ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – The Arabian Knights kicked off the 2022 season at Albertville Thursday night and they got things started with a dominant performance against the Aggies. Arab’s defense smothered Albertville most of the night and the Knights put up big numbers on the offensive side of the ball en route to a 47-17, season-opening victory.
The Knights defense forced a three-and-out on Albertville’s opening possession and the offense took advantage of the early stop. A 12-yard run from Drake Franklin and a 12-yard completion from Aidan Cox to Hayden O’Reilly put the Arab offense deep into Aggie territory and Franklin burst down the sideline for a 31-yard touchdown to put the Knights up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
Arab continued to put pressure on Albertville defensively and the Knights got the ball back with great field position. Another big gain on a pass to Brody McCain and another nice run from Franklin set the Knights up with first and goal. One play later, O’Reilly punched it in from three yards out to give Arab a 14-0 advantage with three minutes to play in the opening quarter. The defensive front of the Knights continued to create negative plays and disrupt the Aggie offense. Arab got the ball back near midfield and on second down, Cox connected with wideout Drew Puccio, and he took it 56 yards for another Knights touchdown. Following a missed extra point, Arab pulled ahead 20-0 in the final minute of the first.
Albertville was finally able to create something positive with a big return on the ensuing kickoff and after a pass interference call against the Knights, the Aggies gained a first down inside the 15-yard line. Three plays later, Albertville completed a 13-yard touchdown pass over the middle of the endzone to trim the lead to 20-7 early in the second quarter. Arab responded quickly and they responded on the ground. First down runs by Franklin moved the chains into Albertville territory and O’Reilly capped off the drive with his second touchdown run of the night, this time from 10 yards out, to make it a 26-7 game with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
The Aggies drove the ball out near midfield on their next possession but a fourth down stop by the Knights defense gave possession back to Arab with excellent field position. It took just one play for the Knights to add to their lead as Puccio took a handoff on a jet sweep and sprinted down the sideline 51 yards for another score. After the extra point from Aiden Wooten, Arab held a 33-7 lead with four minutes to play in the second quarter. After another Albertville punt, the Knights retook possession with less than three minutes on the clock in the opening half. Arab moved the ball down inside the 30-yard line and a personal foul penalty against the Aggies set the Knights up with first and goal at the 6-yard line with just over 30 seconds to play in the period. Franklin ran it in on the next play to collect his second touchdown of the game and stretched Arab’s lead to 40-7 going into the halftime break.
The Knights racked up 346 yards of offense in the opening half and held the Aggies to just one first down.
Arab continued to pull away early in the third quarter. A 60-yard run from O’Reilly put the Knights down inside Albertville’s 10-yard line and Franklin finished things off with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it a 47-7 game early in the second half. Arab punted for the first time in the game with around five minutes remaining in the third and began to rotate some younger players into the lineup.
A defensive score got the Aggies on the board at the start of the fourth quarter but strong runs by Logan Alldredge helped the Knights drain more of the clock on their ensuing possession. Arab’s younger squad kept Albertville off the board the rest of the way and the Knights left with a 47-14 win over the Aggies.
Franklin led the way on the ground with 146 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Cox completed 10 of his 14 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Puccio caught four passes for 83 yards and a touchdown and added a 51-yard touchdown run as well. O’Reilly posted 87 yards on five carries and scored a pair of touchdowns in the win and Alldredge added 56 yards on seven carries.
Arab will be back on the road next week looking for another win against the Brewer Patriots.
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