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By SAMUEL HIGGS | Special to the Reporter

ALEXANDER CITY – The Calera Eagles once again found some offensive success early in the 2024 season, but special teams blunders and turnovers became costly in a tough 55-28 road loss to Benjamin Russell to open region play.

Benjamin Russell provided a steady offense both through the air and on the ground with senior T.J. Wilson putting together a strong performance.

“That’s our identity,” Benjamin Russell coach Smitty Grider said. “We’ve got to be able to run the football. We expect that. Tonight, we were able to run it pretty effectively. I don’t know what the stats were, but it looked like we ran the ball really well.”

In the air, Alijah Johnson spread the ball to multiple receivers, throwing three touchdowns to three different receivers. JaMichael Greer, Eric Young and Cederian Morgan all hauled in passes of more than 30 yards for scores.

The standout receiver Morgan garnered much of the attention in the passing game, opening the windows for his teammates to get involved.

“Everybody’s trying to take Cederian away,” Grider said. “That’s two guys that stepped up tonight and made big plays. Carson Spears had a big catch on the pass play. So, we got some more guys involved in the passing game. That’s just going to make us better.”

The Eagles did most of their damage on the ground thanks to their three touchdown runs. Demetrius Davis scored two of those touchdowns while finishing the night with 34 yards, and he also caught three passes for 47 yards.

Eagles quarterback AJ Johnson had the other rushing touchdown with 37 yards on the ground.

While Johnson found Elijah Bates for a touchdown in the air, Benjamin Russell’s defense came up with three interceptions to limit the damage from Calera’s offense.

The defense for the Wildcats stepped up for the squad, forcing multiple turnovers throughout the game. Kendrick Byrd hauled in two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, while linebacker Micah Murphree brought in one of his own where he made a diving play to reel in the pick.

It was not just the defense that made plays, the Wildcats added two additional scores on special teams. Lajavious Calhoun scored the first touchdown for the team taking a kickoff more than 90 yards to the house.

Then, defensive back Lorenzo Crawford sped off the edge to block a field goal, which Kalib Spivery scooped up and ran back 73 yards for a touchdown.

Calera did put pressure on the Wildcats’ defense throughout the game with some big plays, but it ultimately wasn’t enough due to other facets of the game, including the turnover battle and special teams.

Johnson finished 20-for-39 with 321 yards, one passing touchdown and three interceptions. Cameron Hagler was the team’s leading receiver with 95 yards off just two receptions.

Bates hauled in four of his five targets for 93 yards and a touchdown. KD Young caught six passes for 60 yards as all three receivers averaged a first down per catch.

Calera falls to 0-3 with the loss and will look to turn things around as they host another 0-3 team from Class 6A, Region 3, the Pelham Panthers, on Sept. 13 at Ricky Cairns Memorial Stadium.