The Eagles clinched a playoff berth for a record seventh year in a row with a blowout win over Greensboro, 56-6, on Friday night in a pink-out game recognizing breast cancer awareness month. With a win over Southside-Selma next week, ACA will secure the number three seed in the Region and will play the number two seed from Region 4 in the first round of the playoffs.
The weather was perfect for Homecoming night.
The Eagle defense made an impact on the game in the very first series as they drove Greensboro back 13 yards on their first three plays thanks to two Raider penalties and a sack by Brady Smith. The punt was kicked in a crowd and barely cleared the line of scrimmage which allowed Gerrod Green to alertly scoop the ball up and run 22 yards for a score to put ACA up 7-0. Like PCA the week before, Greensboro had trouble with the squib kick as William Milner pounced on the ball at the Raider 36-yard line. Corey Landers carried the ball for three consecutive plays and scored from seven yards out to increase the lead to 14-0 with 7:18 left in the first period.
Gerrod Green scooped up a first quarter punt and scored the first points of the game.
After another Raider punt, ACA marched forty yards in three plays for its third straight scoring drive and a 21-0 advantage. Otasowie Dion carried twice for 27 yards and Hayes Hunt found Gerrod Green in the back of the end zone for the score. The teams swapped turnovers late in the first quarter as Preston Hicks forced the ball out of the running back’s grip and Dion recovered for the defense. However, Alabama Christian fumbled the ball back on the next play to give Greensboro another opportunity. Once again the Raiders were unable to produce a first down and gave the ball back to ACA. After two incomplete passes, the only two in the whole game, Corey Landers ran for 13 yards to pick up the first down and caught two passes from Hunt that covered 47 yards and a score. WIth 32.2 seconds left in the first, Alabama Christian led 28-0. Landers’ touchdown was the 40th of his career as he became only the third player in program history to score at least that many touchdowns.
Corey Landers headed for the end zone after a first period catch.
Greensboro picked up its first first down of the game on the last play of the opening period, but punted the ball three plays later to the home team. ACA scored in six plays, four Otasowie Dion runs and two Preston Hicks receptions, with a drive that covered 48 yards and lasted just under three minutes. Dion capped the drive with a three-yard plunge which gave ACA a 35-0 cushion. Hicks’ two catches on the drive moved him into first place on the career receptions list in school history. AC Walters ended the next Greensboro drive with an interception and was rewarded by carrying the ball the next four plays for 35 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles headed to the half with a whopping 42-0 lead.
Preston Hicks runs after his record breaking catch in the second quarter.
After last week’s five-minute, running clock quarters, no one knew exactly how the clock would be handled in the second half. The clock was set to 12 minutes, but it was a running clock. Sophomore Kaiden Green got the call in the second half at quarterback and made the most of his playing time. Green threw a quick screen to Mac Moorer on the left sideline on the second play of the opening drive of the half and Moorer weaved his way across the field and through the defense for a 48-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 49-0. As the defense began to sub freely, the Raiders finally mounted a drive that produced points on the last play of the third quarter.
Mac Moorer works his way towards the end zone.
The Eagles final possession of the night put points on the board even though it had a rough start. After a false start penalty and a bad snap that led to an eleven-yard loss, the offense faced a 3rd and 23 from its own 39-yard line. Kaiden Green bootlegged to the right and found Bryant Swindle by himself behind the defense. The duo hooked up for a 61-yard scoring play to make the score 56-6 with 6:20 left in the contest. Remarkably, because of the running clock, Greensboro managed just three more offensive plays before time expired.
Bryant Swindle outruns the defense for a score.
The QB combination of Hayes Hunt and Kaiden Green completed seven passes in nine attempts for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Hunt finished 5 for 7 for 95 yards and two scores while both of Green’s passes were completed for touchdowns that covered 109 yards. Corey Landers and Preston Hicks led the team with two catches each while Landers, Gerrod Green, Mac Moorer and Bryant Swindle each had touchdown receptions.
Brady Smith tracks down the Raider quarterback for a first quarter sack.
AC Walters led the backs with 56 yards on seven attempts followed by Corey Landers with 52 yards on five carries and Otasowie Dion with 45 yards on six rushes. All three backs had a rushing touchdown. On defense, Dion and William Milner both recovered fumbles while Walters and David Ortiz-Ramirez both had interceptions. Milner led the team with four tackles while Brady Smith, Preston Hicks and Wes Peake each had three tackles.
Next week, the number three seed in the Region is on the line as ACA travels to Southside-Selma in the first-ever matchup between the schools.