CCC BATTLE: Trinity finds plenty of offense to beat ACA

Trinity’s Bo Stewart goes up high for an interception in the Wildcats’ win over Alabama Christian on Friday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Who’s the quarterback at Trinity?

It didn’t seem to matter. They all had success against Alabama Christian on Friday night.

New starter Patton Mitchell threw a pair of touchdown passes, but Fleming Hall and Bo Stewart lined up in Wildcat formation and found the end zone as well, with Hall gaining a game-high 97 yards and Stewart adding 39 yards as the Wildcats rolled past the Eagles 41-19 at Ragsdale-Boykin Field.

“They’re more like dual-threat guys, running backs,” Trinity coach Brian Seymore said. “That’s something we’ve done in the past, basically our short-yardage package. With the (rainy) conditions and I thought we had a little size advantage up front, we challenged our offensive line. We wanted to get downhill, control the clock. I think that opened it up a little for some shots downfield in the passing game.”

It was a surprising explosion for the Wildcats, but they also had some help as five Eagles expected to play in the contest were sidelined by head coach Michael Summers -- three for disciplinary reasons, one for an illness and one that wasn’t cleared in time to play.

Without starting quarterback Christian Snipes, much of the offensive burden fell on AC Walters, who moved from slot receiver and handled every duty imaginable. Walters rushed 15 times for 54 yards and a touchdown, completed 7 of 11 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, punted four times for a 37.5-yard average, played safety at times and lined up at kick returner and punt returner.

“He had guts,” Summers said. “He didn’t even have a day of preparation at quarterback. Really, all we had with him was the Wildcat package. He’s a competitor, he’s a warrior. I told him, ‘Look, we’re going to put a lot on your shoulders’ and there’s nobody’s shoulders I’d rather put it on. He’s disappointed in the results, but that kid left everything he had on the field.”

But the difficult decision by Summers to bench his starting quarterback played right into the hands of the Wildcats, who now could concentrate on stopping Walters.

“Obviously, AC Walters is a phenomenal athlete, he can do so much,” Seymore said. “But when he’s at receiver and the (Christian) Snipes kid is at quarterback, it gives them a lot more opportunity to attack you downfield, which we were really concerned about. Kudos for Coach making a stand and sticking to his guns and going in a different route in a tough situation.”

After a scoreless first quarter, it was Stewart who found the end zone first, running at left end on the first play of the second quarter for a 12-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

“We ran the ball a little bit more than usual in the ‘heavy set’ so me and Fleming ran a lot more,” Stewart said. “And we also had the two-back set when Patton was in, so we were adjusting to the opponents’ defense. We did a great job of that tonight.”

When Mitchell was at quarterback, the Wildcats relied on Chase Parker, who had 56 yards on six carries, and Matthew Schroll, who had 89 yards on 10 carries.

After Stewart’s touchdown run, the senior took his place at safety and came up with the next big play in the game, intercepting Walters’ fourth-down pass at the Trinity 6-yard line to kill the only scoring threat by the Eagles in the first half.  

“They had a quarterback switch … so we didn’t know how many times they were going to throw it tonight,” Stewart said. “When they did, I think we took advantage of it. We practice those plays Monday through Thursday, so we knew exactly what to do and we were in the right spot.”

Then it was time for Patton Mitchell, making his second start at quarterback, to show off his arm with touchdown passes of 52 and 36 yards to Xavier Boswell for a 21-0 halftime lead. He would add a 74-yard scoring bomb to Chase Lashlee on the Wildcats’ first play of the second half to make it 28-0.

“He was rockin’ it tonight,” Stewart said.

The freshman completed 5 of 8 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns.  

“I’ve known Patton Mitchell for a while,” Summers said. “That kid’s a competitor. He can play baseball on the next level and if he keeps working at quarterback, he can play football at the next level. He played a really good game tonight. He’s going to be good for a long time. But I’m going to tell you this, I saw it on film that (former starter Thompson) McNees coaches that kid every play. That’s character.”

Trinity (3-1) improved to 2-0 in region play and Seymore said Mitchell’s arm could prove crucial in other region games later this season.

“I think he’s just developing,” Seymore said. “Each day, he’s getting better and better. He’s made some good throws in some tight windows, but that’s what he’s got to do for us. He’s got the ability to make plays.”

Summers credited the Wildcats for finding the holes in the ACA defense.

“There were some things open,” he said. “We had two guys at corner who didn’t even get to work out there. We had some misfortune hit us (Thursday) and we had to throw two freshmen out there that haven’t gotten the reps they should have gotten. But credit to (Mitchell) and credit to them for calling a good game.”

ACA cut into the 28-point lead with a 1-yard run by Walters and a 1-yard jump pass to tight end Jackson Burton before Fleming Hall answered with a pair of touchdown runs, scoring on a 24-yard run and fumbling later on a carry at the 1-yard line that John Morris recovered in the end zone for a 41-12 lead. Ethan Dabney closed out the scoring on a 68-yard run for the Eagles.

 ACA (2-2) dropped to 1-1 in region play and returns home to play Prattville Christian in a region game next Friday at Faulkner’s John Mark Stallings Field.