By TREY HICKMAN/For the Reporter

ALABASTER — On the strength of quarterback Andrew Thompson’s right arm and a steady dose of stout defense, Evangel Christian continued its early-season dominance with a 48-8 thrashing of visiting Victory Christian (Miss.) in a showdown of undefeated teams in eight-man football.

Entering the game having outscored the competition by a total of 109-16, the Lightning’s opening drive served as foreshadowing when Thompson connected with running back Pete Sullivan for a 48-yard catch-and-run score on the team’s second offensive play.

Evangel Christian took care of business on the other side of the ball while the offense continued to do its part. Running back Nate Scott hit the left sideline and accelerated 50 yards for the Lightning’s second touchdown of the night. Thompson followed with two more scoring tosses, the latter of which added an exclamation point to the team’s first-half performance as the senior hit tight end Caleb Hoge for a 65-yard touchdown as time expired.

In the second half, Thompson would add the final of his four scoring strikes while fullback Collin Carr found the end zone from 39 yards out and running back Grant Webster contributed a 19-yard scoring run.

Even after a game during which so much went so right, Evangel Christian head coach Del Clayton saw room for improvement.

“We had a few penalties and we dropped the ball a few times tonight,” said Clayton. “These guys (Victory Christian) were a scrappy team but we need to work this next week in practice on better ball protection. I think we had a dropped punt, couple of fumbles, and had a couple of offside penalties.”

Andrew Thompson finished 8-of-10 passing for 253 yards and four touchdowns. Nate Scott was the leading rusher with 63 yards and one touchdown on five carries, while Caleb Hoge paced the Lightning receivers with 109 yards and two scores on two catches.

Defensively for the Lightning, Sam Stockman had five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery as Grant Webster tallied 10 tackles. Pete Sullivan had eight tackles while Aaron Clayton contributed a sack in the winning effort.

Evangel Christian (3-0) hosts Tuscaloosa Christian next Friday.