No. 2
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) showed off its weapons on both sides of the ball Friday in a 49-8 win over an
East St. Louis (Ill.) team that came in with a solid game plan and upset aspirations that fizzled in the second half. The Ascenders, who haven't lost in more than two years, got big plays from its defense and running back
Kaytron Allen in a game played in Mississippi, halfway between schools.
Allen rushed for 153 yards and three scores on 16 carries, fueling an IMG Academy offense that had its lowest output of the season a week prior in a 24-14 win over St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Conn.). He scored on runs of 9, 20 and 15 yards.
East St. Louis, which lost 42-26 to No. 5 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) early in the season and had reeled off five straight wins including four shutouts, jumped out early. The Flyers pounded the rock behind Ali Wells and Tyrone Martin, engineering a seven-minute, 11-play drive that had them set up with third-and-goal from the 3.
But IMG Academy's
Keon Sabb stepped in front of
Robert Battle slant pass and returned it 98 yards for an Ascenders' touchdown.
After the IMG Academy defense forced a three-and-out on the next Flyers' possession, Allen touched the ball four times on the Ascenders' seven-play scoring drive, ripping off runs of 18, 13, 7 and a 9-yard score to go up 14-0 near the end of the first quarter.
Missouri commit
Luther Burden gave East St. Louis a spark just inside the second period, taking a fake punt 54 yards untouched to the house and the Flyers' cut the lead to 14-8.
After an IMG fumble on the ensuing kickoff, East St. Louis looked poised for the equalizer. But the IMG defense stiffened as the Flyers ran the ball between the tackles four times, turning it over on downs.
Kaytron Allen, IMG Academy
File photo by Annette Wilkerson
IMG capitalized, using a third-down pass to
Devin Hyatt to get out of the shadow of the end zone before
A.J. Duffy capped the 99-yard drive with an 8-yard strike to
Shawn Miller to stretch the lead to 21-8.
As the half was expiring, Burden took a short pass and ran out of bounds before a skirmish erupted out of bound. Burden was ejected and didn't play in the second half.
And as the defense clamped down, Allen keyed two quick IMG Academy touchdown drive on its first two possessions of the half that put the game out of reach. Coming out of halftime, a 36-yard Duffy pass to
Jaleel Skinner set up a 20-yard Allen scoring run on the three-play, 54-yard drive took less than two minutes. Following an East St. Louis three-and-out, IMG added a two-play score as Allen carried the ball both times for the score.
