On Friday, The Tuscaloosa Christian Warriors faced the Jacksonville Christian Academy Thunder in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Tuscaloosa Christian walked away with a 56-48 victory over Jacksonville Christian Academy. 56 seems to be a good number for Tuscaloosa Christian as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Luke Jones was his usual excellent self, rushing for 365 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 18.3 yards per carry, and also throwing for 72 yards and two touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes. Jones really tore up the turf during one magnificent 84-yard run. Jackson Harris also helped out as he racked up 159 rushing yards.
Jacksonville Christian Academy's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performance. Perhaps the best among them was Travis Barnhill, who rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. Jesse Gannaway was another key contributor, picking up 262 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The victory was the fifth in a row for Tuscaloosa Christian, bringing their record for this year to 8-3. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-8 Meadowview Christian and 2-7 Success Unlimited Academy (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 35.2% over those games). As for Jacksonville Christian Academy, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 8-1.
Tuscaloosa Christian will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Russell Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on November 3rd. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in their respective states (Russell Christian Academy is ranked 12th in Mississippi, while Tuscaloosa Christian is ranked 13th in Alabama). Jacksonville Christian Academy does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
