Alabama Christian improved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Area play with a 50-12 triumph Friday night. ACA traveled two and a half hours to Livingston for its first visit to Sumter Central, The Jaguars were celebrating Homecoming and Senior Night in an event filled night that made the fans want to join the PTF, visit the principal, and not stand on the fence during the game. The Eagles started slow against the much improved home team, but scored three times in the final eight minutes of the first half for a comfortable 31-12 lead.
TJ Merritt’s 21-yard return of the opening kickoff set up the offense with great field position at midfield. The Jaguars were in a giving mood as they jumped off sides two plays in a row to give the Eagles a first down. David Ortiz-Ramirez ran 23 yards on the next play to the 17-yard line as the offense looked poised to score. The next snap brought disaster as it was launched past the quarterback and recovered by the Jaguars at the 40-yard line. Sumter Central scored in just four plays as the drive culminated on a 39-yard pass play to a wide open receiver for the 6-0 lead with 9:14 left in the first period.
ACA’s second series brought a new wrinkle for Sumter Central and future opponents to think about. Christian Snipes came in and split time with AC Walters at quarterback. The move was successful enough that the sophomore took all the snaps in the second half until relieved by the reserves late in the game. The drive ended with a turnover on downs at the Jaguar 7-yard line which backed up the home team’s offense. On third down, William Milner and Blake Shaw combined to stop a run play for a five yard loss to the 1-yard line. The Eagles got on the board as the punter fumbled the snap out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Milner continued to shine as he returned the short free kick to the Jaguar 24-yard line. The offense scored in five plays on a Walters two yard run for a 9-6 lead.
Sumter Central responded with their best drive of the night as they drove 65 yards in eight plays to retake the lead 12-9. It took Alabama Christian just two plays to retake the lead for good. AC Walters hit an uncovered Bryant Swindle for 42 yards to start and David Ortiz-Ramirez finished it with a ten yard run. The defense held and Jaylan McCovery partially blocked a punt to set up the offense on the plus side of the field. Both teams swapped punts and it looked like the half may end with ACA leading 17-12. With 1:52 left in the half, ACA scored in three plays in just 34 seconds capped by a 50-yard Walters run for a 24-12 lead. Not content to run out the clock and get to the locker room, Sumter Central passed on two of its three plays and had to punt it back to the visitors. The failed drive left 38.3 seconds on the clock for ACA. Walters ran the ball three times for 49 yards on the drive and scored from one yard out with 14.9 seconds left in the period for a 31-12 cushion.
The Jaguars started the second half on offense and drove to the ACA 25-yard line where the drive stalled. Surprisingly, they punted from that spot for a touchback, not surprisingly. Christian Snipes took the reins at quarterback and helped drive the offense 80 yards and hit Jackson Burton on a six-yard connection for his first career touchdown pass. After a three and out, the offense scored again as Snipes to Burton worked again for a 43-12 lead early in the fourth quarter. With the 30-point lead, the clock did not stop and the rest of the game moved quickly. Alabama Christian’s last score came on Noah Shack’s first career touchdown as he toted the ball on four consecutive plays and covered 43 yards in the process. Sumter Central scored on the last play of the game for the final margin of 50-18.
The time at running back definitely agreed with AC Walters as he finished with 222 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns. David Ortiz-Ramirez and Noah Shack each has four rushes and a touchdown as they gained 69 and 43 yards, respectively. Four receivers, Bryant Swindle, Bryson Dabney, Ortiz-Ramirez and Jackson Burton, each had two catches. Swindle led the group with 47 receiving yards while both of Burton’s catches yielded touchdowns. Christian Snipes finished the night 6 of 11 for 49 yards and two touchdowns while Walters was 2 for 4 for 47 yards. The tackling machine, William Milner sparked the defense with 11 tackles followed by Lane Smith with eight. Jaylan McCovery, Burton, and Blake Shaw each contributed five tackles.
Next week Alabama Christian visits MA in a non-Area crosstown rivalry game.