By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

CALERA – The Calera Eagles defeated the visiting Chilton County Tigers 69-45 on Monday, Feb. 3 to advance to the area finals and move one step closer to completing a remarkable turnaround.

The Eagles went 5-26 last year. Now, they sit at 17-12 thanks to a potent offensive attack.

Kegan Johnson scored 17 points for Calera, with all of them coming in the first half. Darian Hamilton added 14 points to propel the Eagles to victory as Calera scored at least 14 points in every quarter of the game.

Chilton County saw valiant efforts from Cayden Meank and Brock Porter, who led the Tigers in scoring, but could not keep pace with the Eagles attack.

All five starters scored for Calera in the first quarter to the tune of 22 points. Hamilton scored eight of his 14 in the period.

The second saw Johnson begin to assert his dominance, scoring 11 points, including five from the charity stripe.

The offense began to be more balanced in the third quarter for the Eagles, with no player scoring more than five points. However, six different players combined for 16 points. Head coach George Drake’s team can beat you in multiple ways, and their offensive prowess was in full force on Monday night.

Calera scored 16 free throws in the game, attacking in the paint and forcing Chilton County to commit fouls. The bully-ball mentality and spread attack was too much for the Tigers to handle, and now Calera will look to continue its magical run.

Up next for the Eagles is a trip to Benjamin Russell on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the area finals. With the win, Calera also advances to the sub-regionals this Saturday, Feb. 8.