By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

The Chilton Christian Academy Patriots fought hard against Emerald Mountain Christian School, but in the end the opposition was victorious by a score of 59-33.

The game opened with quick scores by both teams. Emerald Mountain scored on a returned interception after only three minutes of play. Chilton Christian returned the kick that followed, and the away team followed suit with a kickoff return of its own. The score was 7-14 with 6:25 left in the first quarter.

Emerald Mountain then recovered their own kickoff and drove down the field for four minutes of play, putting them ahead at 7-20.

Chilton Christian answered with a touchdown pass from quarterback Liam Higgins, followed by the extra point from Drew Hodges, leaving the score at 13-20 as the first quarter ended.

CCA almost scored again after a turnover on downs. Hodges had a series of long carries, but Emerald Mountain’s defense shut down the Patriots in the red zone, forcing a turnover.

Then, with 1:47 left in the half, a long bomb connected for Emerald Mountain, putting the score at 13-27.

The Patriots gave up another interception just before the half, and the teams trotted off with the score at 13-33.

The second half saw plenty of points put on the board as well, with most of the Patriots’ yards coming from Hodges, the team’s only senior. Hodges had three touchdowns in the second half, and JU Bice had a long sweep to the right side for a conversion and showed up strong on the defensive side of the ball.

However, these points did not go unanswered.

Throughout the night, when the ball left the ground, it spelled bad news for the Patriots. The team gave up three interceptions, and many of Emerald Mountain’s key plays were passes.

“We’ve got a young team and a young quarterback,” said Coach Thomas Lyon. “It’s only his fifth game, he’s still learning the ropes a bit. He’s a good decision maker and he’s got a strong arm. Once he gets some experience, he’ll be a great quarterback.”

Lyon said he is proud of the team for doing some good blocking and tackling, and he believes that with more experience they will start to see key improvements.