COTTONDALE, Ala. — Seventy.
In Eight-Man football, that’s not such a big number.
But when your archrival puts that number up against you in rallying from a 29-point deficit for a victory, that can lead to frustrating times.
Instead of dwelling on the misery of a regular-season loss to Tuscaloosa Christian, the Victory Christian Academy football team went back to work to correct its mistakes because it didn’t want any confusion in case it had another opportunity to face the Warriors.
On Friday night, Victory Christian made the most of its second chance by unleashing a swarming defense that paved the way for a 44-8 victory in the Christian Football Association title game.
The victory helped Victory Christian (10-1) avenge its only loss, a 70-67 setback to Tuscaloosa Christian on Oct. 17. The only similarity to that game was that it was played in Cottondale because the Eagles were more aggressive on defense and shut down the Warriors’ running game and screen passes and allowed only one big play in claiming the school’s fourth CFA championship.
“I couldn’t imagine that at all,” Victory Christian senior defensive lineman Bo McCrary said when asked if he thought the Eagles would have held the Warriors (9-4) to 62 fewer points. “I knew our defense could do it. It is not one or two players. It is all eight of us doing our jobs and not worrying about anybody else and doing your own job.”
Not only did McCrary lead the defensive charge, but he also was honored after the game with a spot on the All-CFA team as a defensive lineman. He also was named the association’s defensive player of the year. It was a fitting way to end a prep football career for McCrary and classmates Anthony Sharp, Shane Bradford, Burkley Jernigan, and Cody Bolton. The quintet capped their evening by walking arm in arm the length of the field. The walk might have been a final chance to erase the memory of three-straight postseason losses to the Warriors. In 2010, Tuscaloosa Christian beat Victory Christian 24-20 in the CFA title game to snap its 30-game winning streak. The frustration from the most recent loss was still fresh on the players’ minds, too, but they didn’t allow that to get in their way of a victory that had been on their mind since the start of training camp.
“We came up with a little better scheme because they confused us a little bit in the first game and we were able to work that confusion out,” Victory Christian coach Chris Hamm said. “We knew what they were going to do and they didn’t deviate from it much and we were able to cut it down. Tonight, it seemed like we saw things better and reacted. They ran a couple of fake screens to one side and threw it to the other side and guys were still making plays and reacting All of the schemes in the world don’t work unless the players make the plays. I was proud of the way they adjusted during the game.”
Sharp set the tone in the first quarter when he blocked a punt and somehow didn’t allow it to fall to the ground. As Sharp came down, he gathered the ball and went untouched for the game’s first score. Fulgham and Sharp teamed to make it 16-0 on a fourth-and-10 pass play. What looked like a quick pass to the sideline turned into a 24-yard score when Sharp spun away from man-to-man coverage and waltzed into the end zone.
Sharp added touchdown runs of 3, 11, and 7 yards. He also caught an 83-yard touchdown pass from Fulgham that provided an early exclamation point that indicated this game was going to play out a little differently from the first meeting.
“In the first game, we thought we did a pretty good job right after the game because we led by 29 points at halftime,” Sharp said. “But when we watched the film, we realized there were a lot of mistakes we made that would have made it even more out of reach. In the first game, they motioned a lot and we got mixed up. In the second game, we got that corrected and everybody knew who they had.”
Sharp agreed with McCrary in that everyone felt a lot more comfortable and confident entering the rematch. He felt his blocked punt in the first quarter settled the Eagles and increased the intensity on the sideline. It also helped them focus on one word: Finish.
“All our seniors have been here before, and we have had a lot of leads and letdowns in the past,” Sharp said. “We were just determined we weren’t going to let that happen this time.”
Fulgham played a key role on both sides. In addition to throwing for 171 yards, Fulgham played a key role on defense. In the first game, he admitted the nerves were there, but they weren’t there as much Friday night. That’s why he felt confident the Eagles were the better team. He said a strong week of practice helped Victory Christian enter the game with a better mental approach.
“Pass coverage was a big factor in the last game,” Fulgham said. “We weren’t blitzing off the ends and we weren’t executing.
“We knew this was the biggest game of the year. It was all emotions into it. It was a great victory.”
In addition to winning the title, Victory Christian cleaned up in the CFA postseason awards. Hamm was named coach of the year, while Sharp was named offensive player of the year and MVP of the title game. Bradford (lineman), Fulgham (quarterback), and Bolton (receiver) were named to the All-CFA offensive team, while Will Jones (defensive back) was named to the defensive team.
But aside from a 51-yard screen pass in which D.J. Watson slipped through an ankle tackle for Tuscaloosa Christian’s only points, Victory Christian was downright stingy. The Eagles pressured quarterback Preston Pate and didn’t give him time to work the magic he used in the passing game in the first matchup. Victory Christian had three sacks and had six tackles for loss. The Eagles also were active up front, getting their hands up to deflect passes.
McCrary said it was a matter of being more aggressive and carrying that through for four quarters. It was a painful lesson to learn in the first game.
“We weren’t that aggressive (in the first game),” McCrary said. “In the first half, we were pretty decent. In the second half, we just let up. That is on us.”
McCrary said the turnaround was simple: The Eagles knew they had to come out and stop the Warriors if they wanted to get an elusive victory. The thought of experiencing the thrill of victory provided the adrenaline that fueled the defense. After the game, the win — the seniors’ first in Cottondale — was even sweeter.
“It was right,” McCrary said of the walk the length of the field with his classmates. “It was the way I wanted to end it with the guys I have worked hard with since my freshman year. That’s what we have earned, all of those guys. It is just a humbling experience to do all of this.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino in Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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