James Gilmore

BNI Newswire

LIVINGSTON – The word must have gotten out in the AISA about the potential success of the onside kick.

In Thursday night’s rescheduled football match-up between the West Alabama Prep Titans and the Central Christian Warriors, the two teams combined for seven onside kicks and one short kick.

CCA eventually came out on top in a 35-24 win.

The Titans recovered three of their four attempts. The Warriors were unsuccessful in all three of their attempts.

WAP led for three quarters of the game. It reached the end zone three times in the second quarter.

The Central Christian defense came alive in the second half and shut out the Titans offense. It allowed the CCA offense to get close and eventually put together the game winning drive.

“We caught fire in the second half,” said Warriors coach Lee Holladay. “It’s the best we’ve played.”

The Titans went up by six late in the opening quarter of the game when quarterback Terrance Irby connected with Irvin Griffin for a 51-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-11. West Alabama regained possession after their first of four onside kick attempts.

In the second quarter, WAP scored three times, while the Warriors reached the end zone twice.

The Titans’ next two touchdowns were only 1:42 apart. The first was on an Irby screen pass to Andrew Snipes. Snipes used a block by Cody Baker to break away for a 22-yard score to give his team a 12-0 advantage.

WAP recovered the ball on yet another onside kick attempt on the CCA 48-yard line. With the help of a Warriors penalty, the Titans needed only four plays to hit pay dirt, as Irby dashed around the end for the score.

After another failed two-point attempt, the Titans led 18-0. On its third onside kick attempt, WAP again recovered the ball to gain possession. The Central defense held as WAP turned the ball over on downs.

The Warriors needed only three plays to finally get on the board. Quarterback Taurus Richardson hit Stanley Spencer on a 59-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit 18-7.

On its next possession, after a failed CCA onside kick that resulted in a 12-yard return by WAP’s Kris Kimbrough, Irby threw his third touchdown pass on the first play to Kimbrough. This one was for 47 yards as Kimbrough tight-roped the left sideline to score, giving the Titans a 24-7 lead with 3:43 left in the half.

That turned out to be the last score of the night for the Titans.

The Warriors added a touchdown with 1:48 left in the half when Richardson found Brian McCary open for a 9-yarder. WAP led 24-14 at the half.

Central Christian crossed the end zone three more times in the second half, once in the third, the game winner in the fourth, and once while trying to run out the clock, to gain their fifth win of the season.

The three Warrior scores were on a 50-yard run in the third by McCary, a one-yard run at the 11:25 mark in the fourth, the game-winning touchdown by Latrell Carter, and a 73-yard Richardson breakaway with 35 seconds to play.

“We didn’t finish what we started,” said a disgruntled Pierre Goode, coach for WAP. “We just didn’t play the full game.”