Kingwood Christian gave a good fight, but the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights (7-1) ended up being too much to handle in the Lions’ 28-14 loss.

The Knights started off strong on their opening drive, which ended with Jeremiah Tullidge throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ashton McLeod.

Kingwood did not back down, though, with Daniel Reeves making an interception later in the first quarter. After the interception, the Lions drove the ball 66 yards in seven plays and scored off a pass from Andrew Steele to Jeremy Helfinstein. With the game tied, Tuscaloosa Academy quickly took the lead again when Xavier Houston rushed for a 4-yard touchdown in a drive that took only four plays.

Later in the second quarter, the Knights got on the board again with Tullidge making a 17-yard touchdown pass to Alston Poellnitz to extend the lead, 21-7.

A great defensive play came in the last play of the first half, when Jacob Patrick-MacReady pulled in an interception and took it back 90-yards for a Kingwood touchdown. The score made it a close game at the half with the Lions only down by a touchdown, 21-14.

The Lions started the second half with an impressive ten-minute drive; however it ended with a heart-breaking fumble near the one-yard line. The rest of the third quarter went scoreless with the Lions playing tremendous defense.

In the fourth quarter, Kingwood stopped a fourth-down play with the Knights only 10 yards from a touchdown. The Lions were unable to take advantage, being in bad field position, and were forced to punt.

Tuscaloosa Academy started the subsequent drive on Kingwood’s 24-yard line and scored on the first play when Tullidge connected with Mcleod.

The Lions (0-7, 0-4) host Prattville Christian for homecoming Friday.