Tuscaloosa Academy Defeated ACA in its Season Opener Thursday
Tuscaloosa Academy defeated American Christian Academy (Tuscaloosa, AL) on Thursday, 38-24. Tuscaloosa Academy (TA) avenged its 20-33 loss against American Christian Academy (ACA) last season.
Tuscaloosa Academy began the game with an amazing drive led by Senior quarterback Preston Lancaster, which put the Knights up 7 points with 7:36 seconds left in the first quarter.
American Christian Academy quickly evened the score with a 75-yard kick return by sophomore Logan Morris to ty the game up at seven. The Knights quickly regained control with two consecutive touchdowns by the Knights's Senior quarterback, and Tuscaloosa Academy's defense held strong, forcing the Patriots to commit multiple turnovers on downs, giving the Knights a 21-7 lead with 8:14 left in the first half.
ACA quickly responded with 17 unanswered points, with Patriots wide receiver Logan Morris scoring his second touchdown of the game with less than a minute left in the first half, propelling the Patriots to a 24-21 lead at halftime following the Knights' failed last-minute drive.
The third quarter saw both teams' offenses appear to be stagnant until Lancaster led the Knights on a methodical drive that resulted in Lancaster punching the ball into the end zone on a quarterback sneak, giving the Knights a 28-24 lead with 1:19 remaining in the quarter.
With one more touchdown and a field goal to close out the game, Tuscaloosa Academy continued to dominate the fourth quarter. The second half saw TA's offense play comfortably and wear out the patriot defense while TA's defense held ACA's offense to 0 points.
Player Of the Game
With two throwing touchdowns and more than 250 passing yards, Peyton Lancaster had a fantastic day of flinging the ball all over the field. In the middle of the field, Lancaster found senior wide receiver Ellis Hamiter, who took the ball over 60 yards to the endzone, on a seam route. Lancaster also found sophomore wide receiver Joshua Norris, who caught a 3-yard pass off his back foot to the opposite side of the field in the back of the endzone.
The senior quarterback confirmed that he was a threat on the ground by scoring two touchdowns. Even with pressure in the pocket, Lancaster always maintained calm and collectedly and never appeared uncomfortable. After the Knights had dropped their previous two meetings with the fellow private school, Peyton Lancaster led the team to their first victory over the Patriots.
Tuscaloosa Academy will aim to build on this victory and continue it into next week's game against a quality 1A Pickens County on Thursday.
American Christian Academy will seek to learn from this loss and rebound next week when they face Northridge on Friday, August 30th, at the American Christian Academy football field. The Patriots are hoping to rebound from this disappointing loss and achieve their first victory of the season.