ACA Drops Home Opener to Pike County

Alabama Christian trailed by only six points at the half, but Pike County pulled away in the second half for a 38-13 victory. Pike County returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown and never allowed the Eagles to get back in the game. The Bulldogs finished the game scoring touchdowns on their final three drives against a worn down ACA defense.

ACA allowed a touchdown on the opening drive for the second consecutive week as Rayshawn Reynolds ran 48 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles scored on the first play of the second quarter with a two yard Jalen Clark run to tie the game 6-6. ACA drove 45 yards in nine plays covering 3:14. The key play of the drive was a 25 yard completion to Kory Nixon that set the Eagles up at the two yard line. Pike County responded on the next drive and took the lead for good on a Darrick Myhand run with 9:18 left in the first half.

The second half started with a Pike County return touchdown and put the Eagles down 19-6. The next three drives produced no points in the game. At that point, Pike County scored on runs of 22, 3, and 8 yards to put the game away. ACA’s lone score of the second half came in the fourth quarter on a Jalen Clark throw to Garrett Weathers covering 12 yards. Weathers would finish the game with three receptions for 51 yards.

Jalen Clark finished the game completing 15 passes on 22 attempts for 165 yards and a touchdown and added 72 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. On defense, Miller McCarthy led the team with nine total tackles and Dylan Thomas added eight tackles. Bryan Farrington and Khalil Jackson both contributed six tackles and a half sack.

Alabama Christian (1-1) will host Trinity next week in a key area game against a long time CCC foe.

Alabama Christian Defeats Saks in Season Opener

ACA traveled to Anniston to open the 2019 football season to play Saks High School. The Eagles left with their first victory of the year, beating the Wildcats, 20-12. Despite the slow start, ACA improved throughout the game and was able to hold the lead late in the game. Coach Nate Sanford commented, “It was a really good first game for us in the sense that it was a quality opponent, we had to come from behind, and then we had to seal it at the end”.

Saks struck first on their opening possession, scoring on a Quan Garrett 40 yard run to take the lead, 6-0. After both teams traded punts, the Eagle offense found its rhythm. ACA marched 69 yards in 11 plays, capped off by a two yard Jalen Clark touchdown run, to tie the game, 6-6. After a Saks turnover, the Eagles struck quickly as Clark hit Thomas Stovall on a 74 yard bomb on the third play of the drive to take the lead, 12-6. It only took Saks one play to tie the score as Tae Jones took a screen pass 58 yards to tie the game, 12-12. Both offenses had the ball one more time in the first half, but left the field tied at halftime.

The second half was dominated by the Eagles as they scored the only points of the half and won the time of possession and turnover battles. ACA scored on the first drive of the second half covering 46 yards in seven plays that took 4:31 off the clock. The scoring play was a screen pass that Corey Landers took 19 yards to the house. After the two point conversion on a K J Kendrick reception the Eagles led 20-12. The Eagles defense shutout Saks for the rest of the half and ended any hope of a last minute comeback when Kory Nixon intercepted a pass with 1:42 remaining in the game. Coach Sanford complimented the defense saying “I thought we tackled pretty well for a first game and our D-line did a solid job of controlling the line of scrimmage”.

Jalen Clark passed for 118 yards on 7 of 12 passing and added 90 yards on 16 attempts to lead the offense. Sanford assessed Clark’s performance and said “Jalen made some really good decisions and throws and our receivers made four or five tough catches that changed the game”. On defense, Jackson Thomas led the team with nine total tackles while Bryan Farrington added eight tackles. The defense also forced two turnovers.

Next week, the Eagles will host Pike County for its first home game of the year.