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The Calera Eagles earned their first win since October 2022 as they used a stellar showing by quarterback AJ Johnson to hold off Pelham in a thrilling county battle. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By SARAH TURNER | Special to the Reporter

CALERA – A stellar offensive showing from Calera quarterback AJ Johnson put the Eagles on top of the Pelham Panthers 35-33 on Friday, Sep. 13 for their first win in nearly two years.

“We are excited, our kids and coaches, they have fought and fought and fought,” said Calera head coach Scott Rials, who is in his first season with the Eagles after being hired in December.

Both teams came into the game winless with region positioning on the line.

“We’ve been close, we’ve done some good things, but we’ve been hurt by turnovers and penalties and different things but tonight, offense, defense, special teams, we all came together,” said Rials.

The Eagles started out run-heavy, striking early with Johnson’s 1-yard rush into the end zone to open up the scoring for the night.

The Panthers offense did not start rolling until the second quarter, while the Eagles offense steadily put together drives.

After a short Pelham possession, Panthers special teams ace Jake Garner punted the Eagles deep into their own territory.

Calera marched all the way down the field for Johnson’s second rushing touchdown of the night inside of the 5-yard line, bringing the Eagles up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Pelham quarterback Dylan Smith would retake the field to open up the Panthers scoring, connecting a 25-yard pass to fellow sophomore Jacob Gibbs with 4:13 left to play in the first half to cut Calera’s lead in half, 14-7.

Pelham’s momentum continued as time ticked by in the first half, with the Panthers defense earning an interception before a 43-yard field goal by Garner cut into the score further, 14-10.

The Panthers looked even stronger to open the second half after their early struggles to get their offense rolling.

A strong kick return by sophomore Marcus Arnold set up the Panthers offense in Calera’s territory before running back Kalib Porter punched in a 15-yard rushing touchdown three plays later, bringing Pelham up 17-14.

But as the rain started to pour, the Eagles’ wings would not be clipped.

Johnson put Calera back on top by running in his third touchdown with 5:19 left in the third quarter, bringing the score to 20-17 after the Eagles missed their extra point.

The Panthers seemed to lose all of their momentum on their next crucial drive as they brought the ball all the way inside the 10-yard line, only for the Calera defense to take down Smith on a third down in the backfield.

Pelham had to settle for a tied ball game after a 24-yard field goal from Garner.

Calera quickly turned around with a 49-yard dime from Johnson to junior Jordan Henderson, followed by an even quicker 2-point conversion rush from Johnson, bringing the score to 28-20.

A critical third down conversion by Pelham to close out the third quarter would soon lead to seven more points for the Panthers after a 1-yard scoring run by Smith, bringing them within one point of Calera, 28-27.

Johnson was unphased, and orchestrated an 80-yard drive culminating in a 39-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Jaylon Moore, increasing Calera’s lead to 35-27.

After both teams traded short, unsuccessful drives, Calera gifted the Panthers a turnover on downs with 2:11 left to play in the game.

With Smith back on the field calling the shots, the Panthers took the ball well onto the Eagles side of the field, with a 17-yard pass to Porter for 6 more points with 33 seconds left on the clock.

Needing a two-point conversion to tie the game, Smith took a shot into the end zone where it was caught, but called back on a penalty.

The Panthers came up short on their second attempt, resulting in a tight 35-33 Calera win.

Johnson finished the night 26-for-35 for 408 yards and also rushed for 61 yards. Elijah Bates caught nine passes for 123 yards, KD Young had eight receptions for 86 yards while also rushing for 25 yards and Braxton Brooks went 82 yards off three receptions.

In addition to Johnson’s success on the ground, Demetrius Davis took 15 carries for 95 yards.

Rials was proud of the full effort that his team gave in all three phases but stressed the need to carry that performance over into next week and the rest of their games going forward.

“We got 1-0 this week, we need to go 1-0 another week,” said Rials.

Calera will be back in action next week on Sept. 20 at Chelsea while Pelham will also be on the road at Chilton County.

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