ALAH Football Knights hang on to stay undefeated
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By Sally McCarthy
The Homecoming football game between the Cumberland Pirates and the Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond Knights was played on a very windy and at times rainy night last Friday, September 27. A three touchdown first half for ALAH and a couple of missed extra point conversions by the Pirates sent the Homecoming crowd home happy with a 24-20 victory.
ALAH received the opening kickoff and proceeded to run the ball for most of their yards in a long drive. The drive ended on a busted play that saw junior quarterback Cruz Hale take the ball in from 3 yards out on a fourth down play. Senior running back Maddix Stirrett punched in the two point conversion and the home team led 8-0 with 4:21 left in the first quarter.
After a three and out by Cumberland, the Knights would score again on a 15 yard run by Stirrett who also got the extra point conversion run to extend the lead to 16-0 with 9:46 remaining in the first half.
The teams exchanged punts before the Pirates would get on the scoreboard with a 1 yard touchdown run by senior running back Grant Keyser. The ALAH defense stopped the two point conversion run and led 16-6 with just 1:14 left in the half.
The Knights started at their own 27 and with a huge 50 yard run by junior running back Easton Frederick gave them a chance to score before intermission. A pass from qb Hale to Ryan Appleby picked up another 16 yards. A costly pass interference penalty in the end zone by Cumberland put the ball at the 3 with just seconds remaining. Stirrett got the call again and as the clock expired on the first half, scored his second touchdown on a 3 yard run. He again ran in the conversion and the red, black and gold led 24-6 at halftime.
The Knights would not score in the second half and the Pirates would get two, the first on a 4 yard run by Keyser to make the score 24-14 with 5:31 to go in the third quarter.
A long Knight drive ended with a turnover on downs and them a quarterback sack by ALAH defensive lineman Kamden Morfey forced a Pirate punt.
ALAH threw an interception on their next series but Cumberland turned the ball over on downs on the Knights’ 15 with 3:50 left in the game.
It appeared the Knights just needed a couple of first downs and they could run out the clock as Cumberland had used their last timeout with 35.8 seconds left in the third. But the game would get far more exciting! ALAH fumbled the ball on a bad snap to the two yard line where the Pirates recovered the ball and scored on another run by Keyser. The Knights stopped the two point conversion but their lead was now just 24-20.
Of course, the visitors tried an onside kick and executed it successfully and were back on offense with 2:18 remaining. On second and ten from the Knights’ 41, Pirate QB Hudson McElvray scrambled to pass and on the biggest play of the game Knights’ defensive back Cash Hale intercepted the pass and gained possession for the home team with 2:02 left in the game. ALAH just had to kneel three times to run out the clock and preserve the 24-20 win.
The win moves the Knights to 5-0 on the season and extended the conference game win streak to nineteen. The Knights go on the road to Nokomis next Friday, October 4 to face the also undefeated Redskins.
Stats for the game vs. Cumberland
OFFENSIVE STATS
Rushing – Easton Frederick, 13 for 97; Maddix Stirrett, 11 for 50 & 2 TD; Trey Strode, 7 for 41; Brennon Hutson, 1 for 14; Alex Rexroad, 3 for 11; Payton Warrior, 4 for 5;Cruz Hale, 6 for -24 & 1 TD
Passing – Cruz Hale, 2 of 5 for 36, 1 INT
Receiving – Easton Frederick, 1 for 20; Ryan Appleby, 1 for 16
DEFENSIVE STATS
Tackles – Maddix Stirrett, 8; Payton Warrior, 7; Trey Strode, 6; Jacob Tighe, 5; Brayden Leech, 5; Easton Frederick, 4; Colin Smith, 4; Ryan Appleby, 4; Kamden Morfey, 3; Alex Rexroad, 3; Mackenley Bowles, 2; Brayan Martinez, 1; Kaden Herschberger, 1; Brennon Hutson, 1; Marcus Otto, 1
Tackles for Loss – Jacob Tighe, 2; Maddix Stirrett, 1; Easton Frederick, 1; Brayden Leech, 1; Trey Strode, 1
Sacks – Kamden Morfey, 1
Pass Break-Ups – Carson Augustine, 1; Payton Warrior, 1
Interceptions – Cash Hale, 1
SPECIAL TEAMS STATS
Kick-Offs – Brayan Martinez, 3 for 131
Kick-Off Returns – Brennon Hutson, 1 for 19; Cash Hale, 1 for 8; Daylon Doggett, 1 for 0 (onside recovery)
Punts – Brayan Martinez, 1 for 43