Alabama Christian came into Friday night’s contest against MA looking for its fourth consecutive win against its cross town rival. The two armies of Eagles traded blows for three quarters, but in the end MA pulled away for the 57-36 triumph. The visitors took advantage of their gigantic receiving corps and the girth on their lines to wear the home team down.
MA received the ball to start the game and moved to ACA’s 25-yard line, but the drive stalled. MA went for it on 4th and 8, but turned the ball over on downs as Cooper Milner broke up the pass attempt. ACA’s offense came out firing as MA’s defense looked a step slow. Four running plays and two defensive offsides moved the ball to MA’s seven-yard line. The first pass of the possession brought six points as Christian Snipes rolled out to his right and found AC Walters at the pylon. With Tyson Summers not available, the chance of creativity on the extra point attempts was increased. Walters pitched a pop pass to David Ortiz-Ramirez who went around right end for an 8-0 lead. MA tied the game in just one play with a 59-yard run right through the middle of the defense and two-point conversion. With 3:36 left in the first, the game was tied 8-8.
Last week’s first quarter totaled 43 points as both offenses scored at will. The last few minutes of Friday night’s opening period had that same track meet feel. David Ortiz-Ramirez set up the offense with great field position at the visitor’s 45-yard line after his 39-yard kick return and horse collar penalty on the tackle. On the second play of the drive, AC Walters caught a quick pass on the left side, made a defender miss, and was off to the races for a 44-yard score. After Broderick Williams ran in the two-point conversion, the Eagles led 16-8 late in the first. MA matched its host with a two-play drive of its own to cut the lead to 16-15 with 2:23 left. A busted coverage left an MA receiver wide open for the easy score. The first ended with ACA in MA territory after six straight plays of the ball in Walters or Ortiz-Ramirez’s hands.
The offense would get no closer to the MA goal line as the ball was turned over on downs two plays into the second. The defense stiffened and forced a three and out aided by a third down sack by Jaydon McElrath. ACA opened up the passing game on its fourth drive of the night as Christian Snipes found AC Walters and Jackson Burton to help move the ball to MA’s 21-yard line. However, an interception in the end zone ended the threat with 7:46 left in the half. On the next play, MA hit one of their mammoth receivers on a slant that turned into an 80-yard score for a 22-16 lead. ACA responded impressively with an 11-play, 67-yard drive that took almost five minutes to tie the contest, 22-22. Snipes hit Burton and Walters on big gainers and used his own legs on runs of 18 and 10 yards. On 2nd and goal from the four, disaster was averted as Walters was able to recover a fumbled handoff exchange. On third down, the Troy commit covered the final eight yards himself to tie it. Both teams had the ball one more time before halftime, but neither were able to put any points on the board. The half ended with a tie game.
ACA started the second half with a bang as Christian Snipes hit Jackson Burton on a slant on the way to a 59-yard touchdown. After the catch, Burton made a cut straight up the field that was a thing of beauty and was so good it broke the ankles of the defender's family members. Subbing for Tyson Summers, David Johnson hit the first of two extra points for the first points of his career. Once again, MA answered immediately as their QB bought time and found another wide open receiver for a 42-yard score to tie the game up, 29-29. Forty-nine seconds into the second half both teams had already scored a touchdown. For the first time all night, the Alabama Christian offense was ineffective which led to a punt after just three plays. MA took advantage of the momentum swing and scored another long touchdown on a slant pass on the third play of the ensuing drive to take the lead for good with 7:30 left in the third. A second straight three and out gave the ball back to an offense that was finding its rhythm. MA extended the lead as their QB once again extended a play and hit a receiver who had gotten behind the defense for a 62-yard touchdown. The visitors led 43-29 with 2:00 left in the third. The home standing Eagles had to respond or the game would get out of reach. To the offense’s credit, after two three and outs, they regrouped and scored when they had to. An AC Walters 42-yard run moved the ball to MA’s 15-yard line. Two plays later, Snipes found Burton for the second time in the quarter to cut the deficit to seven points.
Despite the touchdown and being down just one score, the MA offense was hitting its stride and proved too much to handle. MA marched 64 yards in eight plays to move the lead back to two scores with 9:26 remaining. Knowing they had to score, ACA went for a fourth down on its own 40-yard line, but could not convert. MA scored with 5:35 left in the game to make the score 57-36 and end any hope of a comeback. ACA again turned the ball over on downs and MA ran the remaining clock out to end it.
Christian Snipes finished the night completing 17 passes on 24 attempts for 248 yards and four touchdowns. AC Walters was Snipes favorite target with seven catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson Burton had five receptions for 107 yards and two scores while David Ortiz-Ramirez had five catches for 35 yards. Walter finished with 63 yards rushing and a touchdown on six carries while Ortiz-Ramirez and Snipes had 48 and 44 yards rushing respectively. Burton led the defense with eight tackles followed by Levi Summers with seven. Mekhi Gardner and Jordan Sanders both had six tackles while Jaydon McElrath and Micah Merritt both had five. McElrath had two sacks on the night.
Alabama Christian closes out the regular season next week at Maplesville.