heading into the half.
Goshen was able to score in just four plays to open the second half to tie the score, 6-6. Levi Summers tackled the holder after a bad snap on the PAT to keep the contest tied. ACA had to punt on its first drive of the third quarter and Summers launched his best punt of the night at 53 yards. The sophomore flipped the field all night for the Eagles as he punted five times for a 45.8 yard per punt average with no return yards. Goshen’s next drive ended as LaDarius Walters recovered the fumble of an Eagle receiver. Alabama Christian took advantage as the momentum started to swing towards the home team. Two plays after the turnover, Micah Merritt rumbled 42 yards for a score to give ACA a lead it would not relinquish. As the end of the third period neared Goshen went for a 4th and 13 from the ACA 38-yard line. Bryson Dabney stopped the receiver one yard short of the marker to give the ball back to the offense.
The success of the pass game in the first half softened the Goshen defense and allowed the running game to carry the offense in the second half. Christian Snipes only had to throw four passes in the second half. As the Eagles extended the lead to 20-6 early in the fourth, the drive covered 74 yards in eight plays and was capped off by a Snipes 9-yard run. A quick three and out gave the ball right back to the offense. Last year as the game wore on, the Goshen run game took over. ACA had a bit of payback as the next drive consisted of six consecutive runs that covered 43 yards and ended with a Snipes 2-yard run with 4:05 left in the game. Bryson Dabney’s second pick of the night ended the next drive for Goshen and Aidan Whiten recovered a fumble to end the last drive of the night to preserve the 27-6 victory.
Jackson Burton-Elahiyan led the defense with eight tackles followed by Micah Merritt and Levi Summers with seven apiece. Cam Sutton, Mekhi Gardner, Aidan Whiten, and Noah Shack each had four tackles. Sutton blocked a first quarter field goal while LaDarius Walters and White both recovered fumbles and Bryson Dabney had two interceptions. Christian Snipes finished the night with 12 completions on 22 attempts for 164 yards and a touchdown. Snipes favorite target was Burton-Elayihan who had six catches for 98 yards and a score. Ethan Dabney finished with 3 receptions for 32 yards. Micah Merritt led the ground attack with 93 yards on eight rushes and a touchdown while Snipes added 61 yards rushing on 10 carries and two touchdowns.