SPANISH FORK — A stingy defense was enough for American Leadership Academy to down the 1A Altamont Longhorns as the Eagles posted their first win of the season with a 16-0 home victory Friday night.
In a contest plagued by offensive miscues and turnovers, ALA senior tight end Lane Edmunds stole the spotlight with two huge plays in the shutout win.
Kaiana Miller got things rolling for the Eagles in the first quarter when he picked off a Longhorn pass, which set up the first score of the night. Stopped in the red zone, the Eagles relied on the foot of Mac Marrelli for an 18-yard field goal for the early lead.
In the second quarter, ALA found success with play-action passes as QB Beau Lindsey hit Lane Edmonds for a 42-yard strike to put the Eagles up 9-0 with five minutes before intermission.
The Longhorns then moved the ball with an efficient aerial attack to get within the 15-yard line. However, a botched snap and penalties plagued the Longhorns enough to put them back at midfield to end the half.
Despite numerous turnovers and accompanying penalties in the third period, the Eagles managed another big play. Playing linebacker, Edmunds scored his second TD of the night on a 27-yard interception return.
Sloppiness on offense was seen on both ends as penalties and turnovers plagued each team. Early in the fourth quarter, JJ Warren electrified the home crowd when he took a punt at the 50 and followed his blockers before making a dazzling cutback to outrun any Longhorn in sight. But a block in the back brought this one back.
ALA head coach Tom Fell said he was pleased with the shutout but expects better production from his offense.
"It was a sloppy game," said Fell. "Our defense played well enough to give us the shutout and I'm proud of their effort tonight. But we had a lot of little things that went wrong. Guys weren't where they were supposed to be and the turnovers and penalties from our offense could have really hurt us."
The Eagles defense soared throughout the contest with sacks, forced turnovers and big plays from an all-around good performance. Top performers for the Longhorns were Russell Brinkerhoff and Waylon Tomlinson, while the Altamont defense didn't look too shabby itself.
Next up for the Eagles is a road game at Cedar City.