Jacksonville Fl- This had to be one of the most explosive games played all year for University Christian. At the end of the night, they proved to be too much, winning their high scoring affair with Crescent City 55-28. From the start, fans in attendance could definitely see that University Christian was the better team. However, that did not discourage Crescent City as they came into this game confident in what they could do. Yet the biggest factor in this game was speed, as both teams displayed talented athletes who possessed rare acceleration on both sides of the ball.
The UC offense was crisp all night and the main reason for that was their ability to run the ball; especially behind Jalen Dunnigan. Dunnigan did it all. He caught a play action pass in the beginning of the game to put UC in the best position for the first score of the night. Not only did he catch the ball well, but he became super elusive and found the holes well to pick up huge gains on the ground. The receivers in this game were not afraid to go up and get the ball. TJ Ciresi was making every attempt to have that ball in his hands and he made the plays coming down to the ground. Lastly, Clay Boyd did everything a good QB would do to put the ball in the hands of his playmakers. He made good throws and even rushed the ball himself with great power.
Crescent City’s offense attempted to match the high powered Christian offense, even with a sizable deficit. Naykee Scott was a warrior and just refused to quit making plays throughout the game. The Crescent City offensive line had trouble containing the defensive line of University Christian. As a result, Scott ran all night from sideline to sideline trying to make plays with defenders in his face. A bright spot for the Raiders came when Bernard Wright had an incredible rush that showed him shed as many as five or more tacklers to get the TD. Crescent City fans erupted with praise as this was the best drive of the night and reflected the toughness of the Raider team.
The Christians defense was led by Rodney Rivers who established himself as a dominate pass rusher by putting good pressure on the Quarterback. The defensive line as a whole was dominate the entire night often opening up opportunities for other players.
Players like Darius Abrams who stepped in front of a Raider pass and took it to the house for a pick six. The Raiders Zayne Whipple proved to be a valuable player playing on both sides of the ball as he played physical as a running back and swift as a corner back.
Special teams showcased speed for both teams. Both teams had a couple of returns that would put them in great field position. However University Christian made the complete effort in all phases of the game, which allowed hem to take the victory Thursday night.
University Christian is set to square off with Coffee County in Douglas, GA, September 15th at 7:30 PM. Crescent City is set to face Wildwood on the same date at 7:00 PM.
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