FLAG FOOTBALL: Catholic near-perfect in shutout of LAMP
LAMP’s Rosemary Aaij avoids Catholic defender Kamryn Iverson in Thursday’s matchup. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Hayden Fitts was nearly flawless in the early moments of Tuesday’s region flag football game between Catholic and LAMP, but after colliding with a teammate in breaking up a pass, the junior quarterback rested for the remainder of the Knights’ 26-0 victory at LAMP.
“She got banged up a little, so it helped to rest her before we go play five or six games this weekend,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said.
Fitts completed 6 of 7 passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns, then turned the game over to junior varsity signal caller Charley Franks for the remainder of the game as the Knights cruised to victory in their region opener on Thursday.
“She’s an eighth grader, first year playing, and she got some good reps today with varsity receivers,” Toole said. “It can’t do anything but make her better. And it’s our first region win so we’re excited and we’re going to get ready for Saturday.”
The Knights (3-2) won their third consecutive game heading into this weekend’s flag football tournament in Dothan on Saturday, where Catholic will play Opelika first, followed by Albertville.
Fitts marched the Knights 66 yards in four plays, throwing to Haley Ishman for the game’s first points, then taking a pitch from Ishman on the conversion run for a 7-0 lead. The second drive took just three plays, with Fitts throwing 16 yards to Ishman, and the third drive covered 25 yards in three plays, with Ishman catching a 15-yard pass from Fitts for a 20-0 lead that finished Fitts’ day at quarterback.
Franks threw 13 yards to Ishman, who grabbed the ball from a LAMP defender for the Knights’ fourth touchdown and a 26-0 lead with a little more than five minutes remaining in the first half. Ishman would catch one more pass, finishing with 111 yards on seven receptions for four touchdowns.
LAMP, coming off a Tuesday win over Charles Henderson, had three total yards at that point.
“Certainly, in the first quarter, we were probably two steps slower (than Catholic),” LAMP coach Michael Thornton said, “and that’s what we were talking to them about, going into a game and knowing you can compete regardless of your opponent. Obviously, Catholic is really good, not just athletic, but they know their stuff.
“I thought what they did a really good job of was taking the easy stuff that we were giving them. We were giving them easy stuff and they were taking it and not making the game complicated. I think we were trying to overcomplicate it. We’re a better defensive team than we showed today.”
Frances Rogers added 41 yards on four receptions for Catholic, while Maggie McNeely led the defense with a pair of interceptions and a pass breakup.
J’kyria Eutsey led the LAMP offense with two receptions for 15 yards, while quarterback Chloe Thomas completed 4 of 14 passes for 42 yards but was intercepted twice. Kalayja Nowden led the Golden Tigers on defense with six tackles and a pair of pass breakups.
LAMP (1-3, 0-2 in region play) will remain home to play Selma on Tuesday in another region game, followed by Alabama Christian on Thursday.