In a battle of winless teams Friday, First Presbyterian Christian Academy came up just short.
“I am not going to minimize anything you guys did tonight because you guys played great,” FPCA football coach Jamie Sharp said to his team after its 34-26 loss Friday night at home to David Emmanuel. “What we did out here tonight we need to do at practice, so we don’t commit the mental mistakes … we need to get better … we are getting better each time … we are almost there.”
Sharp told his players to keep their chins up after their valiant fight against the Eagles.
FPCA opened the game with a strong offensive drive to the Eagles 5. But the Highlanders couldn’t punch the pigskin through the goal line and turned the ball over on downs.
The Eagles pounded through the Highlanders’ defensive front and chipped their way to FPCA 4. David Emmanuel pushed its way into the end zone as the second quarter started for a 6-0 lead.
On the next drive, Highlander quarterback D’Angelo Streeter connected with George Mitchell for a 20-yard pass, and Mitchell planted his foot, made a cut to the outside and didn’t stop until he crossed the goal line. Kicker Dylan McGarry hit the mark, giving FPCA a 7-6 lead. The Eagles ran downfield again to regain the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run. They missed the point after attempted but led, 12-7.
The Highlanders’ offense was pushed back and faced fourth-and-long, but Streeter took the snap and tucked the ball away. Carrying two defenders, Streeter plowed his way to a first down. That set up Streeter’s 30-yard pass to Mitchell, who again ran the rest of the way to give FPCA a 14-12 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Highlanders were pushed back on penalties and a tackle for loss and again faced fourth and long. Streeter misread the call from the sidelines and tried for a pass instead of punting the ball. The Eagles took over at mid field and marched down for another touchdown. They converted for two points and regained the lead, 20-14.
But the Highlanders made it a new ball game when they tied the score at 20-all off a 45-yard run by McGarry.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles converted on third-and-15 to set up another short touchdown run. The Eagles got another two-point conversion for a 28-20 lead. The Highlanders muffed the ensuing kickoff, giving the Eagles offense a chance to pull away. The Eagles were denied the touchdown, but they ate away at the clock.
Streeter led the next Highlander drive when he plowed his way downfield for 55 yards. Later, Kirkley looked for Streeter in the end zone, but the Eagles intercepted and took the clock from six minutes to two. They scored on a 45-yard run to go up 34-20.
The Highlanders, going with a no-huddle offense late in the game, eventually got a 15-yard touchdown pass from Streeter to Mitchell.
FPCA trailed by eight with 47 seconds left, but the Eagles got the ball back and ran out the clock.
FPCA fell to 0-4, while the Eagles went to 1-3.
According to ga.prep-country.com, FPCA will play Memorial Day next Saturday at home.