ACA falls to Reeltown in 2nd Round

James Sandlin Takes Reeltown QB for Sack

From staff reports
Published: Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 12:13 a.m.

REELTOWN | Willie McKenzie ran for two touchdowns on Friday as Reeltown defeated American Christian Academy 27-10 in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.

American Christian Academy’s Matt Sandlin completed 22 of 35 passes for 294 yards and a touchdown. Parker Barrineau posted season highs with 9 catches for 149 yards.

American Christian Academy finished the season with a 10-2 record.

“We were young, but we had a strong group of seniors again this year,” said ACA coach Stephen Hooks. “They’ve kind of been in the shadow of the group that graduated last year.

“I was very proud of them. They were a lot of fun to coach. I felt like they overachieved all year long. With a perfect game we could have won tonight, and then there’s no telling what this team could have accomplished.”

Reeltown (11-1) got its first touchdown in the second quarter on a 35-yard interception return by Josh Newman.

ACA answered with a 30-yard field goal by Blake Brenton. McKenzie scored on a 1-yard run with 21 seconds left before halftime as Reeltown boosted its lead to 13-3.

Reeltown added a touchdown in the third quarter on a 37-yard pass from Anarious White to Calan Waver. White ran for a two-point conversion.

Barrineau caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Sandlin in the fourth quarter. Brenton added the extra point to cut the deficit to 21-10.

McKenzie scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard run with 1:11 left to play.

Ryan Swanger had 15 tackles for the ACA defense. Matt Leddo had 13 tackles, and Connor McKenna had 10. James Sandlin finished with 12 solo tackles.

“I was very satisfied with their work ethic and level of effort all year long,” Hooks said. “It’s a great group of kids.

“They could have talked about how many players we lost from last year and decided we weren’t going to be any good. Their response was the opposite. It’s not about who we lost. It’s about who we are. This group is going to work to get better.”

Offense sparks ACA past Eagles

By Caroline Gwaltney, Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Published: Friday, September 12, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 12:42 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Junior quarterback Matt Sandlin ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the American Christian Academy Patriots used a dominating offensive attack to defeat Shades Mountain Christian 41-13 on Friday night.

The 3-0 Patriots continued to display a powerful offensive showing, putting up 464 yards of total offense with three different quarterbacks against the Eagles.

Sandlin had 263 passing yards, completing 13 of his 17 pass attempts, while senior Harrison Pollard added 53 combined rushing and pass yards along with a touchdown. Freshman Austin Grammer contributed 89 passing yards, completing 6 of 11 attempts. All three quarterbacks were without interceptions.

“I thought we had a lot of kids that played pretty well tonight,” ACA coach Stephen Hooks said. “I always am proud when the younger guys have an opportunity to play and are still able to execute.”

The Patriots opened their first offensive drive on the Shades Mountain 2 after a blocked punt was recovered by ACA’s Matt Leddo. Sandlin scored on a 2-yard run out to make it a quick 7-0 game.

The Eagles responded on their next possession with a 47-yard pass by David Reeves to Tyler Bishop. But on the next play, Shades Mountain Christian fumbled a bad snap and junior Jarrett Hall recovered the ball for the Patriots.

The Patriots drove a quick 47 yards and scored on a Sandlin 5-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Gottfried.

Late in the first quarter, another bad Shades Mountain Chrsitian snap went out the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety and making it a 16-0 game.

A Patriots drive late in the first quarter set up a 12-yard touchdown for Daniel O’Quinn on the first play of the second quarter.

Later in the second quarter during a critical fourth-down play, Sandlin found himself scrambling deep in the pocket with four Eagles defenders chasing him down. Sandlin found freshman Parker Barrineau in the end zone to complete the 32-yard touchdown pass. Barrineau also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Grammer in the third quarter.

The only big moments for the Eagles came in the third quarter when freshman tailback Sean Mardis broke lose for touchdown runs of 68 and a 72 yards.

Acting head coach Jonathan Loudermilk said he was proud of the team, given an adverse situation. Loudermilk would not comment on why the team’s regular head coach wasn’t at the game.

“They didn’t really know what to expect having me as a fill-in coach, but they handled themselves well,” he said. “Our defense played with passion and had a motive, and while the scoreboard may not reflect it, they were giving it everything they had.”

Despite the two big runs from the Eagles’ freshman, the ACA defense had a solid night, Hooks said.

“Any time you are ahead in the game, there’s a chance to have a break down,” he said. “Our defensive coaches have done an amazing job, and I see nothing we can’t correct.”

Leddo led the defensive efforts with six tackles, four assists and one blocked punt, while Connor McKenna had six tackles and five assists and James Sandlin had six tackles and four assists.

American Christian Academy will hit the road to square off with Isabella next Friday night.