By KALA BOLTON / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA — The Cornerstone Christian School football team defended their home field against area rival Coosa Valley Academy Sept. 9, beating the Rebels 39-27.

“We started off slow,” said Cornerstone senior Austin Wingard, who returned to the lineup Friday night after being out with mono. “Then we came back hard, started making our blocks and running the ball.”

The Rebels quickly went up by 14, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Cody Wood and a fumble recovery that sophomore Ryan Brooks returned for a 30-yard touchdown.

Cornerstone junior Ronezz Stevens fired back with a 37-yard touchdown, closing out the first quarter with the Chargers trailing 14-6.

It was all about the run for Cornerstone as Stevens scored an 18-yard touchdown to start the second quarter.

“After we settled down after the first 2:58, I thought we did what we do best,” said Chargers head coach Tim Smith. “We just line up and run it. We’re not fancy, we just line up and run the football.”

With 3:49 remaining in the first half, Rebels senior Hunter Winslett recovered a Chargers’ fumble at the Coosa Valley 26-yard-line, setting up a 7-yard touchdown run from Wood to bring the Rebels up 20-12.

Cornerstone junior quarterback Adrian Young passed for a 27-yard touchdown to close out the first half with Coosa Valley leading 20-18.

After Wingard blocked a Rebels’ 40-yard field-goal attempt, the Chargers regained the lead to start the second half.

Stevens scored on an 11-yard touchdown run, and a successful 2-point conversion run by Young brought the Chargers up 26-20 with 5:19 left in the third.

Coosa Valley recovered an onside kick by the Chargers, capping off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run from junior Adam McCranie, giving the Rebels a one-point edge at the end of the third.

But it was the Chargers who dominated in the fourth quarter. Stevens quickly scored on a 48-yard run to bring Cornerstone up 32-27. Chargers senior Hagan Joiner and junior Demetrius Conwell each intercepted passes from Wood, and junior Dalton Lodge scored the final touchdown of game on a 2-yard run with 1:10 remaining.

Wingard sealed the deal for the Chargers by intercepting a pass from Wood with 48 seconds remaining.

Wood completed 13-of-28 passes for 168 yards and three interceptions. Winslett had four carries for 33 yards, McCranie carried seven times for 12 yards and one touchdown,  and senior Steven Cryer had five catches for 78 yards.

Junior Landon Floyd and senior Matthew Zettler had 11 tackles each.

“I thought we played the best we’ve played all year overall as far as effort,” said Coosa Valley head coach Bobby Hughes of his team. “Our kids played hard the whole game. All our guys stepped up. They gave everything they had, and I have nothing negative to say about our team because they played their butt off.”

Cornerstone holds a 2-1 overall record and is 1-1 in AISA 1A, Region 2. The Rebels dropped to to 0-3 overall with a 0-2 area record.

“The penalties and turnovers were killing us,” Smith said of his Chargers. “We’ve got to cut out the turnovers, but team-wise, I couldn’t be happier, you know, to beat your rival.

“It’s a good win for our school.”