Football Recap: Airline Falls Short Against Ranked Evangel Christian Academy + How To Watch

Airline faced Evangel Christian Academy in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Vikings fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 51-49. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (34), the Vikings still had to take the loss.

Despite the loss, Airline still got an impressive performance from Kenny Darby, who picked up 97 receiving yards and one touchdown, and also rushed for 87 yards and one score on only eight carries.

Vikings

Interceptions

Jimarion Arthur	1
Jaylan Bradley	1
Braylyn Jackson	1

Airline didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Jimarion Arthur, Jaylan Bradley, and Braylyn Jackson picked up one apiece. Airline got some further help from Abreion Cooper: he picked up a sack and made 12 total tackles.

Special teams also played a big role in the game for Airline, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Darby, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.

Peyton Houston had another great game (as he tends to do), throwing for 454 yards and three TDs while picking up 16.8 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 39 yards for Evangel Christian Academy. That's the most passing yards Houston has posted since back in October of 2024. Demarkus Evans was Houston's top target, picking up 128 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Having lost for the first time this season, Airline fell to 3-1. As for Evangel Christian Academy, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record up to 3-1.

Looking ahead, Airline will be playing at home against Captain Shreve at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Vikings will be up against the Gators' rather soft defense (which has allowed 38.75 points per game), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance. As for Evangel Christian Academy, they wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next contest, a 62-14 win against Huntington on the 2nd.