CONTRIBUTED BY SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS
CONTRIBUTED BY SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS
LEE COUNTY —
The Southern Christian Patriots varsity football squad fell prey to the visiting East Central (EC) Patriots on Friday night. The boys from Pinson, Alabama, came into historic Moore Stadium hoping to pull a road win out of the hat and that’s just what they did. Head coach Daniel Smith explained, “the idea was to come in hot, so we worked hard on getting the guys to an emotional fever pitch right before the opening kickoff.”
The Pinson Patriots came out swinging. They recovered a fumble in the first series of Southern Christian Athletics (SCA) and scoring on a missed assignment on the outside edge of the defense. Shortly after the good guys from Opelika got the ball back, Josiah Frick, one of the only two seniors on the Southern squad, and also the starting quarterback for the Pats, received a helmet in the shins, suffering a broken fibula. Elijah Bailey, freshman, stepped up to lead the team with sophomore twin brothers Jagger and Jedd Scott, along with the other senior Auron Tanguma, standing firm to help the young QB get settled in. Unable to score after a block in the back held 6 points off the board, SCA attempted a punt but an untouched blitzer runs right up the middle and puts down punter Eliot French, who was filling in for the injured punter Josiah Frick. The EC Patriots would score again off another critical mental error by SCA. After the dust settles on the first quarter the score is 33-0 with the Pinson boys snagging a pick 6, a long pass and another fumble recovery picked up and run in for a score to end the quarter. Going into the second quarter, the Patriots of Opelika seemed to be done giving up points to the visiting Patriots. After lead tackler sophomore Jagger was put out with a dislocated shoulder, the Pats of East Central scored one last time. Scott would return with vigor and lead the Pats defense to a seven down stand in the red zone forcing the Pinson boys to give up the ball on the 3 yard line. The defense stood tall for the rest of the game, not giving up another score. At the start of the fourth quarter Scott’s shoulder failed and the coach had to pull him out.
“Jagger wanted to go back in and continue to fight after the second shoulder injury but I had to keep him out,” said head coach Scott. “Elijah Bailey did great leading the defense after Jagger was not allowed to return.”
Bailey had six tackles and a sack, along with Jagger while junior nose guard Dallas Tucker added 6 tackles. Bailey passed 106 yards and ran for 93 yards. Bailey’s favorite target was Jedd Scott pulling down seven receptions for 38 yards, with Tanguma adding three catches for 11 yards, and Jagger Scott with two big grabs for 77 yards.
“With Josiah out and then Jagger we were in a real pickle,” Scott said. “But, I was really proud of how the younger guys stepped up and made a stand, only allowing 1 touchdown in three quarters. That first quarter just killed us. We have to get better at starting the game. We will get better, we’re just really young.”
Some sunshine this week for SCA as the junior varsity Patriots defeated the Wildcats of Springwood on Monday at Woodland Field in Phenix City, Alabama. The Patriots were led by QB William Dooley beating the Cats 28-6. The varsity and Junior varsity are now both 2-2 for the season. Varsity is now sitting at 0-2 in ACSC conference play, hoping to defeat Ezekiel Academy in three weeks for the Pats first playoff birth.
The Patriots will host Springwood at Moore Stadium in Opelika this Friday for the varsity matchup. Game starts at 7 p.m. central time.
