ACA extended its winning streak Friday night with a 14-7 defeat of LaFayette. The victory was the third in a row for the Eagles and marked the first win against the Bulldogs since 2002. The game was filled with penalties and mistakes as both teams combined for 20 penalties on the night. Coach Nate Sanford commented, “Good thing there are no style points in football. Even though we had five turnovers and lots of penalties, I was proud of the mental toughness of our guys to only give up seven points against a very fast team.”
The five Eagle turnovers put pressure on their own defense throughout the contest. Four Bulldog drives started in Eagle territory yet ACA’s defense only allowed one touchdown despite being on the field for 73 plays. Inside linebackers Jackson Thomas and Miller McCarthy led the defensive effort with ten and nine tackles, respectively. Preston Perry added seven tackles and Khalil Jackson had three tackles and a sack. As a team, the defense had tackles for a loss on 12 different plays.
After a great kickoff return by Demari Moore to the LaFayette 40 yard line, the Eagles scored a touchdown in seven plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Demari Moore ran the last 19 yards of the drive on two carries with the touchdown run covering 12 yards. Late in the first quarter, the Eagles muffed a punt return and set up LaFayette for its only score of the game. Despite committing three penalties in four plays, the Bulldogs were able to tie the game 7-7. ACA would turn the ball over two more times in the first half, but kept LaFayette from scoring again. The first half ended with a Khalil Jackson sack and the teams went to the locker room tied, 7-7.
LaFayette controlled the ball for 7:58 of the 12 minutes of the third quarter. The winning march for Alabama Christian started at the end of the third quarter and concluded in the fourth quarter. The drive lasted 14 plays over 70 yards and took 6:37 off the clock. ACA converted a third and a fourth down on Jalen Clark runs on the drive. Corey Landers’ 18 yard carry set the offense up inside the Bulldog 20 yard line. Clark finished off the game clinching drive with a one yard run with 8:10 remaining in the game. As the Eagles tried to put the game away late in the contest, LaFayette intercepted an ill advised pass and appeared to be ready to return it for a score that would tie the game. Demari Moore raced across the field and stopped the Bulldog defender at the 20 yard line for the game saving tackle. The defense allowed only three yards and took the ball back on downs allowing ACA to run out the clock to seal the victory.
Although the air attack struggled during the game, the ground game was solid as the Eagles averaged 5.7 yards per carry as a team. Jalen Clark led the rushing attack with 88 yards on 17 attempts while Corey Landers ran for 86 yards on 15 rushes. Demari Moore added 53 yards on 8 carries.
Next week, ACA (4-3) plays host to Booker T Washington for Homecoming.