UPDATED: A.L. Johnson overcomes early deficit to top Marengo 38-22

DIXONS MILLS – Marengo High School jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before A.L. Johnson’s sixth-ranked Eagles stormed back with 32 unanswered points in an intra-county battle Friday night that saw ALJ eventually claim a 38-22 win.

“I thought we played well,” said A.L. Johnson head coach Johnny Ford. “This was a big win. Once we settled down we were able to play well and shut them down. Most of their points came late in the fourth quarter.”

Bouncing back from the early deficit to take a 12-8 lead into the locker room at the half, ALJ broke Marengo’s back with a Lewis Anderson pick-six in the third quarter. The visiting Eagles tacked on two more scores to move ahead 32-8 before Marengo closed the gap late.

“The pick-six really broke our back,” said Marengo High head coach Eberne Myrthil. “We played a very, very good football team and we turned the ball over at critical times. I was proud of our offensive line and our defense, especially in the first half. There were some bright spots. We’ve just got to maintain drives and not turn the ball over.”

Desmond Mair rushed for 100 yards and scored two touchdowns for A.L. Johnson, while Tavarious Harris hit paydirt twice for Marengo High.

Charles Edwards had a receiving touchdown for ALJ. Mike Croom ran 13 times for 116 yards for the Eagles. On the defensive side. Samuel Monroe led ALJ with 10 tackles, Lewis Anderson had six tackles and an interception return for a touchdown while Leo Baker had a fumble recovery for touchdown.

ALJ, 4-1, hosts Keith in a region matchup next Friday night, while Marengo, 1-4, travels to McIntosh.