Tuscaloosa Academy Dominates Lamar County
The Tuscaloosa Academy Knights defeated the Lamar County Bulldogs 34-7 on Friday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Tuscaloosa Academy was held on its opening drive and forced to punt, however a fumble by Lamar County on its first snap of the game gave the Knights the ball back thanks to a recovery from Neal Shaw.
The Knights drove down the field and got on the board first with an 11-yard pass to Andrew David.
Lamar County fumbled on its next two drives, but the Bulldogs defense kept its team in the game by making the Knights punt. That was until Knights quarterback Preston Lancaster threw a 47-yard pass to wide receiver Luke Kilgore, giving Tuscaloosa Academy the 14-0 lead.
The Bulldogs had one drive left in the half where the team drove down the field into the red zone but could not get the ball in the end zone prior to the break.
Lamar County got the ball to start the second half, but quickly turned the ball over after Shaw picked off Bulldogs quarterback Xander Bradford.
The Knights drove 69-yards down the field and extended its lead on a 16-yard pass to Kilgore, his second of the night. Tuscaloosa Academy leads 21-0.
The Bulldogs got on the board with an 87-yard possession, led by running back Jordan Godsey who ran in an 8-yard touchdown to cut Lamar County’s deficit 21-7.
The momentum for the Bulldogs did not last long as Tuscaloosa Academy scored on its following drive, a 54-yard pass in three snaps to wide receiver James Stanard, giving the Knights a 27-7 lead.
Both teams exchanged turnovers on downs, however Tuscaloosa Academy scored on its following drive with a 47-yard pass to wide receiver Mills Powell to seal the 34-7 victory.
“The game was so much closer than the score, you know, hats off to them. I mean, you know, they got a good football team, they're very physical and we got to go back to work, but you know proud of the victory tonight but we've still got a long way to go,” said Tuscaloosa Academy head coach Josh Wright.
Lamar County had two more chances to score, but the drives resulted in a punt and running the clock out to end the game.
“Turnovers killed us all night. I think we had six turnovers. You know, which is uncharacteristic. We normally don't turn the ball over but you know, we we did it tonight and it cost us you know, and I thought our kids played hard. We just didn't play smart football and in the end, you know, congratulations to Tuscaloosa Academy. They did and so they're the winners,” said Lamar County head coach Robert Bradford.
Next week, Tuscaloosa Academy travels to University Charter School and Lamar County travels to Berry Fayette. Both kickoffs are set for 7 p.m. CT.