ARAB, Ala. – The Arabian Knights cruised past East Limestone in round one to advance last week and they returned home Friday night looking to make history in a round two matchup against Moody. The Knights led the Blue Devils 21-14 at halftime and outscored Moody 21-6 in the second half to pull away with a 42-20 victory and advance to round three for the first time in school history. The 11th win is also the most in a single season for Arab.
The Knights were forced to punt the ball on their opening possession, but they were able to pin the Blue Devils deep in their own territory. Moody and Arab exchanged punts throughout most of the first quarter until a kick-catch interference penalty on a Knights punt gave the Blue Devils great field position later in the period. Facing fourth down and long, Moody lined up in a punt formation but hit a pass down the field to move the chains and extend its drive. A few snaps later, a touchdown pass put the Blue Devils in front 7-0 with three minutes to play in the first.
However, the Knights responded on their next possession, converting a fourth down of their own with a big run from Drew Puccio and moving deep into Moody territory with a diving catch by Brody McCain. Drake Franklin capped off the scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle and Aiden Wooten knocked through the extra point to tie the game at 7 with 11 minutes on the clock in the second quarter. Moody answered in just two plays, connecting on a deep ball to score through the air and moving back out in front 14-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Arab got the big play it needed from Hayden O’Reilly when he broke free for a big run down the sideline all the way down to the Blue Devils 22-yard line. Just a couple plays later, Franklin punched it into the end zone from 11 yards out to tie the game at 14 with eight minutes to play in the opening half. Moody tried to answer the Arab touchdown but was forced to turn the ball over on downs, setting the Knights offense up near midfield with five minutes remaining in the second. A run by quarterback Aidan Cox moved the chains on fourth down and a big pass from Cox to Spencer Strickland moved Arab inside the Moody 10-yard line. Just a couple snaps later, Franklin’s third touchdown run of the night gave the Knights their first lead of the game with 33 seconds on the clock and Arab went into the locker room leading the Blue Devils 21-14 at the halftime break.
Moody received the ball to start the third quarter and the Blue Devils put together a long, methodical scoring drive to answer the Knights’ touchdown at the end of the first half, but the extra point was no good and Arab held onto a 21-20 lead with seven minutes to play in the third. Cox was sacked on third and long and that appeared to cut the Knights’ possession short, but Strickland’s punt was muffed by the Blue Devils and recovered by Arab at the 7-yard line. The Arabian Knights took advantage of the turnover three plays later when Cox hit McCain on a 4-yard touchdown pass and stretched the Knights lead to 28-20 with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Arab’s defense stepped up and forced Moody to punt the ball away at the end of the third and the Knights’ offense was able to step up as well. Cox passes to McCain and Dakota Nesmith kept the chains moving for Arab and Franklin all but put the game away later in the drive when he bust up the middle and into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the night. Wooten’s extra point made it a 35-20 game with eight minutes to play.
Moody drove the ball deep down into Arab territory looking to cut into the lead, but the Knights’ defense held the Blue Devils out of the end zone and gave the ball back to the offense midway through the fourth.
Arab worked its way out near midfield and Cox hit Strickland for a big gain down the near sideline to keep the chains moving. A couple plays later, Franklin took a handoff up the middle, burst through the line of scrimmage and took it 34 yards to the house to score his fifth touchdown of the night and secure the win for Arab. Moody was unable to get any more points on the board and the Knights went on to collect a massive, 42-20 win to extend their postseason run.
Arab will advance to play at Pleasant Grove in round three next Friday.
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