For the second week in a row Alabama Christian walked the tightrope between losing and winning and lived to tell the tale. Last week ACA fell behind by 13 points early before fighting their way back for a victory. This week the Eagles spotted Glenwood 20 points and trailed 13-35 just a minute into the second quarter before producing one of the greatest comebacks in program history. The final score was 46-42 as the defense allowed just seven points over the last 35 minutes of the game.
Glenwood, who is new to AHSAA this year, came into the game undefeated, but as the game progressed chinks started to show in the armor. Before the game, the quality of their Region was questioned and as all four of their playoff teams were beaten in the first round, rightfully so. Only one other Region in all of the playoffs was swept out in the first round this year. During the game, the Gators seemed more concerned with trash talking and extracurricular activity after the whistle than finishing the game. As the game wore on their defense looked gassed and you could see the pressure of the game affecting them. Since the first week of the season, the closest margin of victory was 21 points exposing the fact they had not been pushed in the fourth for much of the season. We could write a book about their PA announcer, but all I will say is no self respecting Eagles fan will ever darken the doors of Tires First.
The home-standing Gators took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards in five plays for a quick score and a 7-0 lead. ACA turned the ball over on its first possession to give the ball back to Glenwood around the middle of the field. Two plays later the lead was extended to 14-0 with 8:23 left in the first. With a two score lead the chirping picked up as Alabama Christian continued to struggle on offense. ACA turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth down halfback pass attempt. The Gators scored again in what seemed like the longest first period ever and led 20-0 with 3:37 still left in the quarter. Teilan Long sparked the team with a 35-yard kick return to set up the offense deep in Glenwood territory. However, after consecutive holding calls ACA was backed up to the 40-yard line facing a 1st and 22. Two plays later, the offense handed the ball off to David Ortiz-Ramirez who raced through the defense on a 39-yard touchdown run for the Eagles first points of the night. The Gator defense had absolutely no answer for #21 as he ran around, over, through, and past them the rest of the night.
Although the offense had figured some things out late in the first, the defense was not quite there yet. Glenwood responded with a touchdown and added a two-point conversion to move the score to 28-7 with 1:34 still left in the opening quarter. Alabama Christian only needed a minute, as they fed Oriz-Ramirez on three straight plays, to match the Glenwood touchdown. The senior back’s second touchdown covered 40 yards and cut the score to 13-28 after a missed extra point. One more offensive play by the Gators brought the first period to an end. The teams combined to run 43 plays and score six touchdowns in the opening stanza.
The Glenwood offense must have felt like it would be more of the same in the second as they scored less than a minute into the quarter for their biggest lead of the game, 35-13. Little did they know the Eagle defense would stand strong for the rest of the game. Over the remaining 11 Glenwood possessions, the home team would score one touchdown and turn the ball over four times, including the last three times they had the ball. Both teams traded punts on the next two drives as Micah Merritt ended Glenwood’s drive with a third down sack. With 9:08 left in the half, Ortiz-Ramirez struck again as he took a screen pass and ran 51 yards for an apparent touchdown. However, after a long conference between the officials, one of many on the night, offsetting penalties were called and the play was nullified. It must have felt even sweeter the second time as Ortiz-Ramirez took the hand off up the middle and broke to the left sideline for another 51-yard scoring play, except this one counted, on the very next play. After two 50-yard dashes in a row and no time to catch his breath, the offense gave it to #21 again but the two-point conversion failed.
Micah Merritt ended the second drive in a row with a sack of the Glenwood quarterback. This time it was on fourth down and gave the ball back to the offense on its own 39-yard line with 6:49 left in the half. ACA opened the possession with a 26-yard pass completion to Jackson Burton and three plays later the junior tight end helped the team pick up another first down with a 16-yard reception from the arm of AC Walters. Three plays later, Christian Snipes hit David Ortiz-Ramirez on a swing pass out of the backfield for a 13-yard scoring strike along the left sideline. After another failed 2-point attempt, ACA trailed 25-35 with 4:10 left in the half. The Glenwood offense looked to be back on track, but a TJ Meritt interception of a ball that caromed off the receiver ended the threat with 3:16 on the clock. The Eagles looked poised to score and make the contest a one-score game as they had a first down on the Glenwood 16-yard line. However, a personal foul and an intentional grounding moved the ball back to the 37-yard line and forced a punt. Glenwood was content to run the clock out and leave the field with a 10-point lead at the half.
After all of the offensive fireworks in the first half, the last thing anyone expected was a scoreless quarter, but that is exactly what happened as neither offense was able to put anything together. ACA was able to move the ball as all three of their drives made it to Glenwood territory. The Gator’s offense produced two three and outs to start the quarter and turned the ball over on downs on the first play of the fourth.
Down by ten to start the final period was right where ACA wanted them. The offense moved the ball eighteen yards in two plays to set up a 2nd and 2 from the ACA 39-yard line. The next play was a thing of beauty. As Ladarius Walters went in motion to the right side, Christian Snipes threw a quick pass to AC Walters. Ladarius wiped out one defender while AC put a vaporizing move (one second he was there, the next he was gone) on a second and he was off to the races on a 61-yard scoring play to cut the lead to three points. The eerie silence in the stadium was the Glenwood faithful who nervously squirmed in their seats. Even the PA man implored the fans to cheer louder. To Glenwood’s credit, they did respond while on the ropes and scored on a 34-yard heave that the defender lost track of in the air. With 10:04 left the lead was back to ten, 42-32.
AC Walters returned the next kickoff on to Glenwood’s side of the field. Three straight runs by David Ortiz-Ramirez and a horse collar penalty set up a 1st and goal at the 9-yard line. From the QB spot, Walters covered the last nine yards in two carries to cut the lead back to three with 8:08 left. You could feel momentum heading over to the ACA sidelines and a growing belief that this was about to happen. Glenwood ran the ball twice to start their next drive to move the ball out to their own 45-yard line. On first down, Cooper Milner stepped in front of the receiver and picked off the Gator QB to get the ball back. Now, momentum was sitting on the ACA bench and getting comfortable because he was staying. The defensive memo for Glenwood at halftime had to be stop #21, but they couldn’t. A 44-yard run by the star of the game and two after the play personal fouls on Glenwood set up a 1st and goal at the one-yard line. On first down, Walters set up at quarterback and ran the ball in for Alabama Christian’s first lead of the game, 46-42, with 5:50 left.
At this point, things were starting to unravel for Glenwood. A receiver fumbled on the first play of the next drive after a Levi Summers tackle and ACA recovered. The Eagles picked up one first down and although they missed a 38-yard field goal attempt to end the drive, they did manage to take just over three minutes off the clock. The Gators got the ball on their own 20-yard line with 2:43 remaining. They moved quickly down the field and faced a 3rd and 17 from the ACA 34-yard line with just under two minutes to go. Glenwood went for it all, but the QB slipped as he threw and the receiver slipped as he went for the ball. The only one standing was Bryson Dabney who intercepted the ball at the 2-yard line for the Eagles. A penalty after the play against Glenwood moved the ball out to the 18-yard line to give Alabama Christian some breathing room. With 1:45 left and Glenwood with two timeouts, a first down would seal the win. On a 3rd and 5, and Glenwood out of timeouts, a Gator defender jumped offside to help give ACA the first down they needed for the win. Two victory formation plays later, the Eagles were headed to the second round.
This win was a total team effort and many players shined bright, but David Ortiz-Ramirez turned in a performance for the ages and will haunt the dreams of Gator defenders for years to come. The senior finished with 282 yards rushing on 27 carries and 21 yards receiving on two catches and four total touchdowns. The 282 yards rushing in a single game was the second best night in the playoffs and third best overall total in program history and he became just the fourth player in ACA history to have over 300 all-purpose yards in a game. AC Walters finished with five catches for 108 yards and 49 tough rushing yards on 16 carries and three total touchdowns. He also completed a pass for 16 yards on three attempts. Jackson Burton caught three passes for 61 yards. Christian Snipes went 9 of 21 for 175 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
On defense, TJ Merritt, Cooper Milner, and Bryson Dabney each had an interception. Micah Merritt had eight tackles and two sacks while Levi Summers matched him with eight tackles and a forced fumble. Jordan Sanders, Mekhi Gardner, and Jaydon McElrath each finished with five tackles.
Next week, Alabama Christian will host Bayside Academy in the secound round of the playoffs.