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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

MOODY – With a spot in the ACSC State Championship on the line, the Evangel Lightning left no doubt on the road against East Central Homeschool.

The Lightning turned stellar defense into points on the offensive end of the field to storm out to a 27-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, and they never looked back from there in a 41-13 win.

Evangel set the tone quickly in the first quarter, not allowing East Central to find any momentum on either side of the ball.

The Lightning scored their first touchdown when Hunter Atkins busted through the middle of the line for a long touchdown run to put them on top 6-0 with 8:16 left in the first quarter.

That became the first of two scores in 10 seconds, as Harris Black gave the ball right back to Evangel’s offense.

One play later, Christian Chapman caught a quick bubble screen before cutting back inside and going the distance to make it 12-0 with 8:06 left in the opening quarter.

The onslaught continued when Black picked up another interception on the next defensive series.

Yet again, Evangel capitalized with a short 2-yard touchdown play from Judah Thompson to make it 20-0 with 7:23 still left in the quarter.

Then it was Hayden Black’s turn. He picked off an East Central pass on the ensuing drive, which led to Atkins reeling off his second lengthy touchdown run of the quarter for a 27-0 advantage.

The Lightning didn’t score again in the opening quarter, but it didn’t take long to do so in the second quarter.

After the defense made another big play to force a turnover on downs, Atkins found a crease and sprinted up the sideline for another long touchdown and a 34-0 lead in the first three minutes of the second quarter.

The game quieted down from there drastically, but in the third quarter, Evangel added to its already insurmountable lead with one last touchdown when Will Welch hit Hayden Black to make it 41-0.

East Central added two touchdowns late, but they weren’t nearly enough.

With a spot in the ACSC State Championship on the line, the Evangel Lightning left no doubt on the road against East Central Homeschool.Evangel will now have one more game in the regular season before battling Ezekiel in a rematch for the championship.