AHSAA PLAYOFFS: ACA breaks away for win over Jacksonville to advance

By TIM GAYLE

The first half had settled nothing. Three explosive plays by Jacksonville had been countered by a gritty determined Alabama Christian offense that scored with six seconds left to send the teams into the locker room tied at 21-21.

“The game was tied, just like it was zero-zero,” ACA senior quarterback Jalen Clark said. “Time to finish what we came here to do.”

The explosive plays never materialized in the second half for Jacksonville. After scooping up a fumble and heading for the ACA end zone, Quintavius Long was tackled from behind at the 23-yard line and four plays later the Golden Eagles turned it over on downs at the 32.

“That was the big momentum shift,” Clark said. “That right there started us up. The defense was on fire.”

On the next play, Clark squirted through a hole in the Jacksonville defense and came up with an explosive play of his own, sprinting 68 yards to the end zone.

“I saw the green grass,” Clark said, “and I just took off.”

The touchdown helped ACA (10-2) to a 31-21 win over Jacksonville in the second round of the 4A state playoffs. The Eagles tied a school record for wins and advanced to the 4A quarterfinals for only the fourth time in school history, playing host to American Christian next Friday night. 

For the seniors like Clark, it will mark their second time in the quarterfinals after reaching the third round as freshmen in 2017.

“It’s a great feeling, especially because it’s my senior year,” Clark said. “We’ve all put so much work in. It’s special.”

It was special because the Eagles spent much of the first half trying to catch up with Jacksonville. The Golden Eagles’ first play from scrimmage was a 65-yard touchdown run by Taj Morris. After ACA fought back to tie the game at 7-7 on an 18-yard run by Clark, Omarian Adams took the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to the end zone to put Jacksonville back on top. 

Once again, ACA fought back, using a 65-yard pass from Clark to Preston Hicks to set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hayes Hunt to tie the game. Once again, the visitors used a big play, a 35-yard run by Morris, to regain the lead.

ACA would march 77 yards for the game-tying score. With no timeouts and just 6.5 seconds remaining, Clark bulled over from a yard out and Aaron Treubig added the extra point for a 21-21 tie.

Could ACA match the first half performance? Morris had 100 yards on two runs, while Clark was battered and bruised after gaining 78 yards on 20 first-half carries.

“It’s not what we want, but that’s what we’ve got to do if that’s what we’ve got to do,” Sanford said. “So that’s what we had to do.”

The game would turn quickly in the second half after adjustments from ACA defensive coordinator Michael Summers and his staff. Morris had 100 yards on two runs, but finished with 99 yards on 13 carries. Jacksonville, which had 126 yards in the first half, managed just two first downs, minus 1 yard rushing and 42 total yards in the second half as a battered and bruised Jim Ogle misfired on eight of his first nine pass attempts in the second half.

Jacksonville only had one offensive drive the entire game, relying on explosive plays to stay one step ahead of ACA. When Hunt left the ball on the ground trying a hook and lateral to Otasowie Dion at the 39-yard line, Long was there for the scoop and score as he ran down the sideline trying to finish a 61-yard play. Instead, he was bumped out of bounds at the 23 and a holding penalty left the Golden Eagles with a one-yard run by Morris and three incomplete passes, turning the ball over at the 32.

“That stop was a big deal,” Sanford said. “They had 21 points at halftime and they have 21 point now. I could not be prouder of our defense – our coaches, first of all, for figuring things out. We knew they were fast and, boy, did they prove that in the first couple plays of the game. After that, we got them dialed in and our guys played with spirit and rallied to the ball.

“We always want to make people drive the field. It’s hard for a high school offense to go eight, 10, 12 snaps in a row. Of course, when you’ve got athletes like them, you can go 60 in about five seconds. The whole idea is to keep everything in front and we were able to do that. I think (Ogle) kind of got his shoulder banged up a little bit … and that may have impacted his accuracy a little bit.”

One play later, ACA went from battling uphill to firmly in control, thanks to the touchdown run by Clark.

“It was the same play we had run 15 times already,” Sanford said. “That’s one thing I love about football: if you believe in what you’re doing and you do it well, when you practice it consistently, at some point it ought to work.”

Clark finished with 197 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 31 carries, while completing 15 of 23 passes for 135 yards and another touchdown. He left the game for a few plays with an injured leg and Hunt’s 42-yard completion to Garrett Weathers set up a 25-yard field goal by Treubig for some insurance points, but the Eagles’ defense was firmly in control by that point.

Dion led the ACA defense with six tackles, followed by Miller McCarthy with five. Sanders Manning and Trey Schlemmer each had four tackles and a sack.

Long and Emun Young each had eight tackles to lead Jacksonville’s defensive effort.