West Alabama high school football all-stars
James Sandlin, ACA, Sr., 6-2, 292, DT
Steadman Shealy, ACA, Sr., 6-0, 167, WR
Matt Sandlin, ACA, Jr., 6-4, 207, QB
Brandon Gottfried, ACA, Jr., 6-5, 209, WR
Harrison Pollard, ACA, Sr., 6-3, 205, ATH
Matt Leddo, ACA, Sr., 6-0, 181, LB
Derrick Miles, ACA, Jr., 6-3, 271, OL/DL
Matthew Lindsey, ACA, Sr., 6-2, 287, C
Mason Hallman, ACA, Sr., 6-1, 232, DE/FB
Blake Brenton, ACA, Jr., 5-11, 182, K
Steadman Shealy #7 WR 2009 All-State
Name: Steadman Shealy
Height: 6′ 1”
Weight: 172
Speed: 4.59/40
Bench: 225 Squat: 375
Vertical: 34”
GPA: 4.2
Year of Grad: 2010
High School: American Christian Academy
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404
Email: bigstead10@aol.com
Head Coach: Stephen Hooks
Office Phone: 205-553-5963 ext:39
Career Ambition: Dominant Hand: Right
All-State WR-Steadman Shealy Jr., American Chr., Sr., 6-0, 167. Shealy was two year starter at wide receiver. He had 1238 yards receiving, 60 reception, 8 touchdowns and averaged 20.63 yards per catch.
Sandlin and Shealy Named All-State
From staff reports
Published: Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
American Christian Academy’s James Sandlin and Steadman Shealy were honored as members of the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) All-State team.
James Sandlin DL-James Sandlin, American Chr., Sr., 6-2, 292. Sandlin was a two year starter at Defensive Line for the Patriots and led them to back-to-back Region 4 playoff births. Sandlin lead the nation in total tackles (158) as a defensive tackle. He was listed as the tackles and sacks leader in Alabama for defensive tackles by MaxPreps and listed on both the ESPN.com Top 150 list and Scout.com Top 100.
WR-Steadman Shealy Jr., American Chr., Sr., 6-0, 167. Shealy was two year starter at wide receiver. He had 1238 yards receiving, 60 reception, 8 touchdowns and averaged 20.63 yards per catch.
Quarterback-Matt Sandlin, American Chr., Jr., 6-4, 207. Sandlin was named Honorable Mention All-State behind Alabama’s Mr. Football QB-Clint Moseley, Leroy, Sr., 6-3, 192.
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.”
Sandlin passes ACA to big win over Wildcats
By Cedrick Alexander, Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Last Modified: Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 12:31 a.m.
TUSCALOOSA | American Christian Academy not only celebrated homecoming Friday night, but also marked the official Matt Sandlin coming out party. The Patriots’ 6-foot-4 junior quarterback compiled a highlight reel of incredible throws, displaying an entire arsenal of passes to lead ACA to a 42-6 victory over Hale County.
Sandlin completed 61 percent of his passes and dispersed the ball to seven different receivers for 380 yards and three touchdowns before head coach Stephen Hooks decided it was time for the backup quarterback to step in and get some experience. Sandlin lived up to the pedigree of quarterbacks that ACA has a tradition of producing, with Chris Smelley currently starting for South Carolina and his brother Brad Smelley on scholarship at the University of Alabama.
“We were planning on having to run a lot,” Sandlin said. “We were expecting a cover two, but once we saw they were in single-coverage and there were no safeties, we knew we had the advantage with (Brandon) Gottfried’s size and (Steadman) Shealy’s speed.”
Hale County came out aggressive early, electing to begin the game with an onside kick. The attempt failed when a member of the coverage team touched the ball before it went 10 yards.
ACA’s first play from scrimmage resulted in a Sandlin sack, and the Wildcats defense looked to set the tone early. However, the slow start did not rattle Sandlin and the Patriots offense. On the next play from scrimmage, Sandlin connected on a 55-yard touchdown strike to Shealy.
The Wildcats’ offense could not get anything going offensively all night.
A fourth-down collapse by the ACA secondary netted the Wildcats their only score of the night. Vincent Kortbawi broke the pocket scrambling and found Jovan Spence alone in the back of the end zone for the touchdown.
“Defense is something we’ve been focusing on,” Hooks said. “We are tired of scoring 35 points in the third round of the playoffs and not winning.”
After the Wildcats failed to do anything productive with the first two drives, the Patriots took full advantage.
An aerial attack moved the ball for the Patriots, concluding in a 1-yard touchdown run for sophomore Daniel O’Quinn. Sandlin delivered a slant route to Gottfried that the 6-5, 207-pound junior took 35 yards before a Hale County defender brought him down.
Sandlin found Gottfried again later in the drive for 10 yards that put the Patriots well within scoring position.
After jumping out 14-0 in the first quarter, the Patriots did not look back. On the Patriots’ next possession, ACA scored in two plays.
The first, an 84-yard connection from Sandlin to Gottfried, put the Patriots knocking at the door of the Wildcats’ red zone again. The next play Sandlin found Harrison Pollard on a slant, and Pollard made a few nifty moves before finding himself in the end zone.
Shealy, Gottfried make ACA a double threat
By Ben Dake Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Last Modified: Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 1:15 a.m.
TUSCALOOSA | For most quarterbacks, having one go-to receiver would be enough to have an incredible season.
American Christian Academy quarterback Matt Sandlin doesn’t have one go-to receiver, though. He has two in senior Steadman Shealy Jr. and junior Brandon Gottfried.
“It gives me choices to throw to any one of our receivers,” Sandlin said. “I don’t have to look for just one to throw down the field to.”
The two have family ties to the University of Alabama. Gottfried is the son of UA’s head men’s basketball coach, while Shealy’s father was quarterback on two national championship teams with the Crimson Tide.
Gottfried is a big target for Sandlin at 6-foot-5 and 207 pounds. Sandlin has been able to connect with him for seven touchdowns, which leads the team. Gottfried said that he believes his size has definitely put him at an advantage on the football field.
ACA coach Stephen Hooks said he has noticed defenses making adjustments to Gottfried because of his size.
“A lot of times he’ll draw double coverage,” Hooks said.
“Or at least they’ll go into a cover two or a cover four and try to bring somebody over the top.”
The Patriots are off to a 5-0 start. Shealy said that how the team performs is even more important to him now because he is a senior, especially this week’s homecoming game against Hale County.
“If our team can come together this year, we can (win a state championship),” he said. “It’s really important that we come together this year.”
Shealy has been doing his part to help his team win this year, leading the team in receptions with 24, receiving yards with 546 and his four touchdowns are enough for second behind only Gottfried.
Sandlin has also been able to find a groove with his receivers this year, throwing for more than 1,400 yards with 16 touchdowns through the first five games of the season.
All three players agreed that their pass-heavy offensive style gives them a slight advantage over defenses because they’re used to seeing the wishbone and power-I formation.
“It makes football fun and makes you look forward to practicing,” Shealy said.
Coach Hooks said that he doesn’t really believe the Patriots’ puts them at an advantage as much as it used to, because more teams are doing it aren’t surprised by it. He said that it might help them some during the playoffs when they face a team that has never seen the attack.
Coach Hooks said that the attitude of the team lends itself to the type of success ACA has been having this year.
“This is the most selfless group of kids I have ever been around,” he said. “They play hard and with a lot of class.”
Coach Hooks said that his team has to stay disciplined on the defensive side of the ball against Hale County if they want to win because he
said they are big and athletic on the offensive side of the ball.
“They utilize a lot of misdirection,” he said. “And we have to be aware of that.”
For the offense to be successful, coach Hooks said ACA has to do the same thing it does every week.
“We just have to take what the defense is giving us,” he said. “And we have to take advantage of whatever it is their giving us.”
ACA cruises past Aliceville
By Drew Taylor, Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Published: Friday, August 29, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:04 a.m.
TUSCALOOSA | American Christian Academy prepared all summer long to reach the efficiency it showed Friday night in a 45-8 season-opening victory against Aliceville High School.
“This is a very special and unique group,” ACA head coach Stephen Hooks said. “Their work ethic is absolutely impeccable.”
ACA wasted no time in getting to the end zone, driving the ball 60 yards down the field within the first 2 minutes of its first possession.
Matt Sandlin, the quarterback for the Patriots, had an impressive game, throwing for 284 yards with 16 attempts.
Steadman Shealy, son of the namesake former University of Alabama quarterback, said that it takes a lot to follow in his father’s footsteps as a football player and that he does it all for him. Shealy gained 104 yards on three receptions, including a 78-yard touchdown in the middle of the second quarter from Sandlin.
Shealy said that words couldn’t describe what he was thinking as he caught the ball and took off running.
“I saw one guy coming fast at me as I was getting close, so I just dove in there as quick as I could,” Shealy said.
Brandon Gottfried also had an excellent game, receiving for nearly 44 yards with two receptions and pass blocking for others to get through.
Gottfried said that training for this season began a long time before summer workouts started.
“After the season last year, I would practice routes five times a week with Sandlin.” Gottfried said.
Gottfried credited the victory to the men that seldom get recognition in football, the offensive line.
“We always have decent quarterbacks and receivers, but a good offensive line is hard to get,” Gottfried said. “They blocked and it just clicked.”
American Christian Academy’s offense produced a total of 548 yard rushing and passing, while Aliceville only gained 279 yards in both passing and rushing.
James Rush, in his first year as head coach of Aliceville, said that his team made too many mistakes.
“Our main problem is we aren’t conditioned enough,” Rush said.
However, one standout for the Yellow Jackets was Donald Prince, who rushed for a total of 209 yards with 25 carries.
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