BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
AZLE— The Azle Christian Crusaders are back in action after an unexpected bye in the middle of their season. The last time they were on the gridiron, their game was called midway through the fourth quarter due to a late hit that resulted in a player being sent to the hospital. Head coach Clayton Sanders canceled the matchup with Perrin-Whitt that was scheduled the following week and opted to take a bye week.
After the unexpected break in the season, the Crusaders got back to work by defeating Round Rock Christian 65-56 on Saturday.
“I’m super proud of the kids,” Sanders said after the game. “I’m super proud of them overcoming the adversity…but we’re a super young team and this game was perfect for us to learn through some mistakes but still come away with a win.”
Neither team got off to the best start to open the game as the offenses traded fumbles on their opening possessions. Round Rock then opened the scoring on a 55-yard sweep play. All of that happened before one minute had ticked off of the clock.
Azle Christian responded just over a minute later when Jaxon Durham threw to Peyton Lance from 17 yards out to tie the score at six. The defense then forced a fumble that set up Nehemiah Crowell to hit Grayson Smith in tight coverage from 31 yards out to give the Crusaders the lead.
Smith enjoyed a stellar performance in his first appearance of the season, putting the team on his back and scoring seven times.
Round Rock responded and took a 14-12 lead, but Smith broke a long touchdown run to put Azle Christian back in front. Kanon Wyatt put the final touch on the first quarter with a one-yard scoring run to make the score 26-14 Crusaders.
The teams continued to go back and forth in the second quarter, and Azle Christian scored again when Durham connected with Smith for their first of five touchdown connections between the pair. However Round Rock had an answer each time and kept it close at 32-30 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the game slow down the scoring. Round Rock retook the lead midway through but the Crusaders were able to respond on another Durham-to-Smith touchdown and tie the game at 38 going into the final frame.
The fireworks started back up in the fourth quarter with seven total touchdowns scored. Azle Christian found the end zone on a deep pass from Durham to Jakob Rollins, but Round Rock took the ensuing kickoff back to the house to tie the game again at 44.
However the duo of Durham and Smith refused to be silenced and they connected twice more, giving the Crusaders a 58-44 lead with just under four minutes to go. Round Rock did not go away, and scored another touchdown on a long pass. Then, in fitting fashion, Durham and Smith connected one final time to put a bow on the win. Though Round Rock would score again, Azle Christian recovered the onside kick and was able to kneel out the clock to win 65-56.
