In a scheduling oddity, Alabama Chrsitian was their opponent’s season opener for the third week in a row. Northside Methodist, out of Dothan, only scheduled Region games this year as the program navigates a shortage of players. The Knights fought hard and had some significant gains on the ground in the first period. However, in the end ACA proved to be too much for the visitors in a lopsided 45-8 contest.
Northside took the opening kickoff and drove to the Eagles 31-yard line before they turned the ball over on downs. It did not take the offense long to find the end zone. On the fourth play of the drive Christian Snipes found Ethan Dabney on a 57-yard catch and run for six points. David Johnson added the first of his six extra points on the night. The Knights second possession made it to the ACA 24-yard line before Levi Summers' interception stopped the drive. Micah Merritt ACA’s second drive with a 71-yard rumble down to the Knight’s 8-yard line. Three plays later Merritt finished the drive from the one for a 14-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first. The defense put together a good series as the momentum was clearly on ACA’s side. A three and out highlighted by a Cayden Meeks tackle for loss gave the ball back to the offense.
The Eagles closed the first and began the second with a methodical 11-play 86-yard drive that ate up 6:52 off the clock to build a 21-0 advantage. The longest play of the series was a 20-yard Christian Snipes run to turn a 2nd and 16 into a first down. Micah Merritt scored his second 1-yard touchdown of the night. Northside turned it over on downs in ACA territory as Aidan Whiten made a fourth down tackle. The home team moved quickly and scored in just 58 seconds as Teilan Tyson-Long went 42 yards for the touchdown to make it 28-0. After forcing a punt, Alabama Christian scored its final points of the half as Snipes found Ethan Dabney for a touchdown for the second time in the game with 1:58 left for a 35-0 cushion.
Mason Henry took the field to guide ACA in the second half as Christian Snipes and many of the starters were given the rest of the night off. The freshman QB gained valuable experience and looked impressive leading the offense. After a good kickoff return by Teilan Tyson-Long, it took the offense only four plays to put points on the board. Henry found Ethan Capps on a short pass and the receiver made his way to the end zone on a 29-yard scoring play for a 42-0 advantage. David Johnson’s 32-yard field goal made it 45-0 and were the last points put on the board by ACA.
Northside started the fourth period with their only score of the night. They kept the ball on the ground and drove 68 yards in eight plays to cut the score to 45-8 with 9:09 left in the game. The Eagle offense then bled the last nine minutes of the game away as they picked up three first downs and drove to the North Methodist 5-yard line before taking a knee three times in a row to end it.
The offense showed a balanced attack with 237 yards on the ground and 217 yards in the air. They also controlled the clock as they held possession for 35 of the 48 minutes in the game. Christian Snipes had a great first half throwing the ball as he completed 12 of 15 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball five times for 35 yards. Mason Henry had a solid second half as he finished 6 of 6 for 54 yards and a touchdown. Ethan Dabney was the top pass catcher on the night with seven receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Capps finished with three catches for 36 yards and a score. Micah Merritt was the leading ground gainer with 82 yards on five carries and two touchdowns. Teilan Tyson-Long had two rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown while Carlos Smith gained 43 yards in the fourth period on six carries.
The defense held its opponent to just eight first downs and 148 yards on the night. Nineteen different players recorded tackles on the night as the coaches substituted freely in the second half. Cooper Milner led the team with five tackles while four players, Levi Summers, Aidan Whiten, Tydarius Moore, and Mekhi Gardner, all had four tackles.