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By CHRIS MEGGINSON | Special to the Reporter

TUSCALOOSA – Calera High School battled a 6A Tuscaloosa City Schools opponent for the second-straight week, falling on the road at Central High School, 47-21.

It was the Eagles’ first visit to Central as a 6A program. The last time the two teams met was in 2017 as Class 5A, Region 3 foes.

“We didn’t play very well, and that goes back to me,” Calera coach Scott Rials said. “We didn’t have a lot of juice when we started the game and got ourselves into a hole.”

The Eagles had 497 yards total offense in the loss, but failed to convert in key opportunities.

“We’ve got to finish drives,” Rials said. “We moved the ball very well but shot ourselves in the foot with some turnovers. Our guys didn’t quit. We could have rolled over at halftime and given up 80, but we have a lot of fight.

“I’m proud of our guys. Our coaches are coaching hard. We’re going to continue to grow and do some good things. It’s a long road, but we’re not afraid of a little work to get the train back on the right track,”

Trailing 16-0, AJ Johnson rolled out to his left for a 4-yard quarterback keeper and Calera touchdown with 4:22 left in the first quarter. The Eagles clipped the Falcons’ lead to 16-7, but Central responded to carry a 33-7 lead into halftime.

After the Falcons made it a 40-7 game, Calera found the north end zone on a 1-yard sneak by Johnson with 4:40 left in the third quarter.

Both teams swapped touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Elijah Bates hauled in a 21-yard touchdown reception with 7:08 to play to make it 47-20 after the extra point. The play was set up by a 23-yard pass to Bates. He finished with 55 yards on four catches.

Johnson completed 26-of-40 passes for 326 yards. He also rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

Five players had more than 50 yards receiving, led by Cayden Specks’ 80 yards on three catches. Demetrius Davis had seven receptions for 75 yards, while KD Young added 68 yards on four catches, and Braxton Brooks caught five passes for 58 yards.

Calera (0-2) will travel to Benjamin Russell next Friday, Sept 6 to open Class 6A, Region 3 play.