Alabama Christian took advantage of a road trip to Bayside Academy to end the regular season and turned it into a dress rehearsal for the postseason which starts next Friday. The two-and-a-half-hour road trip, a new opponent, and a hostile atmosphere were used as a preview of the Eagle’s trip to Randolph County next week. With the solid performance turned in by the team, ACA should be confident moving forward. The Eagles trailed 10-7 early in the second quarter but outscored the home team the rest of the way 36-8 for the surprisingly easy 43-18 triumph.
Preston Hicks looks for room downfield after a catch.
ACA received the opening kickoff and set the tone for the contest with a 12-play, 79-yard march that ate up four minutes and forty-three seconds of the first quarter clock. Quarterback Hayes Hunt showed off his running ability as he ran three times for 30 yards on the drive including a 14-yard scramble around left end for the game’s first points. History was made on the drive as Corey Landers ran for 16 yards on his third carry of the night to become the leading rusher in program history. The senior back finished with 140 yards on the night and has gained 3,395 for his career. Bayside answered with a long drive of their own to tie the contest. The Admiral’s possession covered 69 yards, capped by a three-yard run with 2:35 remaining in the first. ACA punted on their last possession of the opening period as a holding penalty killed the drive. The quarter ended with Bayside looking at a 1st and 10 on the Eagle 25-yard line and the score tied, 7-7.
Corey Landers breaks the school career rushing record on this first quarter carry.
Over the next three plays, Bayside gained just two yards thanks to tackles by Blake Shaw, Josh Kreitz and William Milner. The Admirals did manage to get three points on the drive after making a 39-yard field goal. The home team led 10-7 with 10:27 left in the half. The Eagles did not trail for long as they covered 80 yards in four plays to retake the lead. Otasowie Dion covered over half of those yards with a 42-yard run down the right sideline and Avery Stuart finished the drive with a 24-yard touchdown reception from Hayes Hunt to take the lead for good, 14-10. The Admirals tried to respond to points posted by the visitors and picked up two first downs, but the drive stalled at the ACA 45-yard line. The rugby-style punter held on to the ball long enough for Dion to block the punt which went out of bounds at the Bayside 31-yard line.
Coach Howard celebrates with Otasowie Dion after a second quarter blocked punt.
Before the punt, points before the half were uncertain, but with the short field, 3:56 was plenty of time. David Ortiz-Ramirez began the journey to the end zone with a 10-yard run and Hayes Hunt finished it with consecutive completions, the second a 13-yard pass to Preston Hicks with 2:26 left in the half for a 21-10 advantage. As Tyson Summers connected on his third extra point of the game, he set a new mark for most extra points in a season. The Admirals had to decide whether to try and score before the half or run the clock out and try to regroup at intermission. The home team decided to try and get points and three incomplete passes later, the decision backfired as they punted back to ACA with 1:45 left on the clock. Corey Landers’ 15-yard punt return set up Alabama Christian at the Bayside 42-yard line. Hunt started the drive with a 16-yard scramble and three plays later found Preston Hicks for a 21-yard touchdown pass with just 32.2 seconds left before halftime.
Tyson Summers sets the season record for most extra ploints made.
The home team received the second-half kickoff and after picking up one first down punted back to the Eagles. AC Walters broke up passes on consecutive plays to help thwart the drive. ACA began the second half much like the first with a methodical, time-consuming drive. The offense kept the ball for five minutes over nine plays and covered 77 yards. Corey Landers (30 yards) and Otasowie Dion (16 yards) both had big runs to keep the offense moving. Facing a 3rd and goal from the 14-yard line, Hayes Hunt and Preston Hicks connected for the third time on the night to extend the lead to 36-10. Hicks tied the single-game record with his third touchdown catch of the contest. The Admirals held the ball for virtually the rest of the quarter as they scored their only points of the half with 43.1 seconds left to cut the score to 36-18. Although his team was still down by three scores, the Bayside quarterback felt the need to chirp at the Eagle defenders which earned him an unsportsmanlike penalty.
AC Walters breaks up a pass in the third quarter.
As they have through the latter stages of the year, the offense leaned heavily on Corey Landers in the fourth period. The powerful runner toted the ball on six of seven plays to move the ball to the Bayside 10-yard line. Just when the defense was expecting another dose of Landers, Hayes Hunt passed the ball to Avery Stuart for the score and stretched the lead to 43-18 with 5:45 left in the contest. The touchdown throw was Hunt’s fifth for the game which tied the school record. The passer has thrown five touchdowns in a game four times in his career. The home team had one last shot for something positive to happen as they took the field trailing by 25 points. The offense drove down the field and looked poised to post the final points of the night with a 1st and goal at the ACA one-yard line with 1:42 on the clock. However, the Eagle defenders remembered the actions of the Admirals after their last score and wanted to make sure their hosts weren’t tempted to be unsportsmanlike again. On first down, Blake Shaw stopped the runner short of the goal line. On second down, the Bayside back lost his footing on his cut into the hole and fell forward to the line of scrimmage. On third down, a convocation of Eagles stopped the running back to set up a fourth down. Desperate for points, Bayside called a timeout to have time for their last offensive play. On fourth down, the Admiral back ran left and tried to jump over Shaw, who was in the hole, and William Milner finished him off in the air for a dramatic goal-line stand to punctuate the victory.
The defense celebrates the game-ending goal line stand.
William Milner led the defense with 17 tackles while AC Walters and Otasowie Dion both had six tackles followed by Blake Shaw with five. Three runners had at least fifty yards as Corey Landers led the team with 140 yards on 16 carries. Dion finished with six rushes for 74 yards and Hayes Hunt had 53 yards on five attempts and a touchdown. The senior QB had a hand in all six touchdowns against Bayside. Hunt finished with 123 passing yards on ten completions and five touchdowns. Preston Hicks led the receivers with five catches for 72 yards and a record-tying three touchdowns. Corey Landers had three catches for 17 yards and Avery Stuart caught two for touchdowns totaling 34 yards.
Hayes Hunt looks for an open receiver.
The playoffs start next week as Alabama Christian travels to Randolph County to hopefully begin a long run in the postseason.