ACA Handles West Blocton; Young 6 TDs, Dare 206 yds.

The American Christian Academy Patriots defeated the West Blocton Tigers 44-31. The Patriots were led by standout quarterback Kai Young, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 331 yards and six touchdowns with one interception. Cade Durrett, Bubba Lester, and Davis Dare all contributed to Young's outstanding performance. Dare had nine receptions for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Lester finished with 48 yards and two scores, while Durrett had two catches and a touchdown.

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West Blocton was led by running back Nate Barron, who had 142 yards and three touchdowns. Trey Lawley threw for 108 yards, ran for 22 yards, and scored two touchdowns. The Tigers gained 179 yards on the ground.

Both sides got out to a fast start, scoring on three of the first four possessions of the game. Young scored after connecting with Lester on a short pass. On the ensuing drive, Barron replied with a 28-yard touchdown. In the first quarter, ACA had an answer for everything, as Young connected with Durrett for a 33-yard touchdown pass.

After two Barron touchdowns in the second quarter, West Blocton took the lead. A controversial turnover happened on the side of ACA. Young attempted a pass to Durrett that was incomplete but was deemed a fumble by the officials, which the Tigers recovered. After a missed field goal, the Patriots were able to get a stop and get it back with a minute left in the first.

Young led a scoring drive within the ACA 21-yard line with a minute left in the first half. That drive included a significant amount of Davis Dare, who was responsible for 54 yards of the drive, which ended with a 27-yard score.

Young and Dare connected for a 74-yard touchdown on the second play for ACA at the start of the second half, and that was just the beginning of the end for West Blocton. On the following drive, the Young/Dare combo scored again on a single play for a 36-yard touchdown. Dare, who stands 5-foot-10, displays tremendous explosiveness against the Tigers. He attributes his success on the field to his coaches.

"In the offseason, I'm just constantly going in on my training," Dare said. "Just every day waking up early coming out here. We do speed and agility during the summer every morning and even through the season we do it twice a week and it keeps us going. "

Young threw his sixth touchdown to Lester and that was the icing on the cake.

The 6-foot-2 junior threw a party tonight, and his performance reflects his work ethic and progress over the season. He understands that there is still work to be done as they continue to fight for the playoffs.

"Constantly just staying in the game, staying the moment," Young said. "Just doing my job so the offensive line can do great and the receivers can do great so I just have to be consistent and just keep moving forward."

"The offensive line did great. Kai stretching the ball vertical and we kind of struggled with that this year so I'm just happy to see that" ACA head coach Cody Martin said.

The Dare and Young connection was on display and the Patriot quarterback had so much trust in his receiver to make big-time plays and he knows how special he is.

"It's just how he can make anybody miss," Young said. "He's such a great playmaker and I will get the ball to him anytime he needs it."

Martin was pleased with the team's performance despite the 25 penalties called in the game and 12 of them were on his squad.

"They're part of the game," Martin said. "You want to see all the calls go your way. Every call for you is bad, and every call for them is good, it is what it is. I think we only had one holding and one personal foul. I'm fine with those kinds of stuff. Pass interference calls, playing good coverage, that's just a part of the game those things happen at the speed of the game."

ACA looks to secure the number two seed in the playoffs and they will travel to Sipsey Vally on Friday, October 20th.