AISA CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP: Adams, Cornerstone end Macon East run for title
Macon East quarterback Sam Wallace scrambles for yardage against Cornerstone Christian in the Class A 8-man championship game at Cramton Bowl on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Macon East Academy players knew coming into the game the challenge would be to slow down Cornerstone Christian quarterback Zeke Adams if they were to have any hope of winning the Alabama Independent School Association Class A (8-man) championship.
Adams ran for touchdowns of 49, 42, 1, 68, 11, 24 and 96 yards to lead the Chargers to their second consecutive title in a 52-12 win over the Knights on Thursday at Cramton Bowl.
“We knew he was a handful from the last time we played him and this time,” Macon East linebacker Thad McKinney said.
Maon East (8-3) lost to Cornerstone 88-62 a month ago and faced the same fate on Thursday as Adams rushed for 396 yards and seven touchdowns on 19 carries.
“He’s shifty,” Macon East linebacker Carter Hopson said. “You take the wrong angle, you ain’t getting him. We didn’t take good angles today.”
Cornerstone led just 22-12 at the half before pulling away in the second half, largely on the legs of Adams.
“Zeke’s the best football player in the state of Alabama,” Cornerstone coach James Lee said. “His motor is unbelievable. His drive, his determination. If people can’t look and see that kid deserves to be all-state, then there’s something wrong.”
Cornerstone (12-0) made just two trips past the first round of the state playoffs as an 11-man team before switching to 8-man three years ago. Now, after reaching the semifinals in 2022, the Chargers have back-to-back titles.
“It’s awesome,” Cornerstone senior Drake Dunning said. “Last year was sweet. We put in work but this year, we worked insanely hard. I’ve never worked harder in my life than I did this summer. For all of it to come to this is awesome. It’s a dream come true.”
For Macon East, it was the opposite. After turning the tables of Springwood last week and defeating the Wildcats with an improved defensive performance, the Knights hoped to work their magic in the rematch with the Chargers and after Thad McKinney’s 14-yard run on the first play of the second quarter tied the game at 6-6, there was hope.
But bad snaps over the head of quarterback Sam Wallace doomed the next two possessions, while Adams scored a pair of touchdowns to put the Chargers in front 22-6.
“Too many penalties, too many turnovers,” Macon East coach Glynn Lott said. “We killed ourselves with (bad) snaps. I think we wasted two possessions that we couldn’t get a snap. Once we got behind, it was over with. They were physically stronger than we were up front. When you know No. 12 (Adams) is getting it and you can’t do anything about it, that’s a bad feeling.”
Following Adams’ touchdown and his two-point conversion run to make it 14-6, Macon East senior Matthew Pugh, a senior lineman, the team’s punter and one of its most valuable players was ejected by game officials.
“It’s the most selfish decision you can make,” Lott said. “It killed us. In 8-man, you don’t have enough anyway. We’ve got nine (high school) kids playing, some junior high kids dressing out. When you take one, you have to move three to make up for it.”
The Knights’ next punt was blocked by Jadon Dixon, giving the Chargers the ball on the Macon East 8-yard line to set up another score by Adams.
“That’s the first time Sam’s kicked one all year,” Lott said. “We just threw him back there. He’s not even on the punt team.”
Wallace’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Todd trimmed the deficit to 22-12 at the half, but two more Adams’ touchdowns in the third quarter put the game out of reach.
Since winning a state championship in 2000, Macon East has made four trips to the semifinals but has never appeared in a state championship game before switching to 8-man this season.
“On Aug. 4, we had to sit there and make a decision at our conference table with our players,” Lott said. “They weren’t happy and I wasn’t happy to go to 8-man. It’s been a great year. I’m so proud of our kids for buying into it. To see them succeed and do what they did and enjoy the game again was all that really mattered.”