Wallace State Wins Inaugural ACCC Flag Football Championship
After surviving a triple overtime scare in the semifinals, Wallace State didn't need more time to win the Alabama Community College Conference championship game. The Lions took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and kept Shelton State at arm's length the rest of the way to capture the ACCC's inaugural flag football Championship 27-6.
Emma Kile, named the ACCC's Player of the Year on Friday, threw four touchdown passes to four different players. The first one came with Wallace State facing a fourth down and 3:30 left in the opening quarter. She found Mariah Ragland on a deep pass from 36 yards out to start the scoring. Kile then found Ma'Kyla Williams early in the second quarter from 12 yards out to push the lead to 14-0.
Shelton State was able to respond with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jayci Sullivan to Shabreia Brannon midway through the second quarter. Wallace State answered late in the first half when Kile connected with the ACCC Player of the Tournament, Taylor Kindred, for a 4-yard strike.
Kile nearly had a 55-yard touchdown pass to Maggie Patterson midway through the third quarter. Patterson broke through the defense, but a flag pulled from behind at the five-yard line prevented a score. Shelton State would intercept Kile a few plays later to keep the deficit at 20-6. Kile added her fourth touchdown pass when she hit Telecia Ransom on a short pass early in the fourth quarter. Ransom was able to slalom her way between defenders and avoided the flag pull to waltz into the end zone to make it 27-6.
Wallace State finished its first season undefeated at 20-0 under head coach Daniel Howard, who was named the ACCC Coach of the Year. The Lions posted 9 shutouts, while scoring 40 or more points 12 times. Wallace State landed 8 ACCC first-team selections and four second-team choices.
In a testament to the "any given day" adage and championship setting, the first ACCC tournament was competitive. Most notably, both semifinals went to overtime. Northwest Shoals was the 7th seed and 1-17 overall entering the tournament, but played one of its best games of the season against #2 Calhoun during the opening round. Calhoun was later bested by #3 Shelton State in the second semifinal. #4 Snead State took Wallace State to the brink in the semifinals, but its first game on Saturday was a close 19-13 victory over #5 Bishop State.
Looking into the future, the ACCC is set to expand to 12 teams and introduce North and South divisions for the fall 2026 season. The playoff format for next season hasn't been determined, but could feature an 8 or 12-team conference tournament. Unfortunately, the ACCC teams won't be able to participate in the 2026 or 2027 NJCAA National Tournament due to competing during the fall. That could change by 2028 if the ACCC moves to a spring schedule.