There’s a time to creep and a time to strike.
The key for a quarterback and a coach is to recognize when you need to make the call to capitalize.
New Hope High School football coach Shawn Gregory admitted Friday night that Center Hill had been blitzing from so many spots that he and his coaches had been “guessing” at times to tell if and from where the Mustangs were coming.
Brady Davis sensed in the fourth quarter this was one of those times. The junior quarterback spotted Mustangs slinking in from the right and the left sides, acting like they were going to try to beat the snap and join him in the backfield.
“We had run freeze play the previous play to try to get them to jump offsides and they showed they were going to come,” Davis said. “I looked over and I knew he what he was going to call. He called our option play, and I knew if I could get the ball to Brenton he was going to score.”
All it took was for Davis to look to his left to Gregory to change the play and the momentum. A check out of the play that had been called to an option pitch to the right to Brenton Spann proved to be the perfect move because Spann used his speed to score on a 19-yard run that lifted New Hope to a 28-24 victory in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 1 game at Trojan Field.
The victory helped New Hope improve to 3-3 and, more importantly, 1-1 in the region. The Trojans are one of four teams in the region at 1-1. A loss, especially after a 56-21 defeat at Clarksdale last week, could have been devastating for the Trojans, who rallied from a 10-0 deficit to built a 21-10 lead, only to see the Mustangs (1-5, 0-2) rally.
“They were mixing up their blitz pretty good,” Gregory said. “They brought free safety, they brought strong safety, they brought both linebackers up the middle, they brought both linebackers on the outside. They had us in a huge guessing game tonight, so we had to be careful. They showed their blitz a little early and we saw them coming from the edge. We went to a speed option and pitched off the guy who was blitzing and they had no run support on the perimeter. That allowed Brenton Spann to get outside and turn the sideline up and score.”
Two weeks ago, Spann proved he could have success on a rainy night and on a wet field, scoring two touchdowns in a 21-0 victory at Amory. With his brother, Brandon, a senior, and juniors Lee Brandon and Bryson Ellis, the Trojans have multiple weapons to turn to out of the backfield. Against Center Hill, New Hope found the balance it needs, as it rushed for 165 yards on 33 attempts. Davis and Brenton Spann shared the team lead with 57 yards.
Brenton Spann did his damage in only six carries. As one of the Trojans’ playmakers, Spann said it was just a matter of making a play when his team needed it.
“I faked him out and acted like I was going to commit to him and then I hit my speed to the outside,” Spann said. “There was one man to beat, so I had to lower my shoulder and get in the end zone.”
Davis did most of his damage through the air, going 16 of 25 for 275 yards with two interceptions. The big strike was a 73-yard touchdown to Jason Dickerson that gave New Hope a 21-10 lead. The 6-foot-3 senior, who doesn’t wear gloves, had a height advantage in the one-on-one matchup. But his dexterity proved to be the biggest edge, as he reached out with his right hand to catch the pass over the middle.
“When I keep my faith in God, I know God is always going to make a play for me when it is time in clutch moments like that,” Dickerson said. “The ball stuck to my hand and I kept pushing to the end zone. There wasn’t any doubt because we work on that play every day. Our receivers work really hard every day in practice.”
In Gregory’s up-tempo attack, the wide receivers are called on to block, not only on quick screens to the edge, but also on option runs like the game-winning touchdown. Gregory credited his wide receivers for doing their jobs and allowing Spann, a sophomore, to show his speed.
“I guess the biggest concern (on that play) is making sure Brady pitches the ball in time and that the blitzer doesn’t get up on him so quick,” Gregory said. “He was able to get a good snap and get it out quick enough where he could get to the edge.”
Gregory also praised his offensive line, which he said has battled adversity and injuries early in the season. He felt the Trojans had plenty of time remaining in the fourth quarter — 8 minutes, 45 seconds when the drive started — to score and then relied on the offensive line to create holes and give Davis time to make things happen. Even though the drive started with an 8-yard loss by Davis on a scramble, he regrouped and hit Ryan Dye for a 43-yard gain to give new Hope a first-and-10 at the Center Hill 29. Spann gave the Trojans another first down with a 10-yard gain on second down to set up what proved to be the winning play.
The score fittingly came on a night when New Hope started slowly, caught fire and song on the sidelines, recovered from an interception return for a touchdown that cost it the lead, and then rallied for a key region victory at home.
“I hope we jell at the right time,” said Gregory, who told the team after the game it still needs to tighten some screws. “We have been starting slow all year. We were the same way last year. It is a process to get all of the things I want to get out of our team out of our them. We don’t score until somebody else scores. We will wake up them. That was us last year and that is us this year. For some reason, we like to keep our fans in the stands. I don’t like that, but we have to work on that.”
Said Davis, “I think it finally just hit us that we were 0-1 in district and we had to get the win. We had to turn it up, and that’s what we did. We started to play the ball we could.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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