By MARK WINDHAM / For the Reporter

ALABASTER — Evangel Christian found themselves trailing Tuscaloosa Christian 22-20 at the half Friday night. The Lightning would outscore the visiting Warriors 23-8 during the second half on their way to a 43-28 victory.

Evangel would waste little time getting on the scoreboard as they would take the opening kickoff and march 60 yards on 6 plays with Hayden Brown scoring on an 11-yard run. Quarterback Nate Scott would hit Grant Webster for the two-point conversion to give the Lightning an early 8-0 lead.

After Tuscaloosa scored on their first possession, Evangel would get back to work quickly as Scott would hit Aaron Walker with a 47-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed and the Lightning took a 14-6 lead to end the first quarter.

Hayden Brown would score his second touchdown of the night with 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter when he took the pitch on a reverse and raced 38 yards for the touchdown. Tuscaloosa Christian would score on a 28-yard touchdown pass to take a 22-20 lead into the half.

Evangel Christian’s Pete Sullivan would intercept a Tuscaloosa pass to get the Lightning the ball back early in the third quarter but Evangel could not cash in as they would fumble the ball away two plays later.

Evangel would come up with a huge defensive play as they stopped Tuscaloosa on a fourth and three deep in Lightning territory. The stop would give the Lightning needed momentum as they would take the ball and march

79 yards on 6 plays to take the lead. Hayden Brown would score his third touchdown on the night with a 46-yard touchdown run and add the two-point conversion to give Evangel a 28-22 lead and they would not look back.

Evangel would add to their lead in the fourth as Hayden Brown would score his fourth and fifth touchdowns on the night with runs of 43 and 34 yards to the endzone. Tuscaloosa would score a late touchdown with 10 seconds remaining as Evangel would get a convincing 43-28 victory.

Evangel coach Del Clayton was proud of the effort he received from his team.

“We knew they were bigger than we were, but we were quicker,” Clayton said. “It was a hard fought game and we kept up the pressure all night.”

Hayden Brown would lead the Evangel offense with 233 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns on 15 carries.

Quarterback Nathan Scott would throw for 86 yards and a touchdown. Grant Webster would catch two passes for 36 yards and Aaron Walker would add a catch for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Lightning was led by Grant Webster with 8 tackles and 6 assists and Pete Sullivan would add two interceptions to the cause.

The win helps Evangel improve to 5-0 on the season. They are back in action Friday night as they host Evangel Family Christian in a big conference match-up.