Two-A-Days: ACA Football
The Alabama Christian Academy Eagles comes off a strong season. The Eagles made it to the second round of the playoffs, which surprised ACA football head coach Michael Summers because of how young the team was.
Now ACA loses some of last year’s talent — including Troy freshman running back AC Walters. The Eagles admit they aren’t the same team as last year, but they’ve found their identity: they’re scrappy and they’re ready to soar above the competition.
“In the last two or three years, we may not have been the most talented group, but they fight,” said Summers. “They do a really good job of that, and we’ve seen a lot of that in this offseason.”
The Eagles are dealing with several injuries heading into the season, but Summers said the team isn’t dwelling on setbacks.
“We got to stay healthy. Right now, we’re about as unhealthy as we’ve ever been in the summer,” Summers said. “Hopefully get some of those guys back, but really not focusing on that as some kind of dragon you got to slay. It’s just do what we’re supposed to do, prepare the way we’re supposed to prepare.”
Senior left tackle and nose guard Camden Sutton acknowledged the challenge of replacing departed talent but expressed confidence in the team’s ability to reload.
“When you’re losing people like AC Walters and David Ramirez — freak athletes — but, you know, we replace them with freak athletes of our own,” Sutton said.
Senior offensive and defensive lineman Okevion Suggs emphasized the team’s aggressive mentality.
“We dominate, we don’t stop, we hit everything that moves,” Suggs said. “If it comes at us, we get it. We are so aggressive, everywhere, especially with (sophomore defensive lineman) Cayden Meeks, one of our guys — he’s a dog.”
