Cornerstone scores school-record 88 in shootout at Macon-East, enters playoffs undefeated

Published 2:53 pm Tuesday, October 29, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CECIL – The Cornerstone Christian Chargers did something that no other team in the program’s 25-year history had done: finish the regular season undefeated.

To do so though, they also had to score more points than any Cornerstone team had in those 25 years.

The Chargers pulled away in the second half to outpace the Macon-East Montgomery Academy Knights 88-62 on Oct. 25 on the road.

The school-record 88-point offensive performance helped Cornerstone finish the regular season 9-0 and with its second-straight regular season regional championship. The team also had 702 yards of total offense.

The teams started out the game in a tightly matched battle. Each side had two touchdowns in the opening period, leaving the matchup in a 14-14 tie at the end of the first quarter.

The Chargers broke through the tie with seven minutes to go in the half as Zeke Adams found Hampton Etheredge for a touchdown, putting them up 20-14.

Cornerstone doubled up just a minute later with a 60-yard rushing touchdown from Adams, increasing the lead to 26-14.

Macon-East responded with a pair of touchdowns of their own, both by running back Connor Wallace. The difference was that the Knights completed both 2-point passes, putting them up 30-28 with two minutes left in the first half.

That kicked off a frantic final two minutes of the half as Adams scored a 40-yard rushing touchdown to take a 34-30 lead after a 2-point conversion, Macon-East responded with a touchdown and a 2-point run to go back up 38-34 and the Chargers closed the half with a touchdown pass to Noah Schober.

That put Cornerstone up 40-38 at the halftime break, and the points kept flowing once the teams emerged from their locker rooms.

Just a minute into the third, Jackson Moore broke loose for a 45-yard rushing touchdown, which put the Chargers up 48-38 following the 2-point conversion.

Adams followed that up with a 10-yard scoring run, and after another successful 2-point try, Cornerstone held a 56-38 lead with seven minutes remaining in the third.

The Knights had an immediate response though with a kick return touchdown and a 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 56-46.

Adams restored the 18-point lead off a 45-yard rushing touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion, making the score 64-46 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.

Just a minute later, Macon-East found the end zone through the air for a touchdown and on the ground for a 2-point conversion, which meant it was a 10-point game once again at 64-54.

That scoreline didn’t hold for long as another Chargers touchdown run and 2-point conversion followed a minute later and put them up 72-54.

Cornerstone’s defense then came up with a big stop to force a punt, and the special teams capitalized in a big way by blocking the punt and returning it for a touchdown. The ensuing 2-point conversion took the Chargers to the 80-point mark with an 80-54 lead going into the fourth.

The scoring pace settled down in the fourth quarter, but both teams still had one final score left in them.

Macon-East hit paydirt with a passing touchdown followed by a 2-point pass with nine minutes remaining in the game, cutting the deficit to 80-62.

That was as close as the Knights would get though as Cohen Hewitt put the finishing touches on the win with a 20-yard rushing touchdown with two minutes left. After one more 2-point conversion for good measure, Cornerstone saw out the rest of the game for the 88-62 win.

Adams took 22 carries for 331 yards, six touchdowns and four 2-point conversions while also going 8-of-18 passing for 168 yards and three touchdowns.

Elsewhere in the run game, Moore had 13 carries for 117 yards, a touchdown and four 2-point conversions, Drake Dunning rushed 10 times for 55 yards along with one 15-yard catch and Hewitt had three carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Adams’ top target was Etheredge, who scored touchdowns off two of his three catches and earned 82 yards. Schober had two catches for 31 yards and a touchdown and Seth Dillard secured two receptions for 40 yards.

Over on the defense, Malachi Adams earned 13 tackles, three quarterback hurries and two tackles for loss. Etheredge also had 13 tackles and added a forced fumble, a sack and a tackle for loss.

Zeke Adams added 10 tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception and a sack to his offensive numbers. Schober earned eight tackles, Dunning secured six tackles and Hewitt and Landon Alexander each finished the game with five tackles.

Cornerstone will take its 9-0 record into the AISA Class A playoffs and host its first-round game on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at Cornerstone Christian School. The opponent was unknown at press time.

More Cornerstone

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Cornerstone’s capstone moment: Chargers win second-straight state title in seniors’ finale

Third Round Predictions: Spain Park, Thompson, Cornerstone seek history

The Shelby County Football Show: Playoffs Round 3

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