By DRUW GIAMALVA, Sports Editor
ALBERTVILLE — The Albertville Aggies competed in their first Class 5A matchup for the first time since 2011 on Friday night where they matched up against an undefeated Arab Knight squad. The Aggies would come up just short with the Knights escaping Vernon Wells Stadium with a 35-14 win.
The Knights stay undefeated at 3-0 on the season while the Aggies fall to 2-1.
To start the matchup, Arab started on offense. After a great starting play by Nic Stephens that gained nine yards, Albertville’s Evan House would pick off Stephens to give Albertville the ball.
The Aggie’s first offensive drive would see multiple first downs with Cam Ballenger and Imani Techeria getting big runs for the Aggies. After an adjustment by Arab, the Knights would force a turnover on downs to get the ball back from the Aggies.
Arab’s next drive would see running back Mason Ingram run five consecutive times which resulted in two first downs. The Knights capped off the drive with a Stephens rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead over the Aggies.
To end the first quarter, the Knights defense would intercept a pass from Albertville which set them up for another rushing touchdown by Stephens. Arab would lead 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
Arab’s defense would continue to impress as they forced a fumble from the Aggies which was picked up by the Knights.
It just took one play for the Knights to make it a 21-0 score as Stephens would toss a deep passing touchdown to Tucker Willis. Arab would take the 21-0 lead into halftime.
Despite being down 21, the Aggies showed no quit and continued to show an excellent fight against Arab. Albertville would start the second half with their first scoring drive with CJ Zuniga tossing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Brandt Sweatt to make it a 21-6 score.
After forcing an Arab punt, the Aggies would add on another score with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Ballenger. A good 2-pt conversion by Zuniga to Sweatt would cut Arab’s lead to 21-14.
To end the third quarter, Arab would pull away from the Aggies as Stephens would rush for his third touchdown of the night from 9-yards out. Arab would shut the door on the Aggies with another score in the fourth quarter by Ingram to take the 35-14 win over Albertville.
The Knights will look to stay undefeated next week as they host Lee Huntsville.
The Aggies will look to add their third win as they travel to Boaz for the 85th annual Backyard Brawl on Sept. 11. Kick off for both matchups is set for 7 p.m.
