By Kevin Taylor

The Wetumpka Herald

ELMORE — Morgan Academy coach Brian King doesn’t believe in making excuses.

And King isn’t about to say his team is snakebit.

But a strong argument could be made following Morgan’s 41-6 loss to Edgewood at Charles P. Storrs Field.

Senator running back Parker Hughes — fresh off a 278-yard rushing performance last week against Macon-East — was not only bottled up most of the night by Edgewood’s defense, but was also knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.

“We’ve lost our three best players in the last two weeks,” King said. “But that’s just part of football.”

Morgan Academy (2-2) found few holes in the defending Class AA Alabama Independent School Association champion’s defense.

Hughes was able to earn a few big gains for the Senators, but they were few and far between.

Meanwhile, No. 3 Edgewood  (4-0) had two players finish the night with more than 100 yards rushing.

Senior tailback A.J. Reynolds led the Wildcats with 125 yards on 16 carries with touchdown runs of 8, 2 and 2 yards — all in the first half. Sam Coleman added 110 yards on seven carries and a 1-yard touchdown rush.

After Reynolds rushed for his first two touchdowns to give Edgewood  a 13-0 lead, Morgan scored its only touchdown of the night with 7:09 left in the opening quarter.

Hughes capped a nine-play, 67-yard drive with a 7-yard burst through the heart of the Wildcats’ defense to trim their lead to 13-6.

But it took Edgewood just 30 seconds to answer the Senators’ score.

Coleman capped a two-play drive with a 1-yard run to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 20-6.

Morgan could not muster another potential scoring drive the rest of the night.

“I’m just proud of our guys tonight,” King said. “They played through the injuries and never gave up.”