Eagles Overpowered by Catholic in Loss

Alabama Christian met its oldest rival Friday night in a key area match up with Catholic. Although the Eagles hold an overall advantage in the series, 23 wins to 18 losses, the Knights won for the fourth consecutive year by a score of 52-13. Catholic dominated from the beginning outgaining ACA 318 to 36 in the first half.

The Knights offense scored touchdowns on four of six drives in the first half on runs of 67, 10, 35 and 16 yards to build a commanding 28-0 halftime lead. The bright spot for ACA in the first half was a Demari Moore interception early in the second quarter.

The second half started just like the first half with the Knights scoring on their first two possessions building a 38-0 lead. The Eagles showed some life after a personal foul late hit on the kickoff return against Catholic that put the ball on the 43 yard line for the offense. ACA drove the ball 57 yards in six plays to score its first touchdown of the game. The key plays on the drive were a third down conversion pass to Preston Hicks that covered 14 yards and a 30 yard touchdown run by Corey Landers. After a fumble recovery by Preston Perry on the next drive, the Eagles marched 25 yards to cut the lead to 38-13. The drive was capped off with a seven yard pass to Bryan Farrington from Jalen Clark. With only 8:26 remaining in the game and still owning a four score lead, the Catholic coaching staff seemed uncomfortable with the Eagle’s two scores as the starters returned to the field. The Knights added two late touchdowns to finish the scoring and complete a 52-13 victory over the Eagles.

The Eagles were led by Corey Landers on offense who rushed for 62 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown and caught two passes for 14 yards. Preston Hicks had three catches which led the receiving corp. Jalen Clark passed for 64 and ran for 39 yards on the night. Miller McCarthy led the defense for the third consecutive week with 11 total tackles and Bryan Farrington added five tackles for the defense.

Next week, ACA (1-3) will host Dale County in another area contest.

Miller McCarthy Named ACA Athlete of the Week

Miller McCarthy led a strong defensive effort Friday night in a loss to Trinity. The Eagle defense gave up only 134 yards to the Wildcat offense. The junior linebacker led the stingy defense and filled up the stat sheet with 15 total tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery. McCarthy ranks second on the team in tackles on the season and first in sacks.

Kyndall Foley Leads Cross Country Team in Oakville

The ACA cross country team participated in the Chickasaw Trails Invitational Saturday in one of the largest races of the season. Kyndall Foley finished 12th out of 243 runners in the small school division with a time of 21:43.93, which beat her time by more than a minute from the first race of the season. Marlo Duggan finished 91st with a time of 25:29.67 while Payton DeCapite finished 168th with a time of 28:08.31. Both runners improved their time from the first race. In the boys division, Lane Kilpatrick finished 92nd out of 322 runners with a time of 20:31.00 and Bryan Burelson finished 259th with a time of 26:00.69.

In the junior high division, Ken Martin finished second and Alexander Costanza finished 14th out of 479 runners. Kate Finch produced the top girls finish by placing 16th out of 324 runners.

Lady Eagles Split Four Matches in Party on the Plains Tournament

The ACA volleyball team continued to improve as they finished 2-2 in the Party on the Plains Tournament in Auburn this weekend. The Eagles opened play against the host school, Auburn, and were beaten in two sets, 17-25, 18-25. ACA bounced back in the next two pool games, winning in three sets both times. ACA defeated Pike Road 25-15, 19-25, 15-7 and Tuscaloosa County 25-14, 14-25, 15-7. The Lady Eagles closed the day with a three set loss to Prattville, 25-23, 21-25, 11-15.

For the tournament, Alyson Thornton led the team with 18 kills and Mary Hall, Jordan Smithee, and Monica Willingham each had 16 kills. Hall had a team high four blocks while Savannah Fonville led the squad with 40 digs and eight aces. Emily Thornton had 41 assists and sister Alyson Thornton added 38 assists. Emily Thornton’s six aces on the weekend moved her into 10th place all time in school history with 133 career aces.

Early Mistakes Cost ACA in Loss to Trinity

The Eagles opened area play against Trinity again this year and, like last year, were defeated by the Wildcats, 24-12. The defense played a strong game, but the Eagles dug too big of a hole to climb out of with early mistakes and turnovers, resulting in 17 Wildcat points.

The Eagles fumbled on the first play from scrimmage setting up a touchdown on the next play for Trinity and an early 7-0 lead. On the next possession, after gaining only two yards on three running plays, the Eagles lined up to punt and snapped the ball over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. On the first play of ACA’s fourth possession, Jalen Clark threw an interception returned for a touchdown. With 3:40 remaining in the first quarter the Eagles trailed 17-0. ACA outplayed Trinity for the remainder of the game, but could not overcome the mistake filled first quarter.

In the second quarter, Miller McCarthy recovered a Wildcat fumble which set up the first points of the game for ACA. Cobi Keel booted a 31 yard field goal to cut the lead to 17-3. With less than a minute left in the first half, Trinity returned an earlier favor by hiking the ball over the punter’s head for a safety. The Eagles trailed 17-5 at the intermission.

Alabama Christian opened the second half with a five play 42 yard drive, culminated on a two yard touchdown run by Jalen Clark to make the score 17-12. With the exception of an early fourth quarter touchdown drive by Trinity, both defenses dominated the second half. Neither offense was able to gain more than 150 yards of offense on the night. In the end, Trinity did enough to gain the road victory.

Miller McCarthy had an outstanding defensive performance with 15 total tackles with two sacks and a fumble recovery. Khalil Jackson and Jackson Thomas both added six tackles. Jalen Clark completed 12 of 24 passes for only 67 yards, but was under constant pressure being sacked six times on the night. Clark also led the team with 45 rushing yards.

Next week, ACA (1-2) travels across town to take on an undefeated Catholic squad.

Alabama Christian Handles Pike Road in Four Games

After losing to Pike Road last week, the Lady Eagles bounced back with an impressive road win over the Patriots Thursday night. ACA played one of their best games of the year and Coach Manuel Guice was particularly pleased with his team’s play at the net as the Lady Eagles had several blocks and touches that Bothered the Pike Road hitters.

In game one, the contest was close and the Eagles held an early 9-7 lead. ACA outscored Pike Road 16-5 to finish with the help of Jordan Smithee and Emily Thornton serving well to help secure the win. In game two, the Eagles started slowly and trailed 11-15 midway through the game. From that point, Bailey DiNunzio ran off five straight points and Savannah Fonville followed with six in a row to win the game, 25-18.

Game three saw the Eagles start strong, but they could not hold the lead and Pike Road won their only game of the night, 18-25. ACA closed out the match by winning game four, 25-15. The Lady Eagles closed out the night on a 15-5 run and left the gym with a very important win.

The offensive output was evenly distributed with Mary Hall leading the team with nine kills and Alyson Thornton added eight kills. Jordan Smithee had three aces to pace the team and Mary Hall had three blocks. Emily Thornton’s 21 assists was season high for the Lady Eagles.

ACA (4-7) will travel to Auburn this weekend for the Party on the Plains Tournament.

ACA Drops Home Opener to Pike County

Alabama Christian trailed by only six points at the half, but Pike County pulled away in the second half for a 38-13 victory. Pike County returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown and never allowed the Eagles to get back in the game. The Bulldogs finished the game scoring touchdowns on their final three drives against a worn down ACA defense.

ACA allowed a touchdown on the opening drive for the second consecutive week as Rayshawn Reynolds ran 48 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles scored on the first play of the second quarter with a two yard Jalen Clark run to tie the game 6-6. ACA drove 45 yards in nine plays covering 3:14. The key play of the drive was a 25 yard completion to Kory Nixon that set the Eagles up at the two yard line. Pike County responded on the next drive and took the lead for good on a Darrick Myhand run with 9:18 left in the first half.

The second half started with a Pike County return touchdown and put the Eagles down 19-6. The next three drives produced no points in the game. At that point, Pike County scored on runs of 22, 3, and 8 yards to put the game away. ACA’s lone score of the second half came in the fourth quarter on a Jalen Clark throw to Garrett Weathers covering 12 yards. Weathers would finish the game with three receptions for 51 yards.

Jalen Clark finished the game completing 15 passes on 22 attempts for 165 yards and a touchdown and added 72 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. On defense, Miller McCarthy led the team with nine total tackles and Dylan Thomas added eight tackles. Bryan Farrington and Khalil Jackson both contributed six tackles and a half sack.

Alabama Christian (1-1) will host Trinity next week in a key area game against a long time CCC foe.

ACA Drops Both Games of Tri-match

ACA hosted Carver and Pike Road Thursday night and were defeated by both teams. The Lady Eagles were beaten by Carver in the first match, 21-25, 24-26. The night was finished with a tough three set loss to Pike Road, 23-25, 25-19, 13-15. Carver was able to defeat Pike Road in the other match to finish undefeated on the night.

Emily Thornton led the Eagles on the night with eight kills and 23 assists. Monica Willingham, seeing her first action of the year, added seven kills. Bailey DiNunzio had four aces and Savannah Fonville finished with a team high 18 digs.

The Lady Eagles (1-3) will continue play this weekend as they compete in the Mayor’s Cup.

ACA Earns First Victory of the Year Over Elmore County

The Lady Eagles evened their record to 1-1 on the season with a 25-17, 19-25, 26-24, 25-18 defeat of Elmore County. ACA showed improvement in their second game of the year. Coach Manuel Guice liked the progress he saw and knows that time on the court is what this team needs with all of the new players this year.

With the score tied 3-3 in game one, the Lady Eagles took charge and took a 19-11 lead and went on to win by eight. After falling behind early in game two, ACA could get no closer than four points. It looked as if Elmore County was going to take game three leading 21-24 late, but in the pivotal moment of the match the Eagles ran off five straight points and took the game, 26-24. The Eagles closed out the match in the fourth game for the hard earned victory.

Alyson Thornton led the offense with 12 kills and had three aces in her serve game. Emily Thornton had 20 assists while Savannah Fonville added 18 digs. Aniya Jackson and Alyson Thornton led the team at the net with three blocks each.

Judd Hardin Named ACA Athlete of the Week

Judd Hardin began his senior season in style with a top place finish in the Trinity Trailblazer Saturday morning. Hardin topped a field of over 100 runners and won the event for the second time. The leader of the cross country team is looking forward to a strong senior campaign.

Alabama Christian Defeats Saks in Season Opener

ACA traveled to Anniston to open the 2019 football season to play Saks High School. The Eagles left with their first victory of the year, beating the Wildcats, 20-12. Despite the slow start, ACA improved throughout the game and was able to hold the lead late in the game. Coach Nate Sanford commented, “It was a really good first game for us in the sense that it was a quality opponent, we had to come from behind, and then we had to seal it at the end”.

Saks struck first on their opening possession, scoring on a Quan Garrett 40 yard run to take the lead, 6-0. After both teams traded punts, the Eagle offense found its rhythm. ACA marched 69 yards in 11 plays, capped off by a two yard Jalen Clark touchdown run, to tie the game, 6-6. After a Saks turnover, the Eagles struck quickly as Clark hit Thomas Stovall on a 74 yard bomb on the third play of the drive to take the lead, 12-6. It only took Saks one play to tie the score as Tae Jones took a screen pass 58 yards to tie the game, 12-12. Both offenses had the ball one more time in the first half, but left the field tied at halftime.

The second half was dominated by the Eagles as they scored the only points of the half and won the time of possession and turnover battles. ACA scored on the first drive of the second half covering 46 yards in seven plays that took 4:31 off the clock. The scoring play was a screen pass that Corey Landers took 19 yards to the house. After the two point conversion on a K J Kendrick reception the Eagles led 20-12. The Eagles defense shutout Saks for the rest of the half and ended any hope of a last minute comeback when Kory Nixon intercepted a pass with 1:42 remaining in the game. Coach Sanford complimented the defense saying “I thought we tackled pretty well for a first game and our D-line did a solid job of controlling the line of scrimmage”.

Jalen Clark passed for 118 yards on 7 of 12 passing and added 90 yards on 16 attempts to lead the offense. Sanford assessed Clark’s performance and said “Jalen made some really good decisions and throws and our receivers made four or five tough catches that changed the game”. On defense, Jackson Thomas led the team with nine total tackles while Bryan Farrington added eight tackles. The defense also forced two turnovers.

Next week, the Eagles will host Pike County for its first home game of the year.

Judd Hardin Wins Trinity Trailblazer at AUM

Judd Hardin began Alabama Christian’s 2019 cross country campaign with a top finish in the Trinity Trailblazer at AUM Saturday morning. Hardin, a senior, reclaimed the title he won two years ago with a time of 17:10 in the 5K race. Hardin is one of the top runners in 4A and is looking forward to a great season. In the girl’s race, Kyndall Foley had the Eagles best finish, placing fifth.

Coach Michael Britton was very pleased with the teams first outing. He stated the team was right where it needs to be and feels it will get stronger as the season progresses. Coach Britton was also very proud of Hardin and appreciates his leadership on the team.

ACA’s next meet will be September 7th in Oakville for the Chickasaw Trails Invitational.

ACA Loses Season Opener at PCA

The Lady Eagles traveled to Prattville and lost the season opener in four games to Prattville Christian. ACA’s starting rotation looked drastically different as seven seniors were lost to graduation from last year’s squad. Emily Thornton was the lone starter left from a team that advanced to the Final Four last year.

The match was tight through the first half of game one, but with the score tied 13-13, PCA pulled away and took the first game, 25-22. In game two, the Lady Lions jumped out to a 9-3 advantage and never trailed in route to a 25-17 win.

The Lady Eagles fought back in game three as Emily Thornton helped to build an early 7-0 lead. Thornton served on ten of the team’s 25 points as ACA won its only game, 25-21. Alabama Christian again jumped out to an early lead in game four, but were unable to hold it and fell 25-22.

Emily Thornton led the team with seven aces and 16 assists. Alyson Thornton added a team high ten kills while Savannah Fonville contributed 16 digs.

ACA will host Elmore County next Tuesday in their home opener.