By Robert Carter

The North Jefferson News



In their first meeting in the Christian Football Association’s season opener, Tabernacle Christian squeaked by with an eight-point win over longtime rival Tuscaloosa Christian.

But in their semifinal rematch Friday, it wasn’t even close.

The Torches’ potent ground game and stingy defense were the keys as they walloped the Warriors 56-16, earning a berth in the CFA eight-man championship game next Friday in Tuscaloosa.

Bradley White scored three touchdowns on rushes of five, eight and 11 yards, finishing the game with 86 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Landon Ingle led all runners with 107 yards on 16 carries, including a 52-yard breakaway for a score in the first quarter. Matt Wade scored twice, and came within 12 yards of the 1,000-yard mark for rushing this season on a 51-yard effort shortly after halftime.

The aptly-named re-serve running back Fred Goodgame saw enough action in the second half to score twice on short runs.

But it was the Taber-nacle defense that simply stopped Tuscaloosa cold. The Torches (9-1, 8-1 CFA) held the Warriors to three-and-outs on their first three possessions, and ended their fourth drive with a fumble recovery on a mishandled pass reception. Indeed, Tuscaloosa did not record a first down until midway through the second period, and their only scoring came late in the game, well after Tabernacle coach Keith Dabbs had put in his “Baby Torches” reserve unit.

It was a defense that left Warrior coach J. D. Vick shaking his head afterward.

“Their defense was simply too good tonight,” Vick said. “If you can’t move the ball, you can’t stay with these guys. It’s that simple.”

The Warriors (7-3, 6-3) finally got on the scoreboard with 7:29 left in the game, as senior running back Ben Patrick charged one yard into the heart of the Tabernacle line for a touchdown. Quarterback Tyler Hayes connected with Patrick for their other score with 18 seconds left to play.

Dabbs, who was expecting a much closer contest based on the teams’ previous meeting, was nearly ecstatic.

“I’m just tickled to death with them. We played so much better (than in the first matchup). This was the best coverage we’ve had all year. They just showed a lot of hard work tonight,” Dabbs said with a wide grin.

Ingle led the defensive effort with seven tackles, three of them for a loss, plus a forced fumble. Jared Higginbotham added five tackles with two of them for a loss, and also forced a fumble.

With the win, Taber-nacle goes on to face top-ranked Victory Christian of Columbus, Mississippi in the CFA championship game. That contest will be held at Tuscaloosa Christ-ian’s home field.