TA Hangs on to Defeat ACA in Season Opener

Week 0 of AHSAA football kicked off on Thursday, with Tuscaloosa Academy facing American Christian Academy. The Class 2A Knights defeated the Class 4A Patriots 16-14 in a hard-fought slugfest.

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These two teams opened up their season last year against each other, with the Knights getting the upper hand in the two teams' matchup last season, which featured a nice performance by Preston Lancaster, Tuacaloosa Academy’s former quarterback, en route to a 38-24 victory.

This year's matchup started with an electric run from American Christian Academy’s sophomore quarterback Drew Jackson III, where he broke multiple tackles on his way to a 65-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead to start the first quarter.

TA’s chance to get on the board came a few possessions later in the first quarter after the Knights' defense recovered a fumble on a wild snap, which put TA inside the Patriots’ 20-yard line. ACA held the Knights to a field goal, making it a 7-3 game in the first quarter.

The second quarter was all TA, with Knights junior quarterback Mark Norris finding his rhythm in the pocket and delivering a beautiful 25-yard dart to Senior wide receiver Hudson Powell to put the Knights up 10-7 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half.

TA’s defense swarmed Jackson and the Patriots offense with Harwood Beeker coming away with the interception to give the Knights possession inside ACA’s 30-yard line which saw Norris complete a 20 yard dart to bring Tuscaloosa Academy inside ACA’s 5-yard line which led to a one yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Beau Cochran to make it a 16-7 game after the missed PAT.

The third quarter saw little action. Both teams' defenses played lights out, and both offenses had drives stalled due to penalties, resulting in the score remaining 16-7 going into the fourth quarter.

To start the fourth quarter, ACA faced a fourth-and-one, which they converted. However, thanks to a holding call, it became fourth down and six, which resulted in the Knights forcing the Patriots to turn the ball over on downs.

However, on the Patriots' very next drive, Jackson connected with his wide receiver on a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass, which made it a two-point game after converting the PAT. This made the score 16-14 with eight minutes remaining in regulation.

ACA could not pull off the comeback thanks to a holding call, a common theme in Thursday's loss. Jackson connected with Mark Norris for a 30-yard touchdown on 4th and 1, but a holding penalty erased the score and put ACA in a fourth and 11, which saw the Patriots bring out the punt team. Unfortunately, a bad snap resulted in the TA regaining possession inside the Patriots' 30-yard line.

Morris went on to bulldoze his way to a first down on a fourth and six, which allowed the Knights' offense to kneel and run the clock out to secure the season opener.

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