&uot;A lot of kids are riding on last year’s team and we’re not last year’s team.&uot;

Those were the words of Calera head football coach Lanny Jones after his 2A Eagles fell to 1A Maplesville 54-to-7 at home last Friday night.

Prior to this season, Calera made two straight trips to the state playoffs. And last year, the Eagles didn’t lose until they faced Southern Choctaw in the second round.

That was last year. Last Friday night, the Eagles suffered four turnovers (one fumble and three interceptions) to now 4-1 Maplesville.

Calera quarterback Brock Russell was 2-for-8 for 11 yards and two interceptions, while quarterback T.J. Green was 1-for-5 for nine yards with one interception.

Jones said the interceptions came at bad times.

Kaderius Lacey, who accounted for the Eagles lone touchdown, also fumbled once.

Jones said the lopsided loss was a result of his team not being ready to play.

&uot;We just got outplayed, and they (Maplesville) did a good job of changing things up,&uot; Jones said.

He explained that the visiting Red Devils went away from their tendencies, which affected his team defensively.

He also said Maplesville put pressure on the Eagles all night.

But the Eagles were in the contest early. Down 13-0, Calera scored in the first quarter on a three-play drive capped by a two-yard Lacey run. Ryan McDonald added the extra point kick.

The Red Devils of Maplesville put together 424 yards of total offense against the Eagles. That included 201 yards on the ground and 223 yards through the air. Calera managed a total of 189 yards of offense, 163 yards on the ground and 26 yards through the air.

Calera scored to make it a respectable 13-7 ballgame in the first quarter, however, the Red Devils went on to score six more times. The Eagles

were unable to answer.

Lacey carried 11 times for 51 yards and one touchdown; Eric Burrells carried six times for 42 yards; and Ricco Jones carried six times for 41 yards.

Lacey caught two passes for 16 yards; Seth Merrite caught one pass for four yards; and Ricco Jones caught one pass for six yards.

On defense, Justin Harris had seven tackles and six sacks; Nick Jones had seven tackles and Nick Cannady had three tackles and one sack.

Calera, now 2-3 overall and 2-1 in region play, will next face Gordo at home. Jones said Gordo is the team to beat in 2A Region 4.

He said playing Maplesville

actually helped the Eagles because Maplesville ran a spread offense. He also said his team would go back and make adjustments offensively.

&uot;We’ve basically said we are going to make a few personnel changes. We’ll see what needs to be done,&uot; Jones said.

Jones would not elaborate on any changes. But he said, &uot;I told the kids, we as coaches do all we can do, if you don’t prepare yourselves that’s all we can do.&uot;