Alabama Christian hit the road for the first time this season to play the second of six new opponents this year. The visiting Eagles took care of business in a 41-0 blowout. The game started slowly, but once ACA gained the momentum, the Panthers folded their tents and looked forward to next week. The win was the first of hopefully many for Coach JL Dockins.
Georgiana received the opening kickoff and seemed as if they didn’t want to let ACA’s offense on the field. The home team held the ball for 14 plays and drove as far as the Eagles 16-yard line, but could get no further. A Micah Merritt sack helped stall the drive. The Eagles offense took the field for the first time with 5:30 left in the opening period. ACA methodically moved down the field with four runs and four passes to use up the rest of the time in the first quarter. The period ended with ACA at Georgiana’s 13-yard line in the midst of their first drive.
The second quarter opened with a 13-yard scoring run by Micah Merritt for a 7-0 ACA lead. Once again Georgiana moved the ball inside the 20-yard line but stalled as they neared the Eagles goal line. For the second possession in a row the Panthers gave up the ball on downs. ACA returned the favor and turned it over on fourth down on its next drive. However, special teams blocked a Panther punt to give Alabama Christian the ball back with 2:38 left in the half. For the second week in a row the offense worked the clock brilliantly to end the first half despite all of the coaches in the stands imploring the team to move faster. Mason Henry found Levi Summers at the pylon for a 4-yard touchdown with just 29 seconds remaining. ACA entered the break with a 13-0 advantage.
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to take the momentum in the second half. Micah Merritt had two carries that covered 80 yards to score a minute into the half. He outran the Panther defense on his 66-yard touchdown jaunt. Another botched punt attempt gave ACA the ball on their opponent’s 28-yard line. Three plays later Merritt punched it in from a yard out for a 27-0 lead. Hudson Smith set up the next score with a fumble recovery on the ACA 40-yard line late in the third period.
Mekhi Gardner scored on a 4-yard run early in the fourth to build the cushion to 34-0. The final score of the night was thanks to Tyler Money as the big man picked off a pass and rumbled to the Panther 10-yard line. Ethan Dabney scored on the next play to make the score 41-0. After one final stop by the ACA defense, Carlos Smith picked up a first down on the ground which allowed the offense to line up in victory formation. After a knee the game was over.
Micah Merritt led the team with a career high 148 yards on the ground on 12 carries with three touchdowns. The senior also added four tackles and a sack on defense. Mekhi Gardner finished with 52 yards on seven attempts and a touchdown. Mason Henry threw for 122 yards while completing 11 of 16 passes with the one touchdown toss to Levi Summers. Ethan Dabney led the team with four receptions for 56 yards while Summers finished with three catches for 29 yards and Beau Gainet added two catches for 35 yards. On defense, Keenan McCarthy and Landon Widmer led the team with seven tackles apiece while Aiden Whiten and LaDarius Walters both had five tackles.