PREP SPRING FOOTBALL: ACA hosts four-team jamboree
ACA quarterback Christian Snipes tears away from a tackler during the spring jamboree held at Faulkner University. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Jabari Williams scored on Walter Wellborn’s final play to rally the Panthers past Alabama Christian Academy 12-7 in a spring jamboree, spoiling the Eagles’ evening at Faulkner’s John Mark Stallings Field.
Four teams played a round-robin jamboree, with each team playing the others for one quarter. Alabama Christian and Highland Home fought to a scoreless tie in the Eagles’ first matchup before they defeated Pike County 14-0 in the second matchup.
“We just didn’t finish,” ACA coach Michael Summers said. “We’ve got to get more physical in the secondary. It’s as simple as that. There are some guys out there who haven’t played before. It is what it is and we saw what we needed to see. I saw a lot of good things, I saw a lot of bad things.We’ve just got to finish down there.”
The Eagles struggled to find any offensive continuity in the first game against Highland Home as the two teams combined for just 70 total yards and four first downs.
“We’re playing a lot of young guys, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Summers said. “This is a lot different than going up against your scout team. And we were kind of in shock with the speed of the game in that first game. Really, on both sides of the ball. Now, they’ve got some dudes, one end (CJ May) going to Notre Dame, one end (Jakaleb Faulk) going to Auburn. But I wanted to see how these guys compete. David (Ramirez-Ortiz) and AC (Walters) are pretty important to what we do offensively. Do we have some guys that we can put in there and play defense for them?”
The second quarter featured a matchup between Highland Home and Walter Wellborn, with the Panthers winning 6-0. A well-rested ACA squad returned to the field for the third quarter against a Pike County team taking the field for the first time and the Eagles dominated in a 14-0 win.
The Eagles’ defense held the Bulldogs to 8 yards on four plays while the offense rolled up 118 yards and eight first downs, scoring on both possessions.
ACA quarterback Christian Snipes was 3 of 6 for 44 yards, hitting Walters with an 8-yard slant, then finding Bryant Swindle in the end zone for the game’s final score with 0.4 seconds left.
“I really think in the second game, our line played extremely well,” Summers said. “Now that (assessment) is without watching it on film. We’re starting three sophomores on the defensive line. Now, we feel like they’re going to be good players but all they’ve ever played is Monday Night Football. They were all ineligible last year.”
After Pike County defeated Highland Home 2-0 in the fourth quarter, ACA took the field for its final quarter, facing a Walter Wellborn team that punished the Eagles for 224 yards, all on the ground. Williams scored on the game’s first play, a 70-yard run, and the last play, a 10-yard run that was snapped with just two seconds left. He rushed for 206 yards on just eight carries, exposing an inexperienced defense.
“We’ve been hitting little ninth graders,” Summers said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are starting for the first time. We’ve got film that we can go over for a whole summer now. And we’ve got film we can send out for some of these guys to get them recruited that hadn’t had film in the past.”
Snipes hit Walters with a slant for a 57-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game to give ACA a 7-6 lead that held up until the final play.
In three quarters of work, Walters rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries and caught six passes for 98 yards. David Ramirez-Ortiz rushed for 47 yards on 12 carries and Snipes rushed for 18 yards on 12 carries. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
After Walter Wellborn’s performance against ACA, the Panthers were shut out in the final quarter by Pike County (20-0), perhaps a reflection of how different the matchups were against each team.
“I’ve got a new defensive coordinator, so this is good for him,” Summers said. “It gave him three different offenses to prepare for.”