Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

VICKSBURG — A near-perfect opening drive set the pace for Adams County Christian School’s 53-14 dominant win over St. Aloysius on Friday.

ACCS finished with 417 total yards of offense in the MAIS non-district match-up. 

Jordan Berry started the game with a 44-yard kickoff return placing the 5A ACCS in the 4A St. Al half of the field. It took a few plays to finish out the drive. A first down run by Damion Johnson on fourth down to set up the first touchdown. 

Coleman Carter scrambled out of the pocket and weaved 16 yards to the endzone for the first touchdown of the night. He had great protection and blocking for much of the night. 

Running back Adrian Walker followed a turnover on downs by St. Al with a 70-yard rushing touchdown for the Rebels as he made defenders miss, but the run was called back for offsides on the offense. Sean Kerry Cothern would later score on a four-yard rush to polish off a 70-yard drive to put the Rebels up two touchdowns. 

St. Al was held to 111 yards of offense in the game, thanks to the second straight week of shutdown defense for ACCS. New defensive coordinator Stanley Smith said the players have shown growth this week. 

“We aligned better and flew to the football better. We still have to work out a few kinks and keep our discipline,” Smith said. “It is a process and the biggest thing for me is the alignment, assignment and execution. We took better care of assignments tonight. I saw things moving forward, but we still have to get better each week at practice.” 

AC gave up a short yardage touchdown to St. Aloysius in the first half but responded by marching down the field in less than a minute to take a 20-7 lead on a 35-yard pass from Coleman Carter to Jordan Berry. 

On the next series, Damion Johnson scored his first touchdown on a three-yard rush putting AC up 26-7. A defensive stop forced St. Al to punt the Rebels the football again.

A punt return by Tristan Burns set the team up with good field position. Carter completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Walker to put AC up 33-7 on the drive. 

Walker scored his second touchdown of the night on the next offensive series on a 55-yard rush to give the Rebels a 40-7 lead. Cothern would score his second touchdown on a 13-yard rush to put AC up 47-7 on the next series. 

Brady Sullivan recovered a fumble in the third quarter to give the Rebels good field position again. Braden Poole scored on a six yard rush for the Rebels final touchdown. ACCS gave up a late touchdown with the starters subbed out and a running clock for the final score 53-14. 

The intensity and great play from AC never waivered. 

“Our younger guys are jumping at the bit. It is a competition and they want to go out there to show how well they can do,” Smith said. “We are finding the right spots for them and asking them to compete hard. You never know where the chips may fall.” 

Carter finished the night with three rushes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also threw the ball for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Berry led the team with 47 receiving yards. Walker finished the night with 77 rushing yards. 

AC hosts 6A powerhouse Jackson Prep next week at AC with kickoff at 7 p.m. Smith said it will be a good test. 

“We have a big game coming up and we have to work hard this week,” Smith said. “It will be a huge game for us. They are the defending 6A state champions. We have to prepare the kids mentally and physically.”