Just like that, the game was over.
French Camp Academy went into halftime of its game holding a 14-0 lead over homestanding McAdams but when Kendall Coleman broke loose for a 62-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, a hard-fought game turned into a one-sided affair. FCA went on to score 26 third-quarter points on the way to a 47-0 win over the Bulldogs in a Region 3-1A contest.
"McAdams really played us well," FCA head coach Nathan Wright said. "But when we broke that big run, it kind of took a little out of them."
The win improved the Panthers to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in league play, while McAdams fell to 1-4 and 1-1. Next up for FCA is a trip to Starkville Academy, while McAdams has an open date this week before hosting Noxapater on Oct. 7.
After the Starkville Academy contest, the Panthers have back-to-back games against Region 3-1A power Nanih Waiya and Noxapater, with the NW Warriors paying a visit to French Camp on Oct. 7.
"The guys we had out there really enjoyed playing the game and you could tell the difference," Wright said of his Panthers. "We got a little better at some things and we are just going to have to continue to get better."
Coleman gave FCA a 7-0 lead after one quarter of play when he scored on a 35-yard run and Bradley McGlothin was good on the first of five extra points. The Panthers led 14-0 at the half after Zach Gilmer scored on a 7-yard run.
After Coleman opened up the third-quarter with his 62-yard scoring run, he followed that up with an 11-yard interception return. Clayton Leathers then scored on a 25-yard pass from Holman Edwards and Gilmer ran the ball in from 14 yards out.
The last FCA touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Bruce Wood scored on a 2-yard run.
Edwards was good on 6-of-12 passes for 118 yards, while Coleman rushed for 110 yards on five carries. Edwards ran the ball nine times for 46 yards and Gilmer had seven carries for 44 yards.
Braxton Bright had three catches for 57 yards for the winners, while Leathers, Coleman and Aaron Witt added one catch each.
Kondaji Musa led the French Camp defense with seven tackles, while Skylyr Effler had six and Coleman and Collin Perry picked up five each. Coleman had two interceptions, with Edwards and Perry each picking off one, while Eli Payton and Musa each recovered fumbles.
