FOOTBALL VS. FREEDOM COWBOYS

Lightning Football travels to Huntsville, AL, to take on the Freedom Cowboys.

BROADCAST TEAM:
Matt Holmes – Play by Play
Scott Stafford – Producer, Color Commentary
Wesley Holmes – Camera
Kirk Stallings – Asst. Producer

Good evening, Evangel faithful out in Evangel country and welcome to an exciting Friday night matchup under the lights. Tonight, the Lightning make the trip to beautiful Huntsville, Alabama to take on the Freedom Cowboys and what promises to be a clash of styles, stamina, and playmakers. And before we turn it over to the coach’s show, we have the most beautiful backdrop here in Huntsville, Alabama, the foothills of the Appalachia Mountains. Probably the greatest backdrop we have all season. So, we’re getting ready to take it over to the Coach Smith show and it’s brought to you this week by Reagan Hopper Photography. We appreciate her and all of our sponsors. [Applause] All right, we’re here again with ECS athletics director and head coach Tim Smith. Coach Smith, uh, welcome to the show. Thank you, Scott. A tough loss at home last week against a very good River Oaks Mustangs team from Monroe, Louisiana. Um, one of the most lopsided home losses I think we might have ever had here at Evangel, but uh, you know, hey, hats off to them. They had a really good team and they they took it to us. Just uh, talk a little bit about your message to the team after the game and and how they responded this week. Yeah, well, we’ve had a good week. You know, we got some bumps and bruises last week in that game. And, you know, we did get beat by four touchdowns, I think, at the end of it. But, uh, I think what people forget is at halftime with a minute and a half to go in the first half or maybe less. We’re on their five yardd line, first and goal, going in to take the lead or at least tie it, right? And uh, Eli got hit and got hurt and had to come out and Trey goes in at quarterback and you know, Trey’s new. Uh he’s been here, this is his third football game in his life, right? And we throw him in the game at quarterback. Now he’s playing receiver, but we throw him in at quarterback against maybe the best eight-man team we’ve seen in years. them and Arendelle. They’re both really good, right? And so Trey’s first quarterback really where it’s all him uh is against River Oaks. Yeah. And you know, he did some really good stuff for us, but they they they are the best. I’m not gonna say the best team because Arendelle’s really good, too, but we we’ve had a pretty tough schedule to jump into. Yeah, no doubt. Don’t get any easier tonight. No. Big big game tonight. We’ll talk about that in a minute. So, um you did mention it was Trey Hope’s third football game that he’s played in here at Evangel. And but it doesn’t look like the first time he’s picked up a football from what I saw. I mean, he could really spin it. Uh what does that how does that affect, you know, maybe some of the the game plan tonight with his inexperience? Are you staying the same as far as the the packages go? Are you dialing some things back or what’s that going to look like? We did take a few things out, dialed it back, but we put some new stuff in. Trey can run it. I mean, he’s a good athlete. Um not just his third football game here. That’s the third football game in his life. He’s never played before. and we’re asking him tonight to go out against a very good Freedom team, be the quarterback. He’s going to do it. He’s took all the reps this week. Uh him and Saw Welch. U so he’s he’s ready to go. Good. I have all the confidence in him. He’s going, you know, we’re not changing that much. We got a game plan and we’re handing it to him and say, “Let’s go.” Yeah. So, let’s couple more notes about last week. just um it it looked like there were some challenges on the back end uh handling the explosive plays. What sort of uh adjustments were made this week to try to contain some of that possibly from Freedom? Yeah. Not play them again. Uh no, they had some kids that could really run. Yeah. I mean, they really did. They had some really good receiver. They were a little better at passing than we thought they were. We had not seen it on film, right? And man, we go out there and we got the kid racketed, you know, and he goes up and looks like he I think was it you to somebody told me said it looked like he levitated. Yeah. And he just hung up in the air and caught the pass over both of our kids, you know. They were both there to make a play. He just made a better play. Yep. Uh so their passing game really surprised us. Uh a little bit of shock and all there with that. We wasn’t expecting it. Uh very well coached. Golly, like coach Bo Barton does such a good job with them and uh they were ready for us. Now, make no mistake, they they were ready to play us. Yeah, that’s probably going to be the story all season. Evangel Well, every year actually, Evangel typ typically has a a target on them when when these teams come to town. But, uh, well, we hit the road tonight to take on a very talented Freedom Cowboys team, coached by Kyle Collins, excellent football coach. What does it look like to try to slow them down on offense tonight? Yes, Kyle’s going to do what Kyle does. You know, they’re going to try to run it. They are throwing it a little bit more this year, I think. They’re going to run their counters. They’re going to run their traps. They’re going to run their power. And if you don’t stop it, they’re going to run it down your throat all night long. So, we’ve got to man up. You know, we’re again tonight, we’ve got some people in some places they wasn’t in last week. And uh they’ve just, you know, some of these young kids, they’re growing up fast, but they got to grow up a little faster tonight for us to have a chance. But yeah, Kyle’s gonna do what he does. He is a very good coach. He’s been I think I remember this is now his 19th or 20th year maybe 20 21. Wow. Because they called me last year. Funny side story. U Kevin Goman who’s really the AD and he does all the stuff for him. Kyle really is just he’s the head coach. He called me and he said, “Hey, we’re having a little thing for Kyle.” It’s his 20th year. They were in Panama City and he said, “We want to do a video.” He said, “Would you video yourself?” And he said, “We want you to be funny.” He said, “Have your rings on.” And so I did all kind of stuff, you know. And they called me later and and Kyle called me and he said, “Man, it was really great.” I said, “You know, I didn’t know what to say because I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth.” I do that enough, but uh you know, it it was really pretty coz. But yes, he’s been there a long time and he very good eightman coach. Yeah. At one point last week, I looked out and the eight that was on the field, none of them were starters last year. Uh you said they’re they’re growing up fast. What what has been the the biggest leap you’ve seen from the defense in terms of their uh progress and maturity this year? Yeah, I think if Clay was sitting here, he would say the same thing that we were really worried about two things this year on defense. Physicality and tackling. Uh and you can see some of that against u Arendelle. We did not tackle very well up there. Now seven had a lot to do with that. He was good. Uh but we did not tackle well and every week and I thought last week our kids were there and we didn’t make every tackle because they just, you know, manhandled us every now and then. Uh but I think we’re tackling better and our physicality they have stepped up. Okay. You know, we’re not backing down from anybody. They’re they’re hitting and I expect us to really hit. I know that we better hit tonight because we’re going to get hit because Freedom’s going to hit you now. Yeah. So, yeah, that that’s been the biggest two things is the physicality and uh the tackling. Well, I’ve we’ve talked about the defense. Um as you mentioned, Trey Hope starting on offense tonight. uh maybe took a couple of things out, but who do who needs to step up or or what position group needs to step up tonight for us to be successful on offense? Well, the offensive line, we’ve been getting better, but we’ve got to keep striding forward. We we’ve got to get better at pass protection. And uh hopefully tonight they’ll give we really worked on it this week, you know, and trying to give Trey a little more time back there. And u and Isaac uh at running back Isaac’s growing up in front of us. He’s a 10th grader and so tonight, you know, he’s he’s going to get the ball early and often. Uh so he’s got to grow up tonight. He’ll stick it in there. He’s just not very big. He’s all muscle, right? But he’s he’s just not very big yet. But again, he’s just a sophomore. We looked out on the field last Friday night at one time on defense and there was five sophomores on the field. Yep. And this wasn’t when the game was 20 points. just when the game was 14 and we got sophomores running around everywhere and we haven’t asked them to grow up. We’ve told them they got to grow up. We’re just throwing them in there and they’re responding good. They’re getting better. So, we’ve talked about offense and defense uh for tonight’s game. Nick Sanders has been a done a nice job kicking so far this year and we’ve and we’ve also um and Trey Hope’s done a nice job punting. Would you uh would you uh like to say anything else about the the kicking game so far this year? Yeah, Nick Nick has really done a good job. Trey, you’re just saying that cuz he’s sitting right behind behind. Yeah, he was back there showing you like, “Hey, what about the punt?” Yeah, you just talking about I had to explain that because they’re not watching this at home. So, uh yeah, my office has got four or five players sitting in here. We’ve never done this. Uh they’re they’re giving me looks like what about Yeah. Yeah. I about I should say something about that because we’ve never done a coaches show with players sitting here that that weren’t part of the show. You know, we usually, you know, it’s after practice or something and they’re gone or we ask them to step out for a minute. But um yeah, this is a little different. You’re you’re pretty calm and collected. I’m I’m impressed. I think you’re you’re getting too relaxed. I think my son tells me that all day. He said, “Who are you? You didn’t coach us like that when I played for you.” Yeah, it’s them grandb babies. I’m telling you, they mellow you out a little bit. But I can still get on them now and tell them to shut up and get out of my office real quick because if they get on my nerves in the afternoon, this is really a light turnout today. Usually there’s That’s what I was thinking. They’ll be This is a little There’s usually between five and 12 in here. Yeah. Somewhere in the neighborhood. Sometimes they’ll get on my nerves and I’ll kick them out. Yeah. But no, the the kicking game it has been good. Nick’s done a good job. Trey’s doing a good job with the punts and uh we really worked because Freedom does a lot and then this just before you got here today to be honest I was watching them and going back to game I think it’s game three Trey was sitting here and we saw where they faked a punt and then they got in their second punt formation and so I was texting Clay, hey they faked the punt on play number 47 against South Haven and of course Clay immediately went to it, you know, Clay and Coach Romano, right? And uh so even though we’ve watched film all week, you you just see something that you missed. Yeah. And so they do a lot. They do a lot of stuff. They they’re like us. They’ll squib it. They’ll pooch it. They’ll kick it deep. They’ll kick a line drive kickoff to try to kick it by you and get it into the end zone. Of course, tonight we’re playing on a hundred yard field, 11man field. And that’s a little different for us. Sure. Uh the only one we played on is in Gatlinburg, and we haven’t even been able to practice this year on one. So, it’s we’ll get out there and you’ll see tonight you you’ll hear us sen spread out. Spread out because we’ll stay bunched in because we’re used to that 40 yards. That 13 and a half yards or whatever it is makes a big difference. Yes, sir. Well, it should be a fun game tonight. Always love the the rivalry with Freedom and we expect to to get their best shot tonight and um as always, we wish you and the team much success tonight, coach. Good luck. Strike Lightning. Thank you. Strike Lightning. And welcome back from that great Coach Smith call uh talk show uh brought to you by Reagan Hopper photographer. Please check her stuff out. Well, Scott, there was a lot in a short conversation that Coach Smith said right there. Was there any other things y’all discussed before or after that that could enlighten our audience? Yeah, so not only is Evangel without their starting quarterback tonight, Eli Black is out with a shoulder injury. He’s kind of weak to week. Um not as bad as we thought it might have been, thankfully. Okay, good. Um no, so he had it x-rayed and everything. There was no fracture in the collar bone or anything like that. More of a strained uh shoulder. So thankfully uh we he will be back. Uh we just don’t know when quite yet. But uh Freedom is also without their starting quarterback. So the guy that gave us fits last year, Jaylen Venter, who is a senior is is uh will be on the sidelines this week. He’s got his he’s got a boot on over there. I can see u in the end zone on their side as you see our players huddled up praying right now. Um Jonathan Callen, a junior, 5’11, 190, is going to be starting for uh the Freedom Cowboys at quarterback tonight. Also a very good athlete. He he throws a good ball and and and has some good will. So I don’t expect much drop off there, but Jaylen Venter was uh he was that guy last year and almost beat us single-handedly. So um it’s going to be interesting to see. Um uh again, great venue tonight here at McGucken Park in Huntsville. As we’ve already showed you some of the scenery. Um we also should mention the the broadcast team tonight. Of course, Matt Holmes, your play-by-play announcer for tonight. His son Wesley Holmes is going to be handling the camera duties for us. Kirk Stallings has uh made the trip with us tonight. He is your assistant producer and running the the streaming software and scoreboard software for us. And I’m Scott Stafford. I’ll be handling your color commentary and uh helping out with some of the producer duties. So, um should be a great night for football. It’s uh dry. Uh what is it about 75 80 degrees probably at kickoff? Probably. Yeah. And uh so it should be a a great night for football. Yeah. The the Freedman Cowboys enter tonight’s game two and one right in a strong ground game led by their senior running back number 18 Elijah Brown. He’s a big dude. I saw him out there during pregame. And the versatile junior quarterback you just mentioned, number three, Jonathan Callen. They’ll look to control the tempo with their rushing attack. While sophomore standout number four, Julian Harden brings a spark of both on both sides of the balls. Receiver and a ball hawking defender as we get ready to I think start some of the pregame activities with the uh national anthem, I think, was what we’re waiting on. Uh but until we get to there, uh let’s look at some keys to win. And now keys to talk about for Evangel Lightning as they try to protect uh the ball tonight. So when the line of scrimmage, the Cowboys will lean on their ground game with senior running back Elijah Brown. Evangel defense front, especially sophomore standout Jackson Lden must clog rushing lanes. All right, that’s I think they’re just calling out the uh the starting lineup right now. And uh we have Scott down there with Coach Smith. He’s going to give Coach Smith this we’re ready to go. So uh I’m giving him the thumbs up and coach. All right, we’re here with head coach Tim Smith. Coach, this is always a fun game. Great rivalry. What’s the team’s mindset tonight? Yeah, to be honest, we just had a little talk with him. A little flat. Uh you know, long bus ride. I think we’ll pick it up. We’ll see. I know the kids are going to play hard. Good luck tonight, coach. Strike Lightning. Thank you, man. Strike Lightning. Thank you, Scott, for that uh quick comment from coach. And yeah, that’s always tough when you’re having to make the long trip. It was about probably by bus probably about two and a half hours. So, you do get a little dry. You you got to find a way to pep yourself up and that’s what the coaches are here for. The fans are here for hope you at home are here for them as well uh to pull our lightning through. So, winning that line of scrimmage and we got to keep Ben Davis involved. He’s dangerous receiver, averaging nearly 80 yards per game. And on defense, he’s already snagged an interception. Evangel needs to find ways to get him touches. Whether it’s stretching uh the field deep with quick outs uh and uh edge plays, we got to get him the ball. But you heard during the coach’s talk that Isaac Griffith is going to get a lot of touches this game. And we heard he’s all muscle, but sometimes we got to have a little bit extra in there. And that’s where our line of scrimmage can help out. One of the things you’ll notice with the uh Cowboys tonight is their defensive line most of the time starts out in a standing kind of athletic position. They’re not necessarily down on all all threes or all fours. So, um I believe we’re getting ready to have the the prayer. So, hold one second. All right, with about eight minutes to go before kickoff, we see both teams lining up getting ready to to break through as we see the Lightning captains making their way up the sidelines. And it looks like we have number 99 Caleb Woods. Number 77 senior Eli McDonald. Number 56 senior Whit Bourne. And number 10, uh, Alex Martin. And on the far side, if my glasses can focus in, I see number number. Yeah. Elijah Carr. Number 10, William McDonald. Number 77. Yes. I don’t have that on my roster. 77. Yeah. One of the things we noticed during pregame, they have a lot more guys than we have on our roster. So, we apologize for not having everybody’s name. Uh, 16 is Blake Maronet. Easy for you to say. And number 18, another Elijah Brown. So, while we’re waiting on the guys to walk out here, I don’t know if you noticed, but I was kind of chitchatting with coach before we had the little comments there on the sideline. He said, “I’m really emotional. I don’t know why.” So, I think I have an idea. I mean, this Coach Smith is this is his ninth season. I mean, we’ve had a lot of success here for sure. This is uh you know, the team’s one and two. He loves this team a lot. He loves these guys and he wants them to be successful and this is a really I mean he and coach Collins go back a long way. Um they’re they’re both Auburn guys and you know they have a little uh rivalry within the rivalry if you will. Of course, Evangel’s gotten the better of Coach Collins, but um they’re they’re uh coach Collins and Freedom that is. But, uh you know, there he wants to win this game for the kids. Sure. He wants to them to have success and you know, he’s he’s really deep down he’s feeling it. He really wants this one tonight. Yeah. And and great words right there. I mean, Coach Smith has continued to build upon this program. Evangel has always had success, but he’s taking it to another level as uh we split the field to see who’s doing what. So, we have the Cowboys going to defend, we’ll call the the South end zone. They’re going to receive the ball first tonight as our captains shake hands in the middle of the field. Yeah, Freedom won the toss and and elected to receive. So, that’s interesting. Um at least I think that’s what I saw. Uh so interesting that you know coach Collins being more of a defensive minded you know hard-nosed run the football is going to put the the ball in his offense hands tonight first. Yeah like you said they are a hard-nosed team. The the film and video I watched this week uh it’s it looks like it’s 90% run but they with when they have passed the ball they’ve been so successful. So very accurate arm out of this uh junior quarterback uh number three Jonathan Callen. Yep. And here come the Lightning. Here come the Lightning led by Trey Hope Len and Davis. Coach Smith trying to get the team up on the sideline as we’re still a little bit 4 minutes and 40 seconds away from kickoff. They may bump that up a minute if we’re running ahead of schedule. But yeah, the weather is fantastic. The field should be nice and dry for these guys. I know when I’ve talked to players uh in the past, uh they much rather play on the natural grass. It’s just better on their their ankles and their feet and their cleat seem to grab a little bit more. So, uh Nick Sanders, as we heard, who was talked about on the on the Coach Smith show, brought to you by Reagan Hopper Photography, he will be uh leading the lightning out uh for the kickoff of the evening. And one of the things that we saw on film that Coach Smith talked about during uh his show was their kicking game. They kick a lot of line drives, deep balls. Their kickoff uh team is very effective at preventing deep breakouts. Uh but what’s going to be interesting for our Lightning tonight as coach Smith also alluded to is we’re playing on a 100 yard field, 53 yards wide, 100 yards deep. Uh and that makes a big difference particularly when you’re on the defense trying to contain a team that runs as much as this team. Yeah. And we haven’t even mentioned the fact that we’re this is game number four. Yeah. This is the first team from the state of Alabama that we’ve played so far this year. That is wild that you say that. So, you know, it’s it’s an it’s not a conference game. No. But this is a team we are very familiar with and they usually play us very tight and uh as we’ve said multiple times already, they want this one bad. Indeed. Indeed. And they they’ve started out with a good record. They’re two- one. And I forgot uh as we I just heard the three- one. Yeah. Uh that they I hear the cowboy cow cow bells across the other sideline. So they’re going to be here to make a lot of noise. So Sanders lines up to kick. We’ll see if it’s our usual uh onside or pooch. 16 Blake Maret, one of the captains deep to receive. Number four, grabs the ball. He’s going to try to get through the middle. breaking some tackles is number seven for and he’s still breaking more. Number two, number four, I’m sorry, Sar Welch brings him down. Number four, Julian Harden on the return side. Oh, I’m sorry. I’m getting confused on the the I was used to being in Navy as uh as our defense lines up. Caleb Woods at nose guard. And uh here we go, folks. Let’s see what they come out with. They’re typically in the shotgun formation, split one or two wide. Um, most of the times they have a a running back flanking uh the quarterback. So, let’s see how they come out. Coach talked about in the pregame, you know, he this this defense is growing up. They need to come out hot here and start hitting hard. Yes. All right. There’s a handoff up the middle to Elijah Brown. Hit immediately, but gets those extra yards. About a eight yd gain. Going to bring up second and two. Yeah. 18. Elijah Brown, a senior, a very uh aged roster for this Freedom Cowboys team. A lot of seniors, something we’re used to, right? Uh unfortunately, not this year. Second and short, upcoming. Brown getting some extra information from quarterback number three, Jonathan Callen. So, we got two receivers to the near side. There’s the snap. Hand off up the middle. Brought down by a swarm of Lightning. So, David Johnson in there. Caleb Woods in there 99. But I think that’s going to give him a first down. Yeah, good. Oh, there’s a flag on the play. But good push by the O line. Might be a hold from where the the flag was thrown there. Look like it was just a five yard. Yeah. So maybe uh I didn’t see the signal called. I didn’t either. Oh, spotted the foul. Okay. All right. So that’s going to bring up about second and six for the Cowboys. [Music] Taking a little extra time in the huddle. They’re going to break the huddle. sending one receiver to the far side. Kind of an inside handoff. Taken down by Louden. And number seven, David Johnson going to bring up third and short. Yeah, I think they’re going they might say he got it here. Yeah. Yep. So again, as coach Smith said, they’re going to line up and run it at you until you stop it. Yep. And we’re getting to the ball quick, but we have to have that first contact make a difference. All right, so they come out the same formation. Callen in shotgun formation. Little fake handoff with Callen keeps it up the middle for about a three yd gain taken down by Trey Hope and it looks like Max Watson on the other side. So Romano was also in there. Great job Cruz. So it’s going to bring about second and seven, maybe second and six. Yeah, Evangel pretty much playing playing kind of a base defense right now. They’re not, you know, doing any kind of blitzing or anything. So, let’s see if coach Romano dials something up here for second and about six. There’s snap. Another handoff up to middle. Hit hard by number seven. That’s David Johnson for about a two maybe three yardd loss. Going to bring up third and long for the Cowboys. And that’s what you need right there. David Johnson. Not a lot of experience at linebacker, but you know, with the absence of Eli Black, those linebackers have really got to step up, step up and and uh fill those running lanes quickly, get off of blocks, and come with some physicality. Yeah. So, in the game now for the Lightning 59, James Wolf and 77, Eli McDaniel, McDonald. McDonald. It’s dark out here, guys. Give me a break. It is. We are under a can a tree canopy a big sycamore tree here on the sidelines. There’s the snap. He drops back for the first pass of the night. Rolling around to his right trying to look over the middle. It could be picked. No. Intercepted. Great defense. Is that Cruz Romano out there? It was. And a flag on the field. Holding called on Freedom. Let’s see what coach Smith says here. He’s going to decline it. Yeah. I mean, he knows it’s four down territory anyway right here because it’s I can’t see what is this on the 43 44 yard line. So, it’s going to bring up fourth and a long eight. Yeah. So, great coverage by our corners out there. Yeah, Cruz Romano was in position to pick that. You know, again, another young player out there. just come back to the ball a little more and that’s an interception. All right, so big fourth down play early on in this game. Ken is alone in the back field. Receiver to the far side, one to the near side looking to pass again. It’s going to be a little draw play and Romano hits him first and brought down. I can’t see who that is. 34 Max Watson. He got the first down. Oh, did he really? Oh yeah. So, Max Watson, yes, he was in on the tackle, but he got sucked in too much to the action. You know, he’s got to once you see pass, you got to kind of loosen up a little bit. And he had a running lane to get to the quarterback, but he kind of got sucked in there to the line of scrimmage and made it, you know, opened up a running lane for the quarterback. Yeah, I couldn’t really tell if that was a a draw from the beginning or he didn’t have anybody open and ran it. Nevertheless, first and 10 for the Cowboys. Another handoff up the middle. Getting some very positive yards. Watson coming in late. It’s going to be a second and short for the Cowboys. That running back is a load. Is that Elijah Brown? Uh number 18, Elijah Brown. Yes. Yes. Senior for the Cowboys as Ken gets the call from the sideline. Brings it into the huddle. 712 and counting on the play clock. So, the Cowboys bringing two receivers to the near side. Brown thinking about going out. There’s the snap. Little counter action to Brown. Missed tackle. Another missed tackle. Davis tries to get him. Brought down by I see Watson in on the play and getting up right there. Number two, Trey Hope. A lot of missed tackles and that’s one of the things we talked about early on. This is another first down. Yeah, Coach Smith said they’ve gotten better at that. Um but uh it hurt us a little bit last week and it’s hurting us here in the early going again. All right, so another first and 10. They can get a first down before uh before the goal line. But let’s see if our defense can bend, not break right here as Cowboys break the huddle. One to the right out to the near side. And in there now, number two, Elijah Carr at running back. He goes in motion to the side as the quarterback’s going to keep it up the middle. Really nobody there. Hard hit coming in. More of a knockdown tackle by number seven right there. That’s David Johnson for the Evangel Lightning. Yeah, another big running lane for the quarterback following the blocking of number 16, Blake Maronet. And uh the Lightning defenders right now just not getting off their blocks. You know, they’re they’re getting tied up with the with their blockers and they’ve got to shed those blocks and get to the get to the football. Yeah. Now, a few times in film, we saw a a slant option pass, but I think right now they’re running on Yep. And there he goes up the middle. Still on his feet. David Johnson in there again with the tackle. That’s going to bring up third and short with 5 minutes and 15 seconds since the clock rolls down. Yeah, I think he’s going to have about a yard yard and a half to go for the first down. Would like to see maybe Coach Romano dial up a run blitz here. They’re not going to they’re I don’t think they’re going to throw it. No, I think they’re going to stay like like coach Smith said, they’re going to stay in the run until we stop it. Yeah. All right. So, big third down. Elijah Brown back in the game. There’s the snap. There’s the handoff to Brown up the middle. We’re making it hard. He does muscle forward. He may have gotten the first down. Yeah. So, it’s going to be first and goal. It’s hard to see down there. Maybe on the one yardd line. Yeah. Very difficult to see. Um, doesn’t look like the field was painted before tonight’s game. So, I’m going to say the one one and a half yardd line. Oh, so they break the huddle. Two wide outs to the far side as Brown flanks Kayn. Let’s see what this defense can do. Slow snap, but Kaitlin’s going to keep it. jukes our guys and he gets in for the touchdown. Cowboys. Yeah. And David Johnson there, he stepped up into the hole, but he went around the blocker, you know, you just got to take him on and push him back, you know, and and and and try to disrupt the play just just a split second is long enough for your players to get there because there were what there was some pursuit. Yep. It was just a little bit late because the running the quarterback was just able to run around the blocker. All right. So they’re really spreading the field with four wide outs. Two to the far side, two to the near side. I’m guessing they’re just spreading it so Callen can try to find the hole and get through it. They spread them out this time. Yep. So Ken looking to pass and he gets it to number one as he spikes the ball. That’s Jeremiah Butler for the two-point conversion. Yeah, well-designed play. Bring a man in motion from the spread formation. And the Lightning are out flanked on that side. Yeah. All right. So, it’s going to be interesting how the Lightning answer as the almost eight minute drive. Yeah. Cowboys completely control the clock right there. Um I’m anticipating the Cowboys kicking it deep right here. So, hopefully we can get a good blocking wall. Uh I believe Davis is usually uh deep for us. So, we’ll see who we see up. So Ben Davis, the junior for the Lightning, stepping back deep on this 100yard field, really spread out. So he’s got a lot of room to run. We’re standing on some scaffolding here. I felt there was a crack, but I could just be, you know, paranoid. All right, so the Cowboys now line up as number seven. That’s Landon uh mild or mild. Uh MLDDE is going to be kicking off for the Cowboys. So the entire Lightning receiving team needs to have their hands ready. Ben Davis deep to receive for the Lightning. We’ll see if they kick it deep or not. So the Cowboys spread the field of Landon approaches the ball. It’s kind of that line drive squib kind of right to Davis. He’s going to move to the near side. He’s got some blockers in front of him. Has a hole. Cuts back inside. Taken down. That’s by number 17 Levi Hull as Davis stays down. They’re going to call a timeout. I think that’s uh Venable. Oh, is that 13? Okay, I just saw the three. So, yeah, Ben Venable. So, as they take a quick break, we want to take a quick break with him. Uh he’s up. We’ll we’ll Okay. Yeah. So, um I think he just got the wind knocked out of him. All right. Yeah, he looks he’s up and going. So, we see Trey Hope taking charge of this Evangel Lightning offense. We’ll get a first look at the captain of this boat. So, we got two wide outs to the far side. That’s Ben Davis and Cruz Romano. Isaac Griffith kind of off into the back of Hope. A straight draw right up the middle as he’s trying to break it outside for about a five yd gain. It’s going to be first and five or second and five. Nice run there. way to find the hole and uh get what you can get. Five yards on first down. Take that every time. Absolutely. Really opens up the playbook for us. All right, so Hope getting the call from Coach Smith from the sideline. Let’s see if the Lightning can match the the ball control on this drive here. All right, so Davis and Romano again, receivers out to the far side. Seems like they’re a mile away. Low snap, hand off to Griffith up the middle, hit almost immediately, but drags them for about another three yardds. Going to make that third and maybe two. Yeah, I like the play design there. They go off they go unbalanced and stack the the the wide side of the field over there or the far side of the field and run it back to the weak side. And good job by the sophomore there to pick up three tough yards. It brings up third and short. Yeah, if he breaks through that second line of defense, there’s nobody there to to get him. So, love that play call again. Set up in the same formation. Davis and Cruz out to the far side as we’re on about the 48 yd line again. Hand off to Griffith right up the middle for a big possibly 10 yardd gain. Hit hard by number 18. That’s their Elijah Brown. And that’s a great confidence booster for the young sophomore there. He hasn’t had a lot of, you know, big runs this year. He’s had some solid runs, you know, three, four, five yards, but not a lot of those 10, 12, 15 yard runs. So, let’s see if we can see some more of that. He He did a really good job bursting through the hole that time. Yes. No hesitation as they come out again in the shotgun formation. Romano in motion. He’s dropping back the pass right over the middle to Watson. Oh, just off his fingertips. That’s going to be incomplete for second and 10. Not a bad pass, just a little bit off the mark. Trey Hope, as we said in the pregame show, you know, he can really he can really throw it. He’s a baseball player. Um, he’s got a good arm. Unbalanced again. We are the So fake hand off to Griffith as Hope rolls out. He may run it here. He’s going to try to get to the outside. He does. He breaks one tackle. Comes back inside. He’s looking to bust it outside again and he pushed out of bounds at about the 26 27 yd line. And there you see the athleticism, the quickness of the senior Trey Hope. And that’s why he’s out there, you know, fourth game ever playing football. I mean, just an athlete. But I again, I love the play design because they ran that little counter to the weak side of the of the formation with the unbalanced a play or two ago. They show that look this time and fake the the counter and uh the I think they were going to pass it, but the pass wasn’t there and and Trey Hope made a nice play out of it with his leg with his legs. Yeah. Yeah. Again, just showing the great athleticism. It was designed pass. It wasn’t there. He there wasn’t a small opening to get outside, but he did and he made it work as they break the huddle. Uh Davis and Romano to the far side. Griffith flanking uh Hope to the near side. There’s a snap. Little inside pitch to Davis. He’s trying to get outside as quick as he can. He hits one guy maybe for a yard. It’s going to bring up second long. Looks like second and nine. Love what Coach Smith is doing right here. Running up the middle. you know, fake the run up the middle and and get outside with the quarterback to throw or run. And then on that play, a perimeter, you know, jet sweep, just trying to mix it up in the middle on the perimeter, keep the Freedom defense off balance as much as you can. Yeah, one of the things you’re seeing early right now, some hands on hips on this defense, like you said, we’re really spreading the field, making them work for every tackle as Hope lines up in the shotgun formation. It’s going to be a draw play up the middle. Hope looking for a hole. He found a hole. He’s got some room up the middle as they dive and get him and he falls at about I’m going guess the five yd line. Touchdown saving tackle there by Blake Maranet. As we wind down the first quarter here, we want to really quickly mention our first period sponsors, Window Wonders 205 and Healthy Harvey’s. Yeah, that clock is rolling. We’ll see if they get it off before the buzzer sounds. Hope jogs into the to the huddle as we got a little life going on here for the Evangel. We’re going to have three wide outs to the far side. That’s Isaac Griffith, Romano, and Ben Davis. Hope all by himself in the back field. And it’s a direct just a blitz off the corner. Looks like that was number is that number two? Number four, Julian Harden. Yeah, just a sophomore. But you kind of felt like Freedom saw that coming. And that’s the end of the first quarter. So, we’ll take a break and be right back. You’re watching Lightning Football on the ECS Athletics YouTube channel. Locally owned and operated by the Bates family. Clanton Tractor and Equipment has been a K Cabota tractor dealer since 1988. Located in Clanton on Highway 31, just south of historic downtown Clanton. [Music] [Music] From minor bumps to unexpected injuries, Southern Immediate Care is here with expert care when it matters most. If you aren’t feeling well, visit Southern Immediate Care in Helina from 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 7 days a week at 225 Helena Marketplace. We’re back. All right, we flip fields. It’s a long walk from one 5yd line to the other as we have two great veteran coaches going head-to-head right now. Uh it is 8 nothing. The Freedom Cowboys on top, but our very own Evangel Lightning knocking on the door. Looks like it’s second and goal and it’s hard for him to see but I think we’re on about the six seven yd line. Yeah. And our second quarter period sponsors are Enhanced Dental and Chandler Financial. All right. So Trey Hope huddles the team up again. Second and goal as we start the second corner. Hope alone in the back field. Romano to the far side. Davis to the near side. And Hope drops back kind of a fade route to Davis. He’s got hands all and it’s going to be a touchdown Lightning. Wow. I told you he could spin it. I did not see that coming. That was a beautiful pass. It was perfect. You know, they’ve run that in practice a lot. I mean, that was perfect timing. A little flag route there as Davis fakes the the post and then cuts it back to the corner. And uh man, number two couldn’t have thrown it any better. No, it fell right in the basket as they line up for this uh two-point conversion. Kind of the same set. Romano to the far side, Davis to the near side as Romano comes in motion. Hope looking to go up the middle. He finds a seam and he’s in there for the two-point conversion. And we are seeing the emergence of Trey Hope here tonight. This is this is really impressive. I mean, we’ve had a lot of good players come through Evangel, right? But I don’t know if I’ve ever seen somebody who’s played as little football before tonight as a senior just step onto the field for the first time in a starting role on the road and just uh immediately step in and not only contribute or or or make an impact, but really lead this offense so far. It’s just it’s pretty amazing. Yeah. I mean, obviously kudos to him and and his ability and the confidence that it takes to get out there. Uh, but before the game, I saw Coach Black over there on the sidelines praying with him. And it’s so good to see these coaches committed and fully involved with these young guys, uh, not only physically, but spiritually as well. So, as we get out here for the first kickoff of the second quarter, Nick Sanders looking to It’s kind of hard to see the the line marker, so he was asking going to be kicking off from the 40 yardd line. Yeah. And you know, I’m glad you brought that up because I noticed that too. And you know, Eli Black is is is injured. His father, Marty Black, helps is the JV coach, but he helps out with varsity, too. And to see him, you know, pour into into Trey Hope there on the sidelines with prayer and and support was just really something special. It was great. Kind of a pooch kick to the far side. It’s going to have to hit the ground and oh, hit immediately as the ball falls out. Oh, out of bounds. Yeah, Alex Martin was there. Um he just couldn’t quite get to it before it bounced out of bounds. I didn’t see Was that Ben Davis that got the hit on him? I It looked like it was Ben Davis, but it was a hard hit. Um so something to kind of consider moving forward. Uh great little pooch by Sanders. Yeah. So they’re going to take over at about the looks like right on the 20 yardd line. Uh hopefully this latest drive and touchdown puts a little light in our defense as the Cowboys come on to the field. They’ll probably go straight to the line. Yep. They’re kind of in a tight bunch. Freedom’s first drive, eight yard I mean eight minutes and a touchdown. Lightning’s first drive. Four minutes and a touchdown. Let’s see what if Freedom can answer. That’s a toss pitch to Brown. We’re containing great. Oh, but there wasn’t anybody inside as Martin brings him down alongside. I think that’s Venible on the other side, but not after a big 12, 13 yd gain. Yeah, you just got to play complimentary football there on defense. You had good uh setting of the edge on the perimeter out there by Jack Nibbons and and Alex Martin on the perimeter, but the linebacker’s over pursued, right? You got to keep that when you’re a middle linebacker or if you’re in the middle of the field, you got to play inside out. You got to keep that running back on your outside shoulder and expect that cut back. All right, so early momentum as a big gain again. Big 18, Elijah Brown as they come up to the line. Got a receiver to the far side. They have a new running back in. Little counter play up the middle. He bounces it outside. Here comes Alex Martin trying to take him down. There’s a nice stiff arm as Nven tries to pull him out of bounds again. About a 20 yd rush by number two. That is Elijah Carr. Carr, another senior, excuse me, another senior on this senior heavy Freedom Cowboys team. again. Alex Martin was there, but just a great stiff arm by the senior Elijah Carr. So, first and 10 from the 45 of the Lightning upcoming. So, receiver to the far side, one to the near side as Callen’s alone in the back field. He’s going to fake handoff, look for room up the middle. Nothing’s there as we just kind of jump on his back and take him down. That’s Cruz Romano and number 53 Jack Nons in on the tackle is going to bring up about second and eight. So, good job pursuing getting through the line. We weren’t really back on our heels as we have been before. So, there’s really nowhere to run for Kalen as it comes up for about a second and seven, seven and a half. And he’s got big number 18 going to flank him. So there’s the snap. It’s a handoff to Brown. He found a hole as he’s breaking tackles left and right. Brought down by number 10 Alex Martin. Nonsens coming in for the final takedown, but a big 15yd gain. It’s going to be a first down for the Cowboys. Yeah, the Cowboys just showing kind of pass blocking there. Not really firing off, but they just kind of create a a little lane there. Lightning just got to be a little more gap sound and protect their running lanes. All right, so they break the huddle. Wide out to the far side as Calling gives it off to Brown. He’s looking for room. Finds a seam. Big Woods pulls him back as the entire Lightning squad trying to take him down, but his legs just keep moving. Pounds it. Possibly a first down. Nope. It’s going to be about second and half a yard. Yeah, Caleb Woods might have saved a touchdown there if he if he he’d have gotten free. There wasn’t a Lightning defender that close to to stop him from scoring. All right. So, kind of deep in lightning territory right now. That’s at second and very short as they have number 20, the Sterling Hershey in the background. And he’s going to get the handoff up the middle. Hit hard. He’s still on his feet as he breaks it out to the outside. Pulled down finally by a Lightning defender. That’s going to be first and goal from about the five. Yeah, I didn’t see anything there, but just missed tackles. Yeah. I mean, several Lightning defenders had him stood up and somehow he squirted free. Yeah. And he’s not a big guy. No. Yeah, he slipped through there. All right. They’re they’re eating up a lot of clock, too. So, it’s almost under eight minutes in this second quarter. It’s flying by. That’s Sterling Hershey again flanking the quarterback, Jonathan Callen. There’s a snap. Ken trying to get outside. There’s nobody. Here comes Alex Martin trying to prevent and he just tries to push him out and he gets in for the touchdown Cowboys. Yeah, Jack Nons looked like he might have been getting held a little bit there, but the the end kind of let him go at the last second. Alex Martin, he’s got to get up field and and cut him back inside there. So, you know, Freedom running up the middle, running up the middle, running up the middle, and then break one to the outside on you. Good play calling by head coach Kyle Collins. Yeah, just marching it down the field. Nothing different than what we’ve seen in film and even what coach talked about as they come out for the two-point conversion. Really spreading the field again like they did last time as Ken is alone in the back field. Kind of a high snap. Callen there’s going to be nobody there to prevent him in. So the two-point conversion is successful. Yeah, David Johnson just over pursuing running with the the man in motion there and ran right by the quarterback. Yep. So that brings your score 16-8. Freedom Cowboys on top. Let’s see if Trey Hope can work that same magic he had in our first go at offense. Yeah. And then you I don’t know if you could see there on the camera, but coach Romano walked up to David Johnson and said, “You got to keep that guy on your inside shoulder. You can’t let him get outside of you.” Yeah. The the coaching doesn’t stop once practice is over. It’s constant. and the we have some of the best coaches in the state and they do a great job. Uh it’s just it’s a young team and um you know they’re as coach said in the coach Smith show they’re still growing and obviously we don’t want to peak too early. Uh but we do we want to see some of that progress being made out here as Ben Davids uh heads deep to receive this ball. 753 left in this second quarter. might be a might come down to who has the ball last because neither defense has been able to stop the other’s offense so far. Yeah, I would love to eat up this clock and receive the ball in the second half. All right, so number seven landed mild. Might be interesting to see if coach Smith goes to the double wing here to maybe try to slow the game down a little more than it already has been. Only three possessions total so far for both teams. And here comes the kick. Kind of a line drive kick to the far side for Davis as he picks it up on the first half. He’s going to come near side. We have a wall there. Oh, but they got through and good tackle by number 12. That’s Briggs Brady. Yeah, Brady just got got off the block of there was a Evangel man there to block him. He just ran right by him basically. We gota got to get more physical. That’s basically what it comes down to. You got to be more physical. And there’s Is that a flag on the other sideline over there? Is that just some laundry on the turf? I can’t. I see something yellow over there pick it up. Yeah, I think a official just lost his flag. All right, so we got three wide outs to this near side bunched up and Hope all alone in the back field. It’s kind of a new look. It’s a quick kind of a draw up the middle as he’s looking to get outside. Can he race? He’s racing to the edge. Come on, Trey. Trey’s trying to make a move and he steps out of bounds at about the 48 yd line of the Cowboys. And we’re watching the Trey Hope show tonight for the Lightning offense. I want to tell him to slow down, but I like the momentum. Yeah. All right. So, as the chains move down the field, Hope gets the call from Coach Smith on the sideline. Cowboys are playing really tight. Uh the linebackers and and corners are really up close to the line of scrimmage. Might see Coach Smith try to go over the top if not on this play really soon. Yep. as we come out two wide to the near side. I believe that’s Griffith flanking him as Romano goes in motion. It’s a hand off up the middle to Griffith. He’s got a little room hit immediately but gets an additional five yds. So that’s going to bring up second and five as he was brought down by number 12 Briggs Brady. Great job Wyatt Chandler and Eli McDonald up there getting some pu excuse me getting some push and m I think Eli or Wyatt Chandler is a little bit frustrated with himself. He thinks he could have got more out of his block as he’s tapping himself on the chest saying my bad. Nevertheless, it was a good block. Brings up second and about four. It was a lost snap. He just falls on it. I think that’s a smart move for Hope right there. Don’t want to make any mistakes. That’s going to make it a third and long, but I think the the right move right there for Trey. Yeah, it looked like a timing issue with the man in motion. Romano, I don’t know if the ball hit him or if it just obscured the view for Trey Ho. That it wasn’t a bad snap. It was right at his hand. So, I think like you said, the motion guy may have caused a little interruption there as we’re looking at third and 11, maybe third and 12 for the Evan Lightning. Pretty clean game so far. No penalties uh for the Lightning. Uh couple couple for Freedom so far, but otherwise a pretty clean game. Yeah. All right. So, we got Davis and Romano on the near side. Not spread out too far. We got a little confusion right there as Hope’s looking to pass over the middle to Davis. A little line drive as Gobles right on top of him. Makes the catch and there’s going to be a flag. But Davis with great hands and a great throw by Trey Hope. And that’s an experienced receiver right there as he kind of boxed out the defender, got in front of him and and and made kind of a basketball move there and made sure the defender couldn’t get to the ball. So, all the defender could do was go over his back. Yeah. Yeah. It looked like some initial confusion early on with Griffith in motion and Romano looking like he was going in motion. Uh, but it worked out at least right now for a first down for the Lightning as the referees talk it over. Looks like he’s saying offsetting penalties. Oh wow. I didn’t see what was called on the lightning illegal formation either. Yeah, both them in motion at the same time, but I only saw the one flag thrown out here where Davis made the catch. Yeah. Okay. No, I do see one. Yep. Over there by Romano. The grass is a very light green. It’s almost the same color as the flags. All right. So, it’s going to remain third and 12 after those offsetting penalties as we see Ben Davis go to the far side and Romano to this near side which leaves Trey Hope alone in the back field. Going to be a timeout by Yep. Coach Smith. So, we’ll take a a break and be right back. You’re watching Lightning Football. Are you wanting to buy or sell recreational land or a farm? Call William O’Neal with Basecamp Country Real Estate at 205-470-7812 or email William. O’[email protected]. Base Camp Country Real Estate. It’s more than dirt. It’s a lifestyle. [Music] [Music] Located in the 1022 Tower right next to Shelby Baptist Hospital, Dermatologists of Birmingham has been serving all ages in the Shelby, Chilton, and Bib counties area for almost 20 years. Discover healthier, more radiant skin with Dermatologists of Birmingham. Your trusted experts for comprehensive medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology care in Alabama. Visit their website to book an appointment today. And we’re back as we’re spreading the field. Hope takes a low snap looking to pass, drops back deep, and is he going to be brought down by number 16 for the Cowboys? That’s Blake Maronett. Yeah, Davis had two guys on him there in coverage. That was the primary receiver in the route and uh Hope just didn’t like what he saw. He’s going to bring up fourth and long as he probably should have just thrown it away, not taken the sack. All right, so looks like we’re bringing in our long snapper. That’s number 53 Jack Nons or no I’m sorry Max Watson’s our long snapper as Trey Hope is deep looking to punt but as we’ve seen in years past not everything is as it seems there’s snap kind of a rugby style run and kick nice end over end kick nobody there to receive it and it’s going to bounce can we stop him from going in the end zone yeah it’s going to get down to about the it’s at the 10 yd line y so it’s going to be deep for the Cowboys to start this out. Great punt, maybe a little coaching error there. A rare coaching error there by Kyle Collins to not have anybody deep to receive it. And the result is the Cowboys are going to have 90 yards to go if they want to try to score again before halftime. Yeah. Well, I think he’s played against Coach Smith enough to know that there’s no such thing as a sure thing punt when it comes to the Lightning. Indeed. All right, so the Cowboys jog back onto the field to take over from it looks like their own 10yd line. It’s going to be first down. They’re going to go straight to the line as Kenan still in at quarterback and Elijah Brown flanking him to the near side. Brown goes in motion and it’s going to be a draw up the middle. Martin O Max Watton slipped. This is a big Is there a ball on the ground? The referee saying it was not a fumble. So, it’s going to bring up a first down after about a 20 yardd gain. So, yeah, a lot of uh show pass, run the ball. You know, they’re a run first team. Not sure where the linebackers were as Alex Martin, a defensive back, was the guy closest to having a chance to tackle him for a short a much shorter game. Yeah. So, a tight set here for the Cowboys as it’s going to be kind of a reverse to number four as he’s looking to get around the end. Alex Martin trying to contain him and bring him back inside. Nice open field tackle after a pretty big gain though. It’s going to be second and looks like one for the Cowboys. And that’s what you want to see. That’s that’s the physicality that we’re looking for. Alex Martin basically gave up his body there going into a much bigger dude to make that tackle. And he’s a little shaken up. You know, he’s been he’s he’s had the injury of the the lower leg injury um couple weeks ago. And uh so he’s a little banged up. Kind of came up limping a little bit after that big hit. Yeah, Ben Davis over there patting him on the head, giving some encouragement as the Cowboys are still here. to come out of the huddle as number one Jeremiah Butler, the receiver, comes to this near side and Ken takes the snap. He’s going to hand it off to Brown right up the middle. Nobody there. He’s going to break free. Alex Martin trying to chase him down. He’s going to try to leap and get him out of bounds. He’s still on his feet as Venible comes over and knocks him out of bounds at about the one yd line. Not sure what the flag is, but they threw it right in front of the evangel coaches on the sideline. Yeah. So, Martin Yeah. might be a a sideline warning on Evangel, but the Lightning just have not been able to fully stop the run of of the Lightning, I’m sorry, of of the Cowboys so far. Yeah. So, there’s an official timeout right now. Yeah. Could be a sideline warning. So, I didn’t really see an one of the Evangel coaches out on the field or anything. I wonder if they said something. Yeah, maybe they saw a block or something they didn’t like. All right. So, as they’re getting ready to set up, it’s going to be first and goal for the Cowboys on about the oneyd line as they have number two Elijah Carr flanking. Kind of does a stutter step inside handoff and the referee signals touchdown Cowboys. So, three drives for the Cowboys and three touchdowns so far as they finally update the scoreboard. It’s uh 22-8 pending the the two-point conversion. Callen jogs in to deliver the play to the team. And he’s just such a big presence out there for those Cowboys. Yeah, it looks like there was a little confusion. They’re going to call a timeout for the Cowboys. All right. And while we’re while we’re having this time out, we’ll take a quick break and be right back. You’re watching Lightning Football. With over 20 years of experience, Keystone Surfaces can make your natural stone dreams come true. 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Yeah, just following his lead blocker number two, Elijah Carr, right through the hole. They both kind of just strolled into the end zone there. So, 24 to8 Lightning are struggling on defense. Offense is looking pretty good. You know, they had the last drive where they um kind of shot themselves in the foot there with the the fumbled snap. They really need a drive right here to put some points on the board before the halftime. Yeah. And one of the things coach talked about when you were talking to him on the the sideline still they came out a little flat. It was a long trip up here, but now hey, we’re we’re into this game. We need to see these guys really start making the plays. Yeah. Yeah. You can’t use the excuse it’s a young team anymore. You know, they they’ve played this is their fourth game. Yeah. You know, they know what it’s like to get hit. Yeah. And they need to start doing more the delivery of the hits. All right. So, number seven, Mild sets up the ball for this kickoff with just 3 minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the half. The past few kicks have gone pretty much straight to Davis on one bounce. Last time was a big hit by number 12 Briggs Brady as he broke through a wall of blockers. More of a short poochie kick as Romano falls on it at about the 35. Tried to make an over the shoulder catch, but did the smart thing and just fell on it. Yeah, heads up play there by Romano. Just get on the ball. Give your offense a chance here. Good, you know, decent field position at the 35, 30, 33, 35 yardd line, something like that and plenty of time on the clock to get some points on the board before half. Yeah, and as we’ve seen, the Lightning can have big bust out plays and we can score quick and try to get this ball back before halftime as we break the huddle. We don’t want to score too quick, right? As Freedom took that one down pretty fast and scored. It’s time to play keep away. All right, it’s going to be a keeper for Hope up the middle. He’s got a great lead block as he’s going to bounce it out to the near side. There’s nobody there. Brady’s going to try to get him. goes inside. Big hard hit by number 16 Blake McConnan for a big first down for your Lightning. Yeah, Trey Hook kind of fell on the ball there at the end of the play and might have got the wind knocked out of him a little bit. He’s trying not to have to come off the field, but I think he might have to. Let’s see what the official says here. Yep, he’s going to come out for a play. Saw your Welch will get his first snap at quarterback tonight. And don’t let that disappoint you. Saw Welch, a firecracker of an athlete out there, has a ton of experience uh at the quarterback position with the JV last year and did just an outstanding job as they break the huddle. And we heard from the sideline, double wing, double wing. So Welch lines up under center. It’s first and 10 for the Lightning. Going to be a toss to Griffith. There’s a big hole up the middle, but he’s going to try to take it outside. He’s going to try to outrun number one, and he gets about five yards. So, it’s going to be second in about maybe four. So, about a six-yd gain. And let me tell you something, you talk about Sawer Welch, he’s not the biggest guy on the field. In fact, he’s probably the shortest guy on the field. But man, he’s probably got the biggest heart. He pitches that ball to Griffith and then he immediately heads up field and finds somebody to block and blocks a man and and enables Isaac Griffith to spring that one to the outside. Yeah. So, great job. Great heads up. Just good football IQ by Welch right there as they’re back in the double wing. Second and about two. Going to be a pitch to Davis this time. There’s a little bit of running room. Runs into a wall, but I think we’re going to get the first down. And I really like the push from the O line. I mean, it’s, you know, didn’t didn’t get the first down, but you’re getting positive yardage and that’s that’s really important as an offense to stay ahead of the chains. Third and short here. You can do a lot of things because it’s obviously four down territory. So, really opens the playbook like you said earlier. All right, so we break the huddle. Welch with the high blue socks. I’m loving it. Lines up right up under center. Another toss pitch to Griffith again. Welch looking to find somebody to block. Nice tackle by number four. There’s a flag on the play, but he was taken down by Julian Harden. Yeah, they’re going to call holding on the Lightning. Let’s see if they take it or if they will decline it because it was a loss on the play. [Music] So, Romano comes into the game and Trey Hope back talking to Coach Smith. Looks like he’s going to be back in there as the Cowboys discuss what they’re going to do on this penalty. Like you said, do we get a an extra down but take the 10- yard loss or do they just get about a fourth and four for the Lightning if they decline it? Interesting. They’re going to take the penalty. That gives us an extra down. That’s an interesting call right there. So, it’s going to be I mean, it’s a third and long. It’s third and 12, but that’s two plays for the Lightning to get up field. And we’ve seen how explosive we can be now that Trey Hope’s back in there as well. So, we have Davis and Romano to the near side. And Hope drops back to pass. He’s looking for Watson over the middle. Nobody’s there and taken down. just really held on to the ball too long, but there was good downfield coverage, so it’s going to be fourth and long. Yeah, Watson was kind of held up at the line. Good job jamming him. He wasn’t able to get into his route fast enough and Hope just had nowhere to go with the football as it looked like it was kind of a one receiver read there. And yeah, you know, Coach Smith talked in the opener, we’ve gotten better in pass protection, but we’ve got to get even better. And you can see an example there. Hope just didn’t have much time. All right. So, there’s a timeout here. Coach Smith has them huddled up, discussing what they’re going to do for a very fourth and long. I’m going to assume with just 54 seconds left, he’s going to go for it. Yeah. I mean, I’d take a shot at the end zone here. I mean, might as well. Hey, we’ve seen the hook and ladder before. Uh yeah, last year late in the season, we saw that. Yeah, Evangel has doubt up some trickery in situations like this as we see Saw Welch kind of sneaking in. He’s going to be on the far side. This is a bit of a gamble. Yeah, as coach Smith has been known to gamble here. Fourth and about what 18 19 to go. Maybe try to draw him offside at least once. Give us a little bit of cushion. But we have Romano coming in motion lining up at the tight end position as Hope he’s going right over the middle to Watson. It’s a catch. And is that enough for the first down? be close. It That’s going to be a first down. Why did the official Oh, he’s he’s Yeah, sorry. We don’t have the the yard markers on the the stripes there on the sidelines and he was about four yards short. Oh my go. Yeah, my directional vision. Great play call. Great hands by Watson right there. Uh but it it’s going to be a turnover uh for the Lightning as the Cowboys have 47 seconds to see what they can do. Uh if there’s a timeout, lightning. So, we’ll take a quick break and be right back. You’re watching Lightning Football. Visit Helina Hollow Entertainment Farm and Pumpkin Patch in Helena, Alabama for a day well spent. With everything from zip lines and 100 foot slides to live llamas and kangaroos, Helina Hollow has some form of fun for everyone in the family. 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I know I know coach Romano is is really he’s kind of torn here. He’s he’s a as coach Smith will tell you. He’s the best one of the best defensive coaches if not the best defensive coach in eightman football, right? And you know he’s frustrated here as you know we’ve we’ve got the guys in position. They’re they’re not they’re not that far out of position. They’ve just got to get more physical. They’ve got to they’ve got to get that dog in them, you know? They’ve got to come with a vengeance and played with a controlled chaos where you’re controlling your man, your your running lane, your gap. And when you get to the ball carry, you’re coming with a vengeance. You’re coming with impact. Yeah. And that’s one of the things I we were riding up here with the family together. One of the things that I was talking about, yes, it’s a huge loss, Eli Black at the quarterback, but Eli on defense is such a playmaker as well. And we’re missing, like you said, that dog in there out there for our Lightning defense. And and there’s guys out there that are capable. Yes. It’s just time to hear some pads popping. All right. So, a little confusion for the Cowboys as Ken’s in the shotgun formation. Got one wide out. Kase Monttoingo looking to pass over the middle. He’s wide open. And that’s number four, Julian Harden, as Davis tries to chase him down, but that’s going to be another touchdown. Cowboys wide open. Yeah, David Johnson just not able to run him down there as nice play call. You know, we mentioned on our previous drive that Max Watson was kind of jammed at the line of scrimmage and wasn’t able to get into his route on one of those pass plays. Exact opposite there, right? He basically runs scott-free into the secondary and I don’t know if we were supposed to be in man there if David Johnson was supposed to have him manto man and he just ran right by him or what but just a a blown assignment. Yep. So Sterling Hershey back in there for the Lightning as they’re going to hand the ball. Nope. Call’s going to keep it but I don’t think he’s going to get in this time. So, no good on the two-point conversion as a Lightning defense, at least on the two-point held Callen from getting past the line of scrimmage. Yeah, first failed two-point conversion attempt of the night for the Cowboys. So, with 29 seconds left, the Cowboys are up 30-8. So, we’re going to have to make up a my math is correct, a 22point deficit. Uh but that is not unheard of for our Lightning. We’ve seen how explosive they can be tonight with hope on these great runs and some passes that have been on point. Uh we may go back to the air some more. Uh so we’re going to see what the Lightning does tries to do right here with just 29 seconds left in this half and then try to regroup regroup, but the good news is we get the ball coming back in the second half. Yeah. and really impressed with Jonathan Callen for the Freedom Cowboys, the quarterback. Senior stepping in for Jaylen Venttor. Uh, excuse me, Jonathan Callen is a junior stepping in for the senior Jaylen Vinter. He’s he’s been on point tonight running the football and and uh few nice passes tonight. They don’t, like Coach Smith said, they don’t throw it a lot, but when they do, it’s effective. So waiting for the referee whistle Davis deep again for the Lightning [Music] as Mild approaches the ball for the kick again. A low kick to the corner. It may go out of bounds and it does. So I believe we’ll take over at the 35. should be. So, 29 seconds. Do you go conservative here and just go into the the halftime to regroup or do you air it out? You know, kind of a risky move because if you turn the ball over, they’ve got a chance to score again before half. Um, all my philosophy in football comes from PlayStation football. So, I’m going deep hail mary every play. Uh but uh I you know Trey’s arm has been great tonight and his feet as well. Uh so I wouldn’t mind seeing at least on this first down play airing it out to see what happens. Uh but again like you said in the back of your mind you don’t want to give up another score uh this deep into the half. Yeah, you might see a a designed quarterback run here. Maybe a draw. You know if you if you bust it and get a big play then then maybe you know you got time to take a couple of shots at the end zone. So, all right. So, we break the huddle. We got two receivers to the near side. That’s Davis and Romano. What we’ve seen most of the night. Griffith flanking Hope. And they’re just going to down it out. Stay safe. Keep everybody safe. No more injuries. And that’s going to take us in to the second half. Yeah. Yeah, at halftime we’re going to watch our I actually I think the cheerleaders might not be performing at halftime tonight or auxiliary team is performing. Auxiliary team. Okay, unless they just decide to come up here in uniform and just watch the game. Probably not. All right. So, the clock winds down to zero. So, the score of the first half is the Freedom Cowboys 30. Your Evangel eight. Our first possession scores right away. offense playing great. One of the things Wesley and I kind of talked about during the break is the Cowboys just aren’t making any mistakes. Yeah, very well executed. Of course, we mentioned how good of a coach Kyle Collins is and um we’re seeing the fruits of his efforts, you know, pouring into this program for 21 years and he’s got a really good squad. I think the one game they lost, I don’t know who they played, but they got shut out. Oh, wow. and it was a decisive victory. Um, I’ll get it pulled up here in a second. Whoever that team is, man, I’m glad we’re not playing them. All right, it’s our Evangel cheerleaders. The cheerleaders getting ready to perform. Nice job there by the ECS Lightning cheerleaders. And as Matt said, now the the color guard will perform. Very nice performance from the Evangel color guard and uh just appreciate them sharing their talents with us week in and week out making the trip up here to Huntsville to put on that performance. uh an um Andrea Castleberry, Mandy Miller, and all the coaches for the color guard team pour a lot into that as well as uh April Brand with the with the cheerleaders. And coach Smith, Coach Smith will tell you that they might be the hardest practicing team indeed. In Evangel athletics is we now see a performance from the Freedom Cowboys cheer squad. See if we can get a better view there. They’re facing their home crowd. So, but uh Matt, wow, that was um Yeah, not a not a good performance if you like defense. Yeah. No, I I got to be I’m very surprised. I’m I’m as much as the the film that I’ve watched uh this week on, you know, on us and the Cowboys, I thought we were going to be a little bit more evenly matched. Uh, but I mean obviously the score shows it and and and we’re not making a lot of mistakes either outside of just fundamentals. We’re not tackling. We’re not, like you said, we’re not we’re not hearing those shoulder pads and helmets hit uh like we have seen in the past. And like you said, we’re very capable of doing that. We’ve seen that. We see we have plenty of guys out there can do it. Uh it’s just not coming together tonight. Yeah, they have have had a phrase here for a few years now as Evanchel, you know, reeled off 38 or 39 straight eightman games and it was it was hold the rope, you know, and and uh, you know, again, not making any excuses. This is a young team, only seven or seven seniors, I think. But I mean, Freedom’s only got 11 seniors, so it’s not like it’s a huge difference, but uh you know, those seven seniors and and some of the younger guys have just they’ve got to flip that switch, right? You know, and and decide that it’s time to play big boy football and and like we said earlier, start coming with some physicality, getting off blocks, you know, having good sound gap assignment. And um I I know I know they can do it. I know and I know this coaching staff can get them there. Uh but the it doesn’t get any easier. You know, we got Ezekiel uh on the road next week um about to kick off the conference play and um everybody’s going to be gunning for us. I mean, you know, if we don’t turn this around here, you know, we’re already one and two and uh so they’re going to really be drooling when we play teams later on the schedule. uh knowing that they this might be the best shot they’ve got to beat us. So, those guys have got to to step it up and, you know, not playing too bad on offense. I mean, just a couple of mistakes that have really stalled some drives or, you know, missed assignments in the in the pass pass blocking that have allowed Trey Hope to get sacked or or he needs to throw it away. So, um just some things that can be cleaned up, but I think at the end of the day, it all comes down to physicality. Exactly. Exactly. I can’t just can’t disagree with anything you just said as we have about six minutes uh left in this half. Um I don’t know if there’s a whole lot more to say and we want to take it over to our sponsors. Well, I I do want to um just mention a couple of sponsors here. First I want to mention um life science Plus, a few others here. I can get my uh my ads up here. Three amigos restaurant. love amigos in in Caller, I believe. Is that correct? Yeah. Those guys have been um around for years and and a a fan favorite of a lot of Evangel Lightning families and uh one of the best Mexican restaurants that you can uh attend here in the the Lightning area in Shelby County. Um, also want to mention uh Pinedale Gardens and I don’t have any uh I don’t have any underwriting info on Pinedale, but also want to mention there’s at least one or two more that I know I’m leaving out here. Uh, yes, Grace Fellowship Church in Clanton, Alabama. Several evangel families are members there as well as the carpet store and more. So, and as we always say, please, if you have products or services that you know any of our sponsors can provide, we ask you to please go by there and tell them you heard about them on an Evangel broadcast because I mean this broadcast right here, it’s expensive to put it on. I mean, we had to rent this scaffolding and we had to get here early and set it up. But these sponsors, you know, the the camera equipment that we have is is very nice that brings you these beautiful images week in and week out. And uh there’s a lot of other details that go into putting on a broadcast like this that uh the that these sponsors make possible. So, like I said, don’t just seek them out if you need their products or services, but tell them tell them you saw us or you saw them on the uh Evangel Lightning broadcast. There you see Eli Black throwing the ball down there with if I can get the camera on in there. So, we’ll see what kind of adjustments offensive and offensively and defensively the Lightning have made as we are, I guess, a little over two minutes away from second half. You know, I I guess it’s not warm enough for heat timeouts. They didn’t have any heat timeouts um in this game. It was quite warm earlier today, but it has cooled off a little bit. Not affecting either team. I haven’t really seen either team um winded or anything. But while we’ve got just under two minutes to go until the second half, we’ll um give you some words from those sponsors that we just mentioned and we’ll be right back. You’re watching Lightning Football. Looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate? Call Mandy Welch with Exit Realy Kahaba and trust the experience that counts. With over 17 years in this business, Mandy Welch with Exit Realy Kahaba has sold homes, flipped homes, and helped countless families and investors achieve their real estate dreams. Whether it’s your first home, your forever home, or your next big investment, she’s got you covered. Call Mandy Welch at Exit Realy Kahaba today because your next move deserves to be the right move. There’s no one-sizefits-all when it comes to planning for your future. Chandler Financial Group understands that your financial goals are unique and your needs are going to change at various stages of your life. 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Contact them today at craigdoris.com. [Music] [Music] All right, we are back with just 15 seconds before the clock gets down to zero for the kickoff of the second half. Hopefully with lightning having a little fire underneath them as they are down 30-8 over the Freedom Cowboys as we are here in Huntsville, Alabama. Uh, and I know we got a lot of fans, uh, not only around the state, but around the country that are watching this, friends and family. Uh, we need your cheers right now. We need all the energy that we can get, uh, to get a good comeback. And look, we’re just 22 points down. Eightman football. That’s in the blink of an eye as our Evangel get ready to receive the football for this second half. Ben Davis deep. Yeah, tremendous advantage here for the offense to try to, you know, create some momentum and go down here and score. That will fire up the defense. You get a stop and the next thing you know, like you said, you’re right back in this thing. All right, so here comes the approach. Little bit deeper kick as Davis going to be able to pick it up. get a few yards, but taken down almost immediately at about the 30 yd line as the offense hustles on down to the field for first and 10. Yeah, Trey Hope had a really hot start running and throwing the football. We need to see that replicated here early in the second half to get this Lightning offense going. Uh but he can’t do it all by himself, you know. We need the line blocking giving him some time in the passing game, opening up holes for him and Isaac Griffith and those runners as the Lightning spread them out here. Yep. So, Hope alone in the backfield as Watson on the far side. He drops back to pass looking deep to Davis. It’s going to be thr well overthrown. A nice tight spiral, but well overthrown. It’s going to be second and 10. Yeah, just got to put some air under that one. Um, as you can see, he’s got an arm. Mhm. But he outthrew Ben Davis by about 10 yards there. And Davis was there. So we we know we can outrun this this coverage. And again, I like seeing us spread the field. Do that again and have a draw play for Hope to run up the middle. Uh because there’s really nobody over the middle of the field as we have two receivers to the near side. Griffith flanking Hope as Hope’s going to try to run it up the middle. going to get hit and take down by number that’s number 16 McConnet for could be making that third and five. Yep. Third and five or a short five maybe four and a half but nice hole there. Yeah, Isaac Griffith leading the way brings up third and manageable for the Lightning. So, our receiver split to the far side bringing Romano in motion. It’s a fake handle. Runs into our own guy, dropped the ball, but then falls right on top of it. Just miscommunication for the Lightnings. That’s going to bring up fourth and five early on. Yeah, interesting to see what Coach Smith is going to do here as that’s a loss on fourth on third down. It brings up fourth and long. Looks like Coach Smith might be going for it. He is. All right, so let’s see if this livens up this football this Lightning offense on fourth and long as they break the huddle in a quick hurry to get to the line and they draw him off sides. That’s going to make it a fourth and short designed play right there for the Lightning as the defense jumps. Going to make it probably fourth and two, fourth and one maybe. I think that’s the first hard count the Lightning have had tonight. So nice call there by coach Smith to get the Cowboys to jump. Yeah, I wouldn’t mind seeing the double wing and just quarterback sneak it up the middle as we see Nick Sanders in the game for the first time as a wide out. Griffith out. All right, so fourth of two. The sideline coming to life over here for the Lightning. Underestimate how big this play is right here. Hopes looking to go straight up the middle. He hit immediately, but where are they going to mark it? A hard hit by number 18. Number 18, Elijah Brown. Is it a right foot or left foot spot? Yeah, he’s looking at his right foot. So, I’m hoping yes. So, that’s going to be a that’s going to be a big first down. Lightning took a hard hit by Elijah Brown. Yeah, he didn’t really follow his blockers as Max Watson was there, you know, leading the way and he kind of deviated from that path that Watson was on and ran right into a couple of Freedom guys. But that brought a lot of life to the sideline. Something we haven’t really seen all night as we have three receivers to this near side. Griffith, Cruz, and Davis. And Hope dropped back to pass. Here comes the rush. It’s going to be a deep pass to Davis as there’s a little bit of fighting back and forth. Overthrown. And there here comes the flag. Oh wow. It’s a late flag, but it looks like it’ll be defensive pass interference. Maybe. Maybe. Let’s see what the call is there. Both back and forth. Kind of a late call there, but they were both kind of just hand fighting. I don’t know if you got that on the replay or not, but if um it looked like both guys were just kind of hand fighting a little bit. I didn’t really see any defensive pass interference, but that is the call. Maybe they say that he was being held a little bit with that hand fighting and the ball too much. So, I didn’t see that part of the play. Yeah, I was watching them all the way. I guess I guess the the officials saw some, you know, just grabbing him enough to slow him down in the route and that’s what the reason he threw the flag. Yeah. So, that’s going to be another first down Lightning as we again in the two wide out set to the near side. Yeah. And I that might be the key here for the offense in the second half is Ben Davis. Yes. because he has been open in routes all night. That might be a mismatch that we have. So Hope going to try to follow Griffith up the middle. Hit by number 65 for about a twoyd gain. That’s Luke Clardy, a junior. Brings up about second and seven. Yeah, they good tough run in there by the quarterback following his blockers. Not a lot there. Uh but the the offense is getting some push and that’s what you want to see. Um get some confidence as we got second and a long seven or a short eight coming up. Hard snap. Hope gets a hold of it. kind of a long slant really overthrown. Davis was wide open. I’m not sure if Yeah, he was open again. They’ll go back to that. Yeah, you know that I think the timing just got disrupted and you know that’s that’s the inexperience there of hope. You know, he gets his feet set and makes that pass. That’s a completion he can throw. I mean, he’s got plenty of arm that Sorry. Go ahead. No, no. That ball just got back onto him in a hurry. I don’t know if he wasn’t ready for it. Uh good snap. Just back on him in a hurry. as it brings up third and seven for the Lightning. Two tights this time for the Lightning. And Hope going to try to run it up the middle again for about two or three yards. It’s going to be fourth and five. Maybe a fourth and long four. Yeah, designed counter quarterback counter play that time and Hope’s just got to give his those pulling linemen a little more time to engage in their blockers before he hits it up in the hole. Yeah, and that’s just experience when those linemen are pulling. Um you don’t have a lot of time really practice that in practice to get used to it as they approach the line on this fourth and four. Another huge momentum play for the Lightning. There’s the snap. He’s rolling out the pass. He’s looking. He’s looking. He’s going to try to tuck it and run. And I think he’s going to get the first down. Yes, he did. Yes. Great awareness of where the marker was. So, another big fourth down conversion for your Evangel. He got two or three more yards than I thought he got. Yes, he did. So, nice drive here to open the second half for the Lightning. eating up uh almost four minutes so far. Couple of fourth down conversions. Yeah, just chipping away as Trey Hope takes the play to the huddle. And the biggest thing is we’re keeping the freedom offense off the field. Yes, indeed. Unbalanced look this time. Not really spreading the offense out. It’s going to be a fake handoff. Looking to pass over the middle to Davis. There he is. Great hands. He’s going to stay on his feet. He’s still on his feet if he’s trying to break tackles all the way down to about the 10 yd line. Great awareness there in the route by Ben Davis that time as he kind of broke it off a little bit more and came back to the ball because he saw there was safety help behind the cornerback and he got in front of that safety and was able to make the catch and get up field for a huge gain. Yeah, and this is playing out just like what you were talking about. Getting the ball in Ben Davis’s hands, uh, I think has been key so far, at least in this first drive, uh, and mixing up the plays. Hope getting some confidence there in his passing. That’s a big help as well as they break the huddle. He’s going to be alone in the back field. Two tights again for the Lightning. He’s looking to pass again. He’s going to go the opposite side and in and out of the hands of Davis. Great play call as his foot slides up under the fence. Yeah, cornerback was just completely fooled on that route. They went back to the flag route that time and the defender was lost. That went right through the hands of Davis. I know he wishes he had that one back. Yeah, and I think he’ll get another opportunity for that. But, uh, totally different offense coming out than we saw in the first half. uh taking it to the air as Hope gets the play call from the sideline as the clock stops at se uh 7:27 and it’s uh going to be second and 10. So we have an opportunity for a first down here. So Griffith flanking Hope as Davis and Cruz are on the near side. Cruz goes in motion. It’s going to be a handoff up to Griffith. He finds a hole behind Big Max Watson and takes it down. It’s hard to see maybe to the five yd line. So that’s going to be second and about three or third and three. I can’t see. Love to see Isaac Griffith, the young sophomore, really coming into his own there at the running back position as he gets right in behind Max Watson and gets lost by the defense and huge game. Brings up what is this? I believe in third. Yeah, cuz we had the incomplete pass to Davis to open up the the first down. All right, so we’re knocking on the door. I think I say this every time it’s third down, but a big third down play as we have Romano. Big shift to the line. They’re going to be a quarterback sneak. Hope trying to move the line. 40 still on his feet. He going to pop outside. I think they probably should have blown the wheel whistle earlier, but um yeah, his forward progress was stopped, but I guess because he was still trying to fight out of the tackle, he’s going to bring up fourth and short. Yes, he’s a little steady or unsteady coming to the sideline for the play. I wouldn’t be surprised if we call a timeout, but Freedom Defenders down. Okay, that looks like it might be cramps. Yeah. Yeah, that foot goes up. I mentioned earlier both teams don’t seem to be affected by the heat, but good to see that young man get up. number four. That’s Julian Harden, sophomore. Don’t run too fast, Julian. That cramp will come right back. All right, so that was an interesting quarterback uh sneak didn’t really affect the Cowboys too much as it’s fourth and short. I can’t tell how far it is to go. Yeah, looks like it’s I got a telephone. All right. So, the white out spread to the near side as Hope drops back. He’s looking to pass again. He sees Davis. Oh, in and out of the hands. He was wide open. Just a pinch out of reach as the Cowboys will take over. First down. Deep deep in their own territory. But a great opening drive for the Lightning. And Davis, I think, just frustrated. Yeah. tried to make a one-handed catch there because that’s all he could do. Yeah. Uh ball just a little wide and you know uh golly, I want to say Kemp Swords. I mean, I look at the kid, he looks he looks so much like Kemp Swords, but Trey Hope there is just, you know, he’s a baseball player. You know, he’s he’s a gunslinger and and uh he just got to learn to take a little bit off of that guy’s wide open. Throw it right at him. You know, you don’t have to lead him so much. All right. So, they’re calling for Trey Hope to get back in there as Alex Martin heads to the other side. Let’s see if the defense can make some magic deep. Let’s get some pressure on this quarterback. Run blitz. Kaylin trying to get outside as we do get some penetration up there, but he breaks through there for about an eight yd gain. I thought we had him in the back field. David Johnson had him back there just, you know, number three. He looks like a running back. Yeah. Playing quarterback. He’s a big strong fella. And he just ran through the the arm tackle of David Johnson that time. So that brings up second and short for the Cowboys as this Lightning defense is trying to make a spark. Hope going out to the far side with their receiver. Kalan’s going to keep it himself. He’s getting around the end as Romano does a big tackle. may not. They’re going to say third down. So, great tackle by Romano getting up there and making a tackle for third and short. I don’t think they’re going to throw the ball here. So, I’d like to see coach Romano dial up another run blitz like he did when when Johnson got in the back field and had a chance uh to sack or to hit the quarterback for a loss on Ken on Kalen earlier. Yeah. So, we’re now under five minutes. Uh, very quick third period thus far as our defense is trying to really really hold him right here. Be a great for a nice turnover for our Lightning as Ken’s going to pitch it deep to Brown. He’s going to get the first down as he’s talk taken down by Nibbons, but not after about a six-yd gain. Good job there by Cruz Romano to set the edge and get him to to cut back and linebacker help was there. Just slow getting there. Yeah. As Woods comes out for a breather, Eli McDonald replaces him at nose. Your score still 30-8. Freedom Cowboys on top. Number 19, Tim Zazer, splits out to the far side for the Cowboys as we’re bringing some guys. Here comes Davis with a big hit right through the lane untouched. That’s going to be about a three or four yardd loss or they’re just going to say about a yard loss from the contact. And that was and that was David Johnson there with Johnson. Yeah, I said Davis. Yep. And and it was a run blitz. Yeah. So great play by him to get there, make the hit, and wrap up. Yeah. So, one of the first times, maybe second time tonight, the Cowboys kind of behind the chain, but like you said, Coach Romano uh shaking some things up with our defense. We’d like to see some more of that as they now have two wide outs, one to the near side, one to the far side. Martin scrambles over to make sure he’s on number 12, Briggs Brady. as Ken’s going to try to take it up the middle for himself. Eli McDonald in there and Romano trying to take him down as he’s still on his feet. And that’s going to be about a 13yd first down for the Cowboys. It just takes more than one guy to bring this tough tough quarterback down. The junior that is Jonathan Kalin. As the clock still winds down, we’re getting close to three minutes here left in the third period. The Lightning looking to make some magic happen on this defense. Says first and 10. Elijah Carr now the running back in for the Cowboys. Lightning bring five. Nonsens trying to make some noise in the back field and Ken tries to break loose hard but Jackson Lden and Max Watton there Watson there to take him down but not after about a two or three yardd gain so it’s going to bring up about second and eight. Yeah, good job that time they they dialed up another run blitz there. Good coverage in the back end. Ken had to run it. Got some positive yardage. these these blitzes though have got to start turning into tackles for loss. Yes. All right. So, Callen in the shotgun formation taking a little extra time here as they’re going to the outside. Martin just beat to the outside as Carr is trying to take it all the way down. And that’s going to be another touchdown Cowboys as we just bit hard on the inside. Yeah, option play all the way. Nice job there holding it to the last second by Callen. Thought he might have actually been past the line of scrimmage when he pitched it, but guess he wasn’t. Yeah. Or cuz it did. It looked like almost a forward right forward lateral. So that makes your score 36-8 with a minute 53 left in this third period as the Cowboys attempt a two-point conversion. We’ve seen this many times. They have the four white outs. Two to the far side, two to the near side. Counter back draw. Yep. He steps back. He’s looking to pass a little out route as we get our hand. Oh, great catch by Jeremiah Butler as I thought we had a hand in there to knock it down. Yeah, good coverage out there by Cruz Romano. Just a perfect pass. And I’m really impressed with the junior quarterback Callen. Yeah, he making it happen a lot on his feet, but when they drop back and he passes, he makes it count. And just a great catch because like you said, Romano was right there as our receiving team getting some final instructions before they go out there. Looks like we’re going to have Trey Hope deep this time for the Lightning as Davis may have been a little shaken up on that fourth down play in our last drive. Yeah, I think I think I see Davis on the bench over there. No, that’s uh that’s not Davis. That’s Nonsens. Davis is walking. There he is. Yeah, he’s he looks to be okay. Yeah. All right. So, the Cowboys trot out onto the field and their standard tight set before they kick. That’s Landon Mild about six yards from the ball. Little short pooch kick as Hope comes up with the ball strong. We have a wall of blockers there. Look like we had our backs to them though as we’ll have good field position at about the 36 37 yd line. But it looked like a little confusion after Trey Hope picked up the ball. All right, so Davis is back in the ball game as we come out with a minute 47 left in this third period. Really cannot have any more mistakes or turnovers right here. Yeah, and this is a, you know, this is where you just got to suck it up and and and really try. You’re basically, I don’t want to say playing for pride here. I mean, there’s still a lot of time left, but you got to keep executing. Yeah. So, Hope rolls out looking for Davis over the middle. Oo, in and out of the hands again as Davis looks like he may be hurt, but he gets up quickly. Tough kid, but it was a pass to Davis the whole time. Yeah. And he was open again. He had a a step on the defender. Big number 12 there in coverage. That’s uh Briggs Brady. just a sophomore. He’s been the main guy covering Ben Davis tonight. I say go right back at him if Davis is able. All right, so Davis and Romano to the near side. There’s the snap. It’s going to be hand off to Griffith up the middle looking for a hole. Still on his feet as he’s moving. Look like he got a face mask, but uh it’s going to be about a nine yd gain which brings up third and one for the Lightning. Great run. Yeah, tough running by the sophomore there, Isaac Griffith. Coach said he’s not the biggest guy, but he’s solid muscle and he showed it on that run. Yes, he did. So, third and short here for the Lightning as the clock rolls at a minute 09, a minute 08. Again, Davis and Romano to the near side. Griffith flanking Hope. Great snap. Hope looking up the middle. He’s got the first down. Taken down after about a six-yd gain right at midfield. So, first down Lightning. Yeah, Hope went down a little awkward awkwardly on that tackle and gets up limping a little bit. Hope he’s okay. So, he gets the play. opponent. Yeah, he gets the play from the sideline as we’re rolling under 40 seconds here in this third period. First and 10 from the 49 yd line as Davis and Romano go to the far side this time. Another inside handoff to Griffith right up the middle. A lot of room to run. Still on his feet. He gets about a 12 13 yd gain. Goes down awkwardly as well, but that’s going to be a first down for the Lightning. Isaac Griffith having his most productive game of the season here in game number four. I’m guessing we’re going to let this clock run out. If there’s 10 seconds, nine rolling down to the final period of this uh football game between the Freedom Cowboys out of Huntsville and your Evangel Lightning. Yeah. And before we go to the break, I’ll say our third quarter period sponsors are Mandy Welch with Exit Realy Kahaba and Team Massie Properties. We’ll take a break and be right back. You’re watching Lightning Football. Locally owned and operated by the Bates family, Clanton Tractor and Equipment has been a K Cabota tractor dealer since 1988. Located in Clanton on Highway 31, just south of historic downtown Clanton. From minor bumps to unexpected injuries, Southern Immediate Care is here with expert care when it matters most. If you aren’t feeling well, visit Southern Immediate Care in Helina from 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 7 days a week at 225 Helina Marketplace. When lightning strikes, call Craig Doris State Farm, your local neighborhood agent. With over 20 years of service, Craig and his team are ready to help you navigate life storms. They provide customized planning and risk management to protect your property, provide financial relief and loss, and realize long-term investment goals. Contact them today at credorris.com. All right, we are back for the final quarter of this game as the Lightning have first and 10 as Hope is in the standard shotgun position. Griffith flanking him to his near side and he’s going to hand off to Griffith again, but they got great pursuit right up the middle. Two guys, that’s number 65, Luke Clardy. And I already forgot the number that I saw, but um there was no chance right there from the get-go. Yeah, good penetration by the Freedom Cowboys defense. They got six men up there at the line of scrimmage and the Lightning just not able to block them. All right, so that’s going to make it second and 12 for the Lightning. [Music] It’s a 30point deficit right here. As we break the huddle, two receivers to the far side. Hope drops back. It’s kind of a draw play, but they were ready for it. Taken down immediately for a no gain. That’s going to be third and 12 for the Lightning. Yeah, Coach Smith draws up or calls a screen play, middle screen there for Max Watson. Another good job by the Cowboys defense to get off of their blocks and kind of sniff that one out early. Yep. So, third and long situation right here for the Lightning as they break the huddle. Watson’s going to be the tight end on the far side. Hope again dropping back to pass looking for Davis. I think there was a little confusion on the route. Yeah, Davis put his hands on his head there at the end of the route. I think he and Hope were not on the same page on that one. Hope threw the out. Yeah, Davis ran the out and up. Yep. And a little bit tougher pass there for Hope kind of across his body as it’s fourth and long for the Lightning. Pope John. Yeah, Lightning just not able to put a complete drive together. You know, they’ve got they’ll have a lot of positive yards on a drive, but then, you know, a play or two stalls a drive out, just not able to put together a complete series. Yeah. All right. Hope takes a snap, drops it, picks it up, looking to roll. He’s going to try to find a man deep. It slipped out of his hand as he was rolling to the far side. That’s going to be a turnover with the Cowboys taking over on downs. I think he just got a little flustered there after the drop. Yeah, it’s just the little things, you know, with the execution. First, you got to get the snap. It all starts with the snap. All starts with the snap. So, the Lightning again trying to stop the Cowboys. All right. So, they come straight to the line as Callen in the standard shotgun formation. Brown flanking him and they’re kind of sprinting to the far side. kind of looking to take it up the middle as Venable’s there to take him down, but not after about nine n yards. Going to make it second short. Really impressed with the physical brand of football that the Cowboys are playing with. You know, like I said, I think at halftime, they they lost their first game of the season 38 to zip. Wow. To South Haven. I guess that’s uh is that Mississippi? Mississippi. Yeah. All right. Callen waiting for the ball. He’s going to try to stretch it over here to the near side. Louden brings him back in. That allows number seven David Johnson for a tackle. But I still think they’re going to get the first down. The ref taking a look back at the chains. Yeah, they get the first down, but I’m really impressed. Jackson Lden, textbook defensive end play. Two guys blocking him. He still maintains that discipline and that edge to keep that runner on his inside shoulder. That’s what you got to do as a defensive end. Don’t let him get to the outside. It was a short game, but enough for the first down. Y. So, the Cowboys come out. Two wide outs to the far side as we’re under nine minutes now of the fourth quarter. And Ken again looking to take it up the middle. Venable with a good hard hit. Takes it down low, but not after about a four-yd gain from the quarterback. Going to bring up second and six. Venable another one of those new players on the Evangel roster this year. getting more and more playing time as the season goes on. Stuck his shoulder in there and his helmet against a much bigger runner and brought the guy down, but not before he got four yards. Yeah. Yeah. So, the Cowboys taking their time, allowing the clock to run down. They have a wide out to the far side. That’s number 19 Tim Cazer Zazer for the Cowboys. It’s going to be a handoff to Carr. He kind of slips, but right there just to make sure he’s not going anywhere. It’s 34. Max Watson going to make it second or third and about the same. About third and four and a half, five. Lightning not quitting on defense there. They’ve had a tough a tough bit of sledding to this point. really haven’t stopped the the Cowboys all night. So, they be a huge confidence builder if they can get a stop on this drive. Yeah. Play all four quarters to the end of the whistle. That’s two men in motion. No flag as Call’s going to keep it to the outside. Stiff arms, but that Nons brings him down. Only about a two- yard gain. So that’s going to make it fourth and four. Great job Nven holding on. More good defensive end there. Defensive end play there by Nons. So the clock still runs. We’re under seven minutes here as the Cowboys are eating up as much clock as possible. Callen, their quarterback, still in this game. Started the game. Just a great athlete. Big guy out there. Makes it hard to bring down as he’s going to be all alone in the back field. Yeah, he’s going to keep it here. Lightning need to blitz. Oh no, they took too much time. Wow. That’s going to add a little degree of difficulty to this fourth down. Yes. So, that’s the danger in taking, you know, taking your time is sometimes you take too much time. Yep. So, that’s going to make it about fourth and eight. Well, we’ll call it fourth and nine for the Cowboys. Let’s see if they air it out here. You know, I don’t know. I’d have to go back and look how many in a row Evangel won over Freedom. It’s at I think we’re at at least nine or 10. Oh, wow. All right. So, Callum looking to stop and go. Yep. It’s deep. Turn your back, Davis. Turn your back. Oh, great defense. No flag. Yeah, Davis keeping up with him step for step. If he’d had his shoulders turned, he may have had a chance to to pick it, but uh it’s good that it was an incomplete pass and we can take over on downs at about midfield. So, first down Lightning, first stop of the night for the defense halfway through the fourth quarter. Yeah, we’ll take that to build upon as we continue to play. And these guys again, playing through four quarters is so key. All right, so Sawyer Welch back in at quarterback. We have the double wing. Griffith and Davis. fake pitch inside handoff, but the Cowboys right there to stop it because that’s big number 90. I don’t have a number. Yeah, I don’t have a number for them, but great stop by the Cowboys and great experience right here for Sar Welch. Uh we don’t know how long Eli may be out and obviously we want hope to be as healthy as possible, but we got to build upon uh this experience for Saw Welch as we move into the future for the Lightning. So they break the hole in the double wing behind the chains about second and 14. So Welch pitches to Griffith. He’s trying to get outside. There’s not a lot of blockers there as he’s taken down, but that’s number 20 and Sterling Hershey. So that’s going to make it a long third third and long for your Lightning. Nothing really popping for the offense right now. Great pursuit. from number 20 there. Griffith had it in his mind the whole time he was getting to the outside to the corner. Yeah. And it looked for a minute he might get there, but number 20 turned on the Jets. Yes, he did. Sterling Hershey, another one of those seniors that Yeah. was probably just a wee babe the last time the Cowboys beat the Lightning. David Johnson now in the game at the wing back position as he and Welch discussed the play. [Music] Somebody blowing a whistle. Is the delay of game? No, I don’t know if that was a a fan or I guess I guess that was delay of game. All right, so they’re ready to go now as it’s third and about 18 for the Lightning. Little inside handoff. Bobbled, dropped, and I think Griffith fell on it. It’s going to make it for fourth and long. Just nothing really going our way on that offensive drive as it’s going to be about fourth and 16, fourth and 17. [Music] So Trey Hope back in the game 410 rolling off the clock as Lightning looking to punt here. They don’t have a deep guy playing it safe as Hope. Short punt, but it’s going to take a lightning bounce down to about the 25. So overall, not a bad punt for Trey Hope as the Cowboys take over with 353 left in this ball game. I’m going back and trying to find the last time Freedom defeated the Lightning. There was a period where they reeled off several in a row back in the early days of Lightning football. So, the Cowboys keeping their starting lineup in there, counting at quarterback and Elijah Brown at the running back position. So, it’s a handoff to Brown up the middle. Had a guy hit him immediately, but taken down by Lden and number seven, that’s David Johnson. hit immediately by Cruz Romano, but he broke the tackle for about a nine yard eight yardd gain. It’s going to be second two. All right, they break the huddle. Wide out to the far side. That’s number one Jeremiah Butler. Number two, Elijah Carr now flanking. So a little counter step hand off to Carr and nowhere to go as he’s hit hard. Is that Cruz Romano? No, that’s Venible with the tackle taken down hard for a loss. So that’s going to bring up third and about four. So the clock rolls on under three minutes here left in this football game. Freedom Cowboys 38 and your Evangel Lightning 8. So, you have to go back to 2010, the last time the Lightning lost to the Cowboys. Now, they haven’t played every year. There was a a few years in there they didn’t play, but uh we want to know what the score was, huh? 38 to zero. Oh my word. So, very identical here. And Wesley, you were three years old as number 20, the Sterling Hershey. Big gain around the side down to about the 50. So, it was about a 22 yd gain as they’re moving the chains. Yeah, I don’t see Coach Collins taking the starters out for this one. Like I said, this has been a a long time coming for the Cowboys. Years of frustration pin up. All right, so the the referee starts the clock. He’s already hugging players over there on the sideline. All right. So, I believe now they have in number seven, Landon Mild, who’s been kicking off for them at quarterback. He’s been their backup. He’s got some legs on him as well. As he takes the ball up the middle, he’s going to sprint over the middle. He’s got a lot of room. Hit initially by Venable and then tacked on by number 34 Max Watson for a big 22 yd gain. So, as soon as I said that, I don’t think there’s any starters in. All right, so the clock’s getting close to that twominute mark. That’s a big rush. 2016, I believe that both of those are starters. Yeah, that’s Sterling Hershey. Usually a wine out. 22 is a starter. Yeah, they still got a few starters in there. All right, so they’re going to break the huddle with under two minutes left to go in this ball game, folks. A wide out to the far side. And again, Mild looking to make some running room up the middle, dancing around, hit initially by Cruz, but falls forward about seven yards. Yeah, kind of a microcosm of the game right there. You know, you look like you’ve got him pretty well hemmed up and he still gets seven yards and the Lightning just not penetrating on defense and and blowing up plays and getting tackles for loss. Right. All right. So, number 19 Tim Zer again the wide out to the far side and they have Sterling Hershey pretty deep. I wouldn’t be surprised if they down it right here. It’s under a minute now. Back judge puts his hand up. There’s the snap. And there’s the kneel. Yep. So, they take the knee. Doesn’t look like the Lightning’s going to call any timeouts to stop this. Cowboys have already lined up on the sideline ready to shake hands. Yeah. So, as we get a celebration in Huntsville tonight, yes, there will and duly deserved. Great. Yeah, well played game. I mean, there a few penalties in the first half. Um, but great sportsmanship by both teams. Oh, indeed. And Coach Smith and the coaching staff will go back to work again next week as it doesn’t get any easier. No, it doesn’t. The Freedom Cowboys have already played Ezekiel, which we go to on the road again next week. Uh, the Cowboys defeated Ezekiel, in case you’re wondering, if I can get the schedule pulled up here. Oh, come on. Oh, here we go. Cowboys defeated Ezekiel 38 to nothing. Wow. Well, it’s been a a great night as far as the atmosphere here. Uh what a pleasure to get to call this game. Definitely tough tough loss. Lots of lots of lessons learned and I think Coach Smith just kind of nailed it when you were talking to him at the beginning. We just came out flat and we just kind of stayed there uh a little too long. uh great initial opening drive, but just the the Cowboys uh just their their rushing game and even when they pass it, they were just they were on point. Yeah. And there was a lot of positives here. They had several drives. They just, you know, couldn’t put a complete drive together. And then on defense, you know, story of the game, as we said, is Freedom just was just the more physical team tonight. Yeah. And uh and you know, a lot bigger guys it looked like to me. Um, but you got to come with with authority at the point of attack and uh the coaches will will get them there. They will grow from this. They will uh go back to work next week because conference play starts down in Wumpka, Alabama. So for Wesley Holmes and Matt Holmes, Kirk Stallings our assistant producer, I’m Scott Stafford and we will sign off tonight from Huntsville, Alabama. Our time is up. We thank you for yours. You’ve been watching Evangel Lightning Football on the ECS Athletics YouTube channel. Good night everybody and strike lightning.