If Alabama Christian wanted to keep their postseason streak alive, conventional wisdom was the Eagles would need a split in their two road trips to Houston Academy and Wicksburg. On paper, Houston Academy looked like the easier team to beat, but ACA fell short 14-21 on Friday night. While they can still attain their goal, the path is much harder now with a must-win at Wicksburg next week.
The defense did everything it could to keep the Eagles in the game against Houston Academy without much help from the other phases of the game. Special teams allowed two punts to be blocked which set up scoring drives of 4 and 28 yards, respectively, for the Raiders. After no first downs and only 25 yards of offense in the first half, the strategy turned to throwing deep in hopes of some explosive plays in the second half. On the two drives a long connection was made, ACA was able to put points on the board.
Both defenses dominated early as the six combined possessions in the first period ended with a punt. Although the teams were trading punts, Houston Academy had the field advantage. ACA started the second quarter on its own 20-yard line after a touchback from a punt. After an incomplete pass, Christian Snipes was sacked on second down to give the Eagles a 3rd and 21 from the 9-yard line. Back to back pre-snap penalties moved the ball to the 2-yard line. The offense gained five yards on third down to set up a punt deep in its own territory. Houston Academy was able to block the punt and recover it on the 4-yard line. Three plays later the home team struck first with a touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 7:52 left in the half. The Raiders scored again with 1:16 left in the second to take a 14-0 lead. The drive covered 56 yards in just four plays.
Houston Academy got the ball to start the second half and could for all intents and purposes put the game away with a score to start the half. However, the Eagle defense held and gave the offense a chance to cut the lead. On 3rd and 9 from their own 21-yard line, Christian Snipes connected on a 39-yard pass play with Ethan Dabney. A facemask call on the tackle moved the ball to the Raiders 25-yard line. Pass interference on the next play produced another first down at the 13-yard line. Three plays later Snipes ran one in from 4 yards away to cut the lead to 6-14 as the extra point was blocked. The home team geared the offense down and took their time as they kept the ball for the final six minutes of the third quarter. Although they didn’t score, precious time was ticking away.
Houston Academy punted back to ACA to start the fourth period and once again pinned the offense inside their own 10-yard line. Facing a 4th and 7 from the 11-yard line, the Eagles were forced to punt. The Raiders broke through and got a piece of the punt to take over at ACA’s 28-yard line. The home team scored in four plays to extend the lead to 21-6 with 9:21 left in the game. Much to the credit of the players, ACA kept fighting and put together its best drive of the game. The offense moved 67 yards in 9 plays and took just 2:26 to cut the score to 14-21. The big play of the drive was a 36-yard pass from Christian Snipes to Beau Gainey. The duo hooked up again three plays later for another 15 yards to the Houston Academy 3-yard line. Snipes scored on the next play to cut it to a one possession game. The Raiders continued to work the clock as they milked almost four minutes off before punting back to ACA with 2:58 left in the game. The Eagles were 78 yards away from potentially tying the game. The offense made it as far as their own 47-yard line but could not convert a second consecutive fourth down. The home team kneeled in Victory formation one time and the game was over.
Noah Shack led the defense with nine tackles while three defenders, LaDarius Walters, Mekhi Gardner, and Aidan Whiten, each had seven tackles. Cam Sutton and Levi Summers both had six tackles. Christian Snipes finished the night 6 of 19 passing for 117 yards with Beau Gainey being his favorite receiver with three receptions for 60 yards. Micah Merritt was the leading rusher with 23 yards on nine attempts.