Eagles Drop Close One at St. George's

(COLLIERVILLE, TN - September 9, 2022) - The football team faced St. George's in a road game that proved to be an evenly matched fight on Friday night.

Both teams entered the game looking for their first win of the season. The first quarter was closely contested from the get go as both teams looked to find their rhythm.

St. George's was able to open the scoring late in the quarter on a goal line run by Drake Gonzalez. On the ensuing possession, RJ Sims (2 INT) picked off SBA quarterback Alex McAlpin and returned the ball 68 yards to the house to give the Gryphons a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The SBA offense finally got going midway through the second quarter when McAlpin hit Jordan Ward for a 17 yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-6 after a missed conversion attempt.

St. George's responded with a quick drive that ended in a touchdown connection from Chase Sutton to Amir Wilson. But sophomore wide receiver Cayden Willis caught a short pass, snaked through the defense, and took off for a 60 yard touchdown to make the score 21-12 at halftime.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle until McAlpin and Ward connected again for a 22 yard touchdown. The Eagles entered the fourth quarter down 21-18 with the ball near midfield. A bad snap on fourth down gave the Gryphons strong field position and they were able to convert the opportunity.

SBA punched back once more with a long pass to Willis and an athletic 45 yard touchdown reception by Darien Bell, but the Gryphons were able to run out the clock from there by feeding Jaydon Smith (25 car, 130 yds) to secure the 27-24 victory.

McAlpin threw for 265 yards and 4 TDs, primarily targeting Willis (121 yds) and Ward (87 yds) but it wasn't enough. The team (0-4) will host Brentwood Academy next week.