AISA CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP: Macon East finishes perfect season with title
Escambia Academy’s Ronta Watson is sacked by Elliot Fitch in Macon East’s win in the Class A championship at Cramton Bowl. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
After reaching the championship game in 8-man football a year ago, Macon East Academy senior Sam Wallace decided there was only one option in 2025.
“The four seniors just decided we’re not going out without winning one,” Wallace said.
Wallace rushed for 130 yards on 14 carries and caught a pair of touchdown passes from Brandon Fitch to lead the Knights to a 34-14 win in the Alabama Independent School Association Class A championship game at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
Macon East ends the season at 13-0 – the first undefeated season in school history – while Escambia ended its season at 11-2, with both losses coming to Macon East.
“I thought it was a great win for our school,” Macon East coach Glynn Lott said. “We challenged our kids to play together. Escambia’s got a great football team. We played the last game of the regular season, it was a dogfight then, and we did some (different) things offensively this week that we felt like we could take advantage of what they did. They kind of had to change defenses in the second half and we’re a speed option team and went back to that.
“But I think the best thing tonight was our defense. To give up just 14 points in 8-man, that’s a pretty special group. We’ve been special on defense all year and I felt like that was the difference in the game tonight.”
After losing to Cornerstone in the championship game last season, the Knights were relatively unchallenged this season and took command of the championship game in the second quarter. Escambia quarterback Ronta Wason rushed for 103 yards in the first quarter, including a 51-yard sprint through the Macon East defense, but the Cougars were held to minus 2 yards in the second quarter as Fitch connected with Wallace on one touchdown pass, then ran for another to give the Knights a 21-6 halftime lead.
The Knights put the game away in the second half with an eight-minute drive in the third quarter and a Matthew Simpson touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give Lott his 199th coaching victory and the Knights their second state championship.
“It’s special when you do something that’s never been done before,” Lott said. “We’ve never been undefeated. On top of that, you win a state championship? In 2000, I coached them and it took another 25 years to win another one.”