Albertville holds off Paul Bryant late to preserve victory
By BILL THORNTON, Correspondent
Albertville electrified the crowd the first time it had the ball, then held on with some tough defensive play in the final minutes to grit out a 20-13 win over the Paul Bryant Stampede Friday night at Vernon Wells Stadium.
The Aggies took the opener from a 7-7 tie and added two touchdowns in the third quarter, relying largely on the legs of running back Eguensley Cerant.
Albertville begins the year at 1-0.
“I’m really happy for our kids,” Coach Adam Winegarden said. “Obviously, in no way did we play perfect. We made a bunch of errors in the game, but we played good enough to win. I’m really proud of our kids. It’s a good start to the year.”
After the opening kickoff, the Stampede took the opening kickoff and in 11 plays drove to the Aggie 4 yardline, but on first and goal, a mishandled ball moved them 20 yards in the wrong direction. Bryant ended up punting the Aggies down to their own five.
But on the first offensive snap of the season, C.J. Zuniga found Cam Ballinger on an outlet pass, and he sprinted 95 yards for the touchdown. Christian Bravo’s kick made it 7-0.
“We felt really good about that play going in,” Winegarden said. “We thought it had a chance to really pop. We had planned on running that as our first play, but even though we were pinned, we stuck with it. Just like we drew it up.”
But the Aggie crowd didn’t have long to celebrate. Bryant’s Cedric Bankhead took the ensuing kickoff all the way for the touchdown. Moses Pascual tied the score at 7-7.
From there, the offenses traded punts until Bryant got the ball back on its own 39-yardline with less than a minute left in the first half. Quarterback Brayden Cheatum led the Stampede down to the eight yardline in four pass plays. Pascual lined up for a 20-yard field goal as time expired, but the kick was short.
In the second half, the Aggies took control of the game, sustaining a 12-play, 64-yard drive, largely on the rushing of Cerant, who carried the ball seven times. The Aggies were aided by a roughing the passer penalty, which put them on the Bryant six yardline. One play later, Cerant carried it in for a touchdown. The PAT was no good.
Albertville got the ball back after forcing a three-and-out, and drove another 50 yards in eight plays. C.J. Zuniga carried it in from one yard out, and the PAT gave the Aggies a 20-7 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Paul Bryant drove in 10 plays to the one, but the Aggies stuffed a run on fourth down to end the threat. Albertville was then able to drive to its own 32, but then fumbled the ball back to their own 14.
It took the Stampede two plays to score, as Aydon Eaton rumbled 10 yards for a touchdown. The kick by Moses Pascual was no good, and Bryant trailed by seven with 6:28 left in the game.
Bryant had two chances in the final minutes to drive the ball, but a stingy Albertville defense held them on downs twice within the final two minutes.
“Our defense played their hearts out,” Winegarden said. “Their two scores were a kickoff return and when we turned the ball over deep. Our defense won the game, no question.”
