The 2A, AISA Kingwood Christian Lions closed out the regular season last Saturday night with a 34-13 win over county rival 1A Cornerstone Christian School.

Kingwood head football coach Jerry Stearns said Cornerstone did some things defensively he had never seen before.

Cornerstone head football coach Tim Smith explained that he disguised his defenses and got four sacks of the quarterback.

But in the end, Kingwood prevailed. Stearns said his team doesn&8217;t run the ball much, but against Cornerstone the Lions ran it more than normal.

Kingwood quarterback Andrew Pearce completed 11 of 21 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried the ball 11 times for 22 yards.

Cody Owens had five receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns and one punt return for a 52-yard touchdown run.

Nathan Allen had three catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively John Butt led the Lions with five tackles and five assists. He had one catch offensively.

Eric Marshall had five tackles and two assists and Jonathan Newton had five tackles and five assists.

Cornerstone&8217;s Jake Horton scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, and Avery Alexander scored in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard burst.

Alexander carried 23 times for 173 yards for the Chargers

Defensively, Cornerstone was led by Josh Criswell with 12 tackles and three sacks. He was followed by Kirk Robinson with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.

Kingwood (8-2, 5-2) will host Wilcox Academy in the first round of the 2A state playoffs.

Stearns said Wilcox Academy is big, strong and runs the football. He also said they don&8217;t throw much, but when they do, they are effective.

Cornerstone 6-4, 5-3 with travel to Autauga Academy (9-1) for the first round of 1A state playoffs.

Smith said Autauga runs the veer offense and &8220;you better find a way to stop it.&8221;

Smith said the group he had this year has been fun to coach, worked hard and had fun playing football.

He said if the team does not win another game they have been blessed