ALA advances to second round of state tournament

r By Bryce Walker

American Leadership Academy beat Enterprise and advanced to the second round of the UHSAA 2A State Football Quarterfinals for the first time in their school’s history.

By all accounts, ALA looked to have a good season with many starters returning for their senior year. Then injuries struck. Senior quarterback Ethan Morley went down midway through the season in what can only be called one of the most freakish injuries in all of high school football. He ran out of the backfield in a power sweep and suddenly went to the ground completely untouched. The diagnosis? A broken femur. Ethan continues to root for his team from the sideline. “I’m healing, and my team is still winning. It’s all good.”

Coach Nate Porter is proud of the discipline, maturity and hard work his team has put in this year. “They want to win,” he said. As evidence of that, the team skipped their own pep assembly so they could stay on the field and practice to prepare for the returning state champions: Beaver High School.

Here are the seniors playing for the Eagles: Ethan Morley, Jackson Shockley, Owen Huff, Brett Staheli, Dominic Vogt, Spencer Payne, Holland Morley, James Burton, Claron Twitchell and Jason Armstrong. If you want to see them in action visit the American Leadership YouTube page for some highlights.

Provided captions:rOwen Huff on his way to a 40 yard touchdown run