Snook Christian Academy 22, St. Patrick Catholic High (Miss.) 14

Eagles soar to victory in first-ever varsity football contest

By John Underwood / john
Posted 8/23/17

ROBERTSDALE — The Eagles of Snook Christian Academy soared in their first-ever varsity football contest, turning a fumble at the opposing 5-yard line into a game-winning drive to take a 22-14 …

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Snook Christian Academy 22, St. Patrick Catholic High (Miss.) 14

Eagles soar to victory in first-ever varsity football contest

Posted

ROBERTSDALE — The Eagles of Snook Christian Academy soared in their first-ever varsity football contest, turning a fumble at the opposing 5-yard line into a game-winning drive to take a 22-14 victory over the Fighting Irish of St. Patrick Catholic High School from Biloxi, Mississippi, Friday night at J.D. Sellars Stadium in Robertsdale.

“I’m super proud of our players,” said Eagles Head Coach Keith Smith. “I could see it in their eyes at halftime that they did not have a lot left in the tank, but they dug down deep and made some plays at the end of the game when we needed them.”

After going to the locker room knotted at 14, the two teams played a scoreless third quarter with both teams turning the ball over deep in the other team’s territory.

But it was a pair of fumble recoveries by the Eagle defense deep in their own territory that secured the win for SCA.

The Eagles’ defense started the second half with a three-and-out, taking over at their own 37 and driving to the Irish 10-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs back at the St. Patrick 25.

The St. Patrick offense churned out 81 yards, all on the ground, including runs of 19 and 12 yards to give the Irish a first down at the Snool 14. But on the next play, Garrett Phillips recovered a St. Patrick’s fumble to give the Eagles the ball at the Irish 5.

Junior Andre Stephenson carried for eight yards on first down, then following lost yardage, senior Trell Prim converted a third-and-4 with an eight-yard run, then connected on passes of 12 yards to Stephenson and 26 yards to senior Branton Morgan to put the Eagles back into Irish territory at the 43.

The Eagles fought back from lost yardage again on a first down play, converting another third down with runs of 12 yards by Prim and eight yards by Camaje Casey to the Irish 30.

Two plays backed the ball up to the 35, including a fumble in the backfield, but the Eagles were able to recover. A 14-yard gain by Ladarious Roper got the ball near the red zone and Prim rumbled the final 21 yards into the end zone for the score with just over 4 minutes to play in the contest.

Smith then decided to go for a 2-point conversion for the second time in the contest in an attempt to put the game out of reach and Stephenson found enough daylight to convert, giving the Eagles a 22-14 lead at the 4:07 mark of the fourth quarter.

It was a lead that was almost short-lived after a 61-yard gain for the Irish from their next play from scrimmage, all the way down to the Eagle 6-yard line, but senior Will Crosby came up with an Irish fumble on the next play and the Eagles were able to run out the clock to gain their first-ever victory.

“It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win,” Smith said. “I’ll take it.”

The Eagles first contest did not get off on the best foot, fumbling on their first play from scrimmage.

“It was a trick play. We wanted to do something spectacular for our first-ever play,” Smith said. “It was a big play, but unfortunately it was a big play for the other team.”

The 17-yard loss and fumble gave the Irish the ball at the Snook 32 and they scored six plays and two Eagle penalties later to take a 7-0 lead.

The spectacular play that Smith was looking for happened on the ensuing kickoff when Roper took the ball 80 yards to the end zone and Stephenson ran it in for a 2-point conversion to give the Eagles their first-ever varsity football lead with 6:57 to play in the first quarter.

Snook would get the ball right back when Casey recovered an Irish fumble at the St. Patrick 38-yard line, then took it in from a yard out following a 21-yard pass play from Stephenson to Roper.

The Eagles fumbled the extra point attempt and Stephenson, who was the holder for kicker Prim, tried to find Casey in the end zone, but the pass was dropped in the end zone, leaving the score at 14-7 with 2:22 in the first quarter.

The Irish added a score with 8:44 to go in the half and the two teams finished the second quarter with interceptions on both sides of the ball, with Casey collecting an INT for the Eagles, to leave the score tied at halftime.

Casey had 100 yards on just six carries, including a 64-yard run on the Eagles’ last drive to help secure the win. Prim had 70 yards on 12 carries before taking losses on a pair of runs while running out the clock on the Eagles’ final drive, and was a perfect 3 of 3 passing for 46 yards in the contest. Stephenson completed 1 of 2 passes for 21 yards and rushed nine times for 27 yards before taking a huge loss while running out the clock on the final play of the game.

The Eagles will take their first victory on the road Friday night to take on Munroe High School in the Bobcats’ season opener at home in Quincy, Florida. Game time is set for 6 p.m.