ACA FoxSports/Scout.com Southeast Elite Camp Report

Special Scouting Report:

TUSCALOOSA, ALA. — With over 150 of the region’s top prospects in Tuscaloosa, here is a look at one of the highlights from Sunday’s FoxSports/Scout.com Southeast Elite Camp on the campus of the University of Alabama.

One of  the camp’s top performers was one of the fastest rising quarterback prospects in the Southeast,  Tuscaloosa County’s own Matt Sandlin from Northport AL, the 6-4.5, 212-pound gunslinger recently picked up a scholarship offer from Marshall.

Sandlin displayed excellent footwork rarely seen by a big quarterback. He ran with the LB and DB during drills catching the attention of many of the analyst and participants at the Scout.com Southeasten Elite Camp on April 19, 2009. One analyst was overheard saying, ” Sandlin had the quickest feet I have seen on a QB.” The LB and DB must have agreed as they cheered him on competing against other groups.  A LB commitment to a SEC school yelled out to a DB in the other line, “this brother’s for real”.

For real is an excellent description, Sandlin had the perfect combination of good arm strength and great accuarcy. His  quick release allowed Sandlin to deliver the ball in tight places. He burned top SEC offers at LB and DB and the best in the region alike in 7 0n 7 with 3 TD passes.

In one-on-one’s, Sandlin’s accuracy showed up  as he dropped the ball in over coverage perfectly in the hands of the receiver with nice touch on a 30 yd out from the opposite hash against on of the best DB’s  in the region. Rodney Orr from Tider Insider observed saying, “That was one heck of a throw. He laid it in there perfectly. If the receiver had kept his feet it could have been a touchdown.”

Sandlin picked on the DB’s delivering passes down field and threw the ball with power when he needed to stick a TE in tight coverage. He hit receivers in stride and threw a catchable ball on underneath routes with little adjustment by receivers.

Overall, Sandlin showed great accuracy with no picks and made great decisions. He  has the ability shows nice touch and timing on the deep ball and outside the numbers. Will Matthews wrote,” Sandlin’s stock will continue to rise if he can continue putting up impressive performances at camps like the most recent one.”

Sandlin goes to Huntington, WV, home of Marshall, this week on an unofficial visit to take in the spring game. Marshall will honor the the 1999 National Championship team during the game, which includes  some of the biggest names in the NFL like Randy Moss and Chad Pennington. Sandlin is excited about the visit, “Chad Pennington is one of my favorite players!”

Sandlin was not the only Wildcat with an impressive day at the Sunday’s FoxSports/Scout.com Elite Camp, ACA tight end Brandon Gottfried, offensive lineman Derrick Miles and 2012 wide receiver prospect Parker Barrineau had solid camp performances. Look for more post about them in the upcoming days.

Parker Barrineau #9 WR Class 2012

Name: Barker Barrineau
Height: 6′ 1”
Weight: 210
Speed: 4.48/40
Bench: 225    Squat: 275
Vertical: 34”
GPA:
Year of Grad: 2012
High School: American Christian Academy
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404
Email:
Head Coach: Stephen Hooks
Office Phone: 205-553-5963 ext:39
Career Ambition: Dominant Hand: Right

Barrineau is a serious possesion wide receiver that has great good hands and explosive quickness. He has adequate height, lean build and will continue to add size going into the 2012 class. He displays foot quickness and change-of-direction skills and can stick his foot in the ground and cut, which will make him a dangerous route runner in time. He can stretch stretch the field and shows very good sideline awareness and the ability to adjust to the over-the-shoulder throw. On underneath throws he can stop and start on a dime and make people miss after the catch.

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.”

ACA airs it out against Keith

By Cedrick Alexander, Special to The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Friday, November 7, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 1:22 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | In the first round of Class 2A playoffs, the American Christian Academy Patriots displayed a dual-quarterback aerial attack to surge past the Keith Bears, 44-14, at Patriot Field on Friday night in a Class 2A first-round playoff game.

ACA will travel to play Reeltown next Friday in the second round.

The Patriots (9-1) began the game with senior signal caller Harrison Pollard at the helm instead of regularly projected starter Matthew Sandlin.

On a drive that began on their own 29-yard line, Pollard orchestrated ACA’s first touchdown drive by putting together a string of throws to Steadman Shealy, Parker Barrineau, and a host of other Patriot receivers resulting in a Mason Hallman touchdown run to cap it off.

In only a quarter of work, Pollard completed 11 of 16 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown pass to Brandon Gottfried with 48.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, it was ACA’s other quarterback Matt Sandlin that created havoc for the Bears defense. Sandlin picked up right where Pollard left off, leading ACA’s high-powered, no huddle attack to the finish line.

In Sandlin’s first drive, the junior quarterback led the Patriots on a scoring drive with an assortment of short passes.

Sandlin found Shealy open in the Bear secondary on three separate occasions on this drive, completed a pass to Andrew Chung for a 22-yard reception near the sidelines, and found Brandon Gottfried for a ten-yard reception before a 8-yard Mason Hallman touchdown scamper to put the Patriots up 17-8 in the first quarter.

Coach Stephen Hooks called several of bootlegs and play-action passes to keep Sandlin on the move and the Bears secondary off balance. In three quarters of action, Sandlin finished 12 of 17 for 274 yards.

The Keith High School Bears gave the Patriots all they could handle. The Bears unleashed a three headed monster out of the backfield with senior running back Clyde Moise, junior quarterback Gerald Matthews, and junior Dwan Lewis. Clyde Moise refused to go down on first contact, and after nine carries accumulated 137 yards and a touchdown on the night for the Bears (8-2).

His backfield mate quarterback Gerald Matthews carried the ball on 13 separate occasions for 56 yards. Matthews running capability would account for the only other Bears’ score on the night. Matthews’s touchdown came on a one-yard keeper that made it a 17-14 contest in favor of the Patriots.

“They were keying in on 22 [Moise], all night after watching game film on him all week,” said Matthews. “So the quarterback sweep worked well for us tonight.”

Dwan Lewis was the Bears second leading contributor on the ground after tallying 84 yards on 10 carries for the Bears. The Bears led early in the contest 8-7, after Moise ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run and attached the two-point conversion on a sweep around right end. Nevertheless, the ACA defense would make adjustments that stymied the Bears rushing attack and refused to allow them into the end zone after the first half.

The ACA defense had two huge goal line stands late in the game that solidified the Patriot victory. Matthews failed to get into the end zone on two keepers and fumbled on third down to end the Keith scoring attempt in the fourth quarter.

“[Coach] John Causey called a great game for us defensively,” said ACA head coach Stephen Hooks. “This group is businesslike and we were committed to keeping their backs out of the end zone. We showed great heart in tonight’s victory. Keith’s players showed a lot of class, and we just came out and executed well both offensively and defensively.”

Patriot Offense Overwhelms Isabella

ISABELLA | American Christian Academy quarterback Matt Sandlin threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots overwhelmed Isabella 49-7 on Friday in a Class 2A, Region 4 game.

Sandlin completed 16 of 23 passes with no interceptions.

He threw a 35-yard scoring pass to Steadman Shealy, a 32-yarder to Parker Barrineau and a 56-yarder to Brandon Gottfried.

Gottfried had four receptions for 121 yards. Barriner had four catches for 61 yards. Shealy caught three passes for 72 yards.

Daniel O’Quinn started the scoring for the Patriots with a 1-yard run. O’Quinn rushed for 101 yards on 13 carries.

Harrison Pollard scored on a 27-yard run. Mason Hallman scored on a 12-yard run, and Tyler Hughes had an 18-yard touchdown run.

Isabella (3-1, 2-1) got its touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard pass from Ralph Edwards to Michael Green.

Trey Conley led the ACA defense with 10 tackles and an interception. James Sandlin caused three forced fumbles and added 9 solo tackles.

Shades Mountain Shot Down by ACA Patriots

C.W. Mardis, September 14, 2008 3:03 p.m.

The American Christian Patriots played like the #3 ranked team in 2A football by putting up 470 yards of total offense and holding ShadesMountain to 13 points defensively.

ACA quarterback Matt Sandlin passed for 228 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots opened their first offensive drive on the Shades Mountain 2 after a blocked punt. Sandlin scored on a 4-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. However, on the next play, Shades Mountain Christian fumbled a high snap and the Patriots recovered.

The Patriots drove 47 yards and scored on a Sandlin 7-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Gottfried. Late in the first quarter, another bad Shades Mountain Christian snap went out the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety and making it a 16-0 game.

Sandlin passed to Parker Barrineau for an 28-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that gave ACA a 29 – 0 halftime advantage.

ShadesMountain freshman tailback Sean Mardis provided some impressive offensive fireworks for the Eagles in the second half. Mardis broke lose for a 68 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He later added a dazzling 72 yard touchdown run after breaking three tackles. The ShadesMountain freshman finished with 151 yards rushing on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

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.