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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

GREENVILLE – The Morgan Academy Senators used a fast start and strong finish to help pick up a thrilling win in their regular-season finale on Friday night, Oct. 24 in a road battle with Fort Dale Academy.

The Senators jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter and held on from there in a back-and-forth battle to claim a 36-29 victory.

Not only did the win snap a three-game losing streak and losses in five of the last six, but it locked up the third spot in the region standings as well.

The Senators got off to a blazing hot start on both sides of the ball in the win, scoring 14 points in the opening quarter.

Midway through the quarter, they scored the first touchdown of the game on a short run from Alex Johnson, who then completed a pass on the 2-point conversion attempt to make it 8-0.

Shortly after, Morgan Academy got a big momentum boost with a blocked kick that setup a short field to work with. Johnson made quick work of the opportunity on a short 3-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 at the end of the opening quarter.

For a while, it looked like that advantage may hold up going into the half, but Fort Dale put together strong drive going into the halftime break.

A lengthy and successful drive, the Eagles eventually powered in 5-yard touchdown run to trim the deficit to 14-7 at the halftime break.

That led into an action-packed second half, starting quickly in the third quarter.

Fort Dale quickly evened the score early in the third quarter, scoring on a 20-yard passing touchdown to make it 14-14 with eight minutes to play in the quarter.

Johnson, however, had a big answer on the ensuing drive, breaking free for a 45-yard touchdown run and then carrying in the 2-point conversion to make it 22-14 with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

Once again, the Eagles had a response with their backs against the wall.

Trailing by eight, they scored very quickly to start the final quarter and added the 2-point conversion to make it 22-22 with 11 minutes to play.

Now with the momentum, they were able to get the ball back quickly and take the lead on their next drive thanks to a 25-yard rushing score.

Trailing for the first time in the game and with time ticking off in the fourth quarter, the Senators faced a pressure-packed next seven minutes, but they answered the bell.

They put together a strong response with a four-minute scoring drive capped off by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Johnson.

Sticking to their guns and going for two, they failed to get it, still leaving them in a one-point hole with three minutes to play.

The Senators, however, had no quit, quickly getting the ball back after forcing a fumble,

Johnson wasted no time adding one more touchdown to his night with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Speedie Pernell before adding the 2-point conversion to make it 36-29 in the blink of an eye with two minutes to play.

Then, it came down to the defense, which stepped up and forced a turnover on downs to complete a thrilling win for the Senators.

Morgan will now have an off week ahead of the AISA playoffs.