ADDISON – After finishing the regular season undefeated and clinching home-field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Addison looked to, once again, put on a show for the crowd in their opening round game against Shoals Christian, and they did that, plus more, as they rolled to an easy 63-20 win to advance to round two.
It took just two plays for Addison to find the end zone on their opening series of the game that started at their 43-yard line. Benjamin Robinson took off on a 21-yard run to open the game, and Noah Rice found a hole on the right side and was not to be denied as he scored on a 36-yard run to put Addison on the board with only 21 seconds coming off the clock on that drive.
Shoals Christian looked to answer on their opening drive and after a 30-yard run by Adam Burch on the first play, things looked to be in business for the Flame. But, Addison slowed them down and forced them to turn the ball over on downs.
Just like their first series, Addison found the end zone in just two plays. Robinson opened the drive with a 9-yard run and Rice found Logan Wilkins on a 58-yard touchdown to push their lead to 16-0 with 9:04 remaining in the opening quarter. Shoals Christian looked to get a drive going on their second series and they did. Behind big runs by Burch, and a 13-yard pass from John Tucker Waddell to Raymond Elliott, they moved the ball down to inside the 30-yard line, but from there, Addison's defense stiffened once more as they stuffed Burch a yard short of the first down on a fourth-and-2 play from the 15-yard line.
The running game for the Bulldogs continued to give the Flame difficulty as the three-headed monster of Robinson, Rice and Zeb Maze gained big chunks of yardage before Rice finished the drive by keeping it himself and finding another big hole for a 54-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 22-0 with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Shoals Christian was looking for anyone to help jump-start the offense and find the end zone. They did. Behind big runs once again by Burch and Christian Martin, the Flame was in Addison territory at the 48-yard line. On the next play, Waddell found Martin all alone on the right side and he took off, evading a few Bulldog tacklers, before finding the end zone to cut the lead to 22-6 with 11:06 remaining in the first half. They got a big lift from their defense after they forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs, giving them the ball at the 25-yard line. They put another great drive together, with a mixture of runs and passes that helped them move the ball into Addison territory once more as they looked to cut into the lead even more. But, on a first-and-10 from the 30-yard line, Waddell could not handle the snap and Robinson fell on the ball for the Bulldogs. It was the Maze show on the next series as he gained all 68 yards, including finishing the drive with a 51-yard touchdown scamper, to push the lead to 30-6 with 4:03 remaining in the first half.
The Flame looked to score before the end of the half. They started from their 22-yard line, but they finished the drive very strong, when on a fourth-and-3 from the 29-yard line, Martin got the toss from Waddell and after that, they could not catch him as he raced to a 71-yard score to cut the lead to 30-14 with 1:57 remaining before the half. Addison responded with a perfect series to close the half, as passes from Rice to Zayne Guthrie and Gage Gilliland, plus big runs by Rice, put them inside the red zone and from the 10-yard line, Robinson scored on a hard-nosed run to push the lead to 37-14, which would be the score at the half.
Addison continued the momentum heading into the second half, adding four more touchdowns: a Robinson 3-yard run, a 14-yard pass from Rice to Colton Chambers, a Dayson Parker 3-yard scamper, and a Guthrie 47-yard score. Shoals Christian added one final score on a 6-yard pass from Waddell to Elliott.
Martin finished with 140 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown, plus 82 receiving yards on five catches and another touchdown. Burch had 119 yards on 19 touches. Waddell completed 10 of 21 for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Elliott had four catches for 59 yard and a score. William Carson, Burch, Ben Ross, and a few others played solid on defense for the Flame, who finish their season with a 3-8 record.
Rice finished 5 of 8 for 105 yards and two touchdowns, adding 136 yards on six carries and two more touchdowns. Robinson finished with 77 yards on seven touches and two touchdowns. Maze had 81 yards on just four carries and a touchdown. Guthrie had 68 yards on four touches and a touchdown. Collins and Wilkins each had just one reception, but they went for touchdowns. Parker had 6 yards on two carries and a touchdown. Robinson recovered a fumble, and Rice, Caleb Crider, Matthew Mann, Gilliland, and the rest of the Bulldogs defense played great games.
Addison improves to 11-0 on the season and will face Spring Garden in the second round of the playoffs next Friday night at home, a team that defeated South Lamar, 40-14, last night. They average over 45 points a game and allow just 13. Addison will definitely be tested next week.
"We are truly blessed to have multiple backs that can run the ball," Addison coach David Smothers said. "Our receivers, our offensive line, they did a great job creating holes and our running backs did a great job running through the holes. Rice had a really great game. Our secondary got caught looking. In order for us to make it far, our defense needs to get a lot better."
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