Alabama Christian traveled two hours south to Geneva, just eight miles from the Florida state line, Friday night for a Regional matchup against the Panthers. This was the first ever meeting between the two programs as ACA looked to stay on top of the standings in Region 2 and clinch a playoff berth while Geneva tried to avoid their second loss in the Region. Jalen Clark returned to the field after missing last week’s game and helped guide the Eagles to the 49-20 victory over the home standing Panthers.
The first quarter was very similar to the Dale County game as both teams drove the ball on long, methodical drives that ate up most of the period. ACA received the opening kickoff and held the ball for 5:18 on an 11 play 68 yard drive and took an early 7-0 lead. The offense ran the ball on nine of the eleven plays during the march. Jalen Clark scored his first touchdown of the night with a tough two yard run up the middle, on fourth down, as the line pushed the Panther defense back. Geneva’s first possession matched the Eagles drive by running on nine of eleven plays and converting a fourth down. With just 46 seconds left in the quarter, the Panthers evened the game 7-7.
Jalen Clark powers in for the first touchdown of the night.
Alabama Christian made up for the lack of time with the ball in the previous period by scoring four times in the second quarter, including touchdowns by Jalen Clark on the first and last plays of the quarter. Clark opened the scoring as he ran 18 yards untouched on a keeper to retake the lead 14-7. The Eagle defense pushed the Panther offense backwards and forced a punt after just three snaps to give the ball back to the offense. ACA struck quickly on a four play 53 yard drive that lasted only 76 seconds. Jalen Clark found Hayes Hunt on the first two plays of the drive for back to back ten yard gains then hit Garrett Weathers on a 31 yard strike down to the Geneva two yard line. The last play was a throw to Corey Landers as the Panther defense left one defender to cover three receivers on the left side of the formation. Clark immediately threw the ball to Landers and he walked in for the score and a 21-7 lead. With the momentum of the game going the Eagles way, the defense again forced the Geneva offense backwards with the help of a Khalil Jackson sack and forced another punt. With 5:48 remaining in the half, the Eagles moved 52 yards in just 1:57 overcoming back to back holding penalties in the process. After the second holding call, ACA faced a 2nd and 28 as Jalen Clark found Otasowie Dion over the middle and as the seas parted the receiver raced for a 26 yard gain which set up a very manageable third down conversion opportunity. Two plays later, Clark hooked up with Garrett Weathers for a 33 yard scoring pass to extend the lead to 28-7. Alabama Christian used their timeouts to conserve time on the clock as the defense once again forced a three and out. The offense took the field 73 yards away from the goal line with 2:31 left in the half. The best case scenario would be for the offense to score a touchdown with no time left on the clock for the Geneva offense to respond and that’s just what happened. The Eagles moved easily to the Panther 21 yard line in seven plays, but the drive bogged down on the next three plays. After another holding call and two incomplete passes, ACA faced a 3rd and 22 with time running out. Clark dropped back to pass, but could not find a receiver. The senior quarterback took off up the middle and cut to the right at the 20 yard line, that left a defender on the ground, to score with one second remaining in the half. The Eagles left the field at halftime with a 35-7 lead.
The Eagle defense celebrates a sack by Khalil Jackson.
The Panthers showed some fight in the third quarter as they opened the half with a nine play 63 yard drive that took 4:50 seconds off the clock to cut the score to 35-14. Any hope gained from the drive was swiftly extinguished as Otasowie Dion returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards up the left sideline for a score and a 42-14 advantage. However, the return put the tired defense right back on the field. The Geneva offense took advantage and again drove the ball for a score. The Panthers marched 69 yards on ten plays in 4:28 to cut the score to 42-20. The Eagle offense took the field for the first time in the second half with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter. ACA was unable to move the ball and was called for their fourth holding call of the game during the possession. Hayes Hunt punted the ball away on the first play of the fourth quarter and again it looked like Geneva still had a glimmer of hope.
Otasowie Dion races 85 yards for a kickoff return touchdown.
Three plays later, DeAndre Sneed intercepted a Panther pass and returned it to the Geneva 28 yard line to essentially put the game away. The Eagles final scoring drive of the night lasted five plays, all runs, and ended with a two yard Jalen Clark rush to extend the lead to 49-20 with 7:36 left in the contest. Geneva turned the ball over on downs with 4:28 remaining to put the ACA offense back on the field. Alabama Christian never gave the ball back as they ran the ball on seven consecutive plays to take all of the time off the clock to end the contest. The biggest cheer of the night came on the last drive as William Milner ran 13 yards for a first down as time ran down.
DeAndre Sneed intercepts a fourth quarter pass.
Senior linebacker Miller McCarthy led the defense with 14 tackles. Jack Thomas added eight tackles while Otasowie Dion had seven tackles. Khalil Jackson contributed five tackles and a sack while Kyle Jackson, Trey Schlemmer and Will Wright each had four tackles in the game.
Miller McCarthy and friends stop the Panther runner.
On offense, Jalen Clark completed ten passes on fourteen attempts for 146 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 144 yards on 15 carries with four touchdowns. Clark became the only player in ACA history to have three games with at least four touchdowns carries. Corey Landers gained 81 yards on 12 carries and added a two yard touchdown reception. Otasowie Dion had three carries for 21 yards while William Milner added three rushes for 19 yards. Four receivers each caught two passes on the night. Garrett Weathers led the receivers with 64 receiving yards and a touchdown. Demari Moore had 26 yards, Hayes Hunt had 20 yards and Preston Hicks had eight yards receiving. For the second time this year, Aaron Treubig kicked seven extra points which tied for the second most in school history.
Aaron Treubig kicks one of his seven extra points.
Next week, ACA (6-1, 5-0) looks to continue their winning streak as they host Straughn in another Region tilt.