By Don Rowe
Special to The Dispatch
ABERDEEN — Prior to the start of the season, MaxPreps listed Mississippi’s top 20 most dominant football programs in the past 10 years and, not surprisingly, the Louisville Wildcats came in at No. 10.
Coming off a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A state title last season, Louisville put that state accolade and its unbeaten Region 4 record on the line Friday night against Aberdeen and its unblemished region record.
Louisville showed its program is deserving of that ranking with a 37-6 rout of Aberdeen before a sparse crowd at Lester Miley Stadium.
Louisville (5-4, 3-0 region) took control of the region race with two regular-season games remaining. Next week, it will face Kemper County, which is tied with Aberdeen and Winona at 2-1 in the region.
The victory also helped Louisville snap Aberdeen’s four-game winning streak and slow down a squad that entered the game averaging 45 points a game in that stretch.
Early on, Aberdeen (6-3, 2-1) appeared to be unfazed by coach M.C. Miller’s Wildcats, who are 38-7 in the past three years, as it grabbed a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Following a missed 41-yard field goal by junior Corey McCullough, Aberdeen marched 80 yards in five plays. A 35-yard pass from quarterback Josh Williams to Damain Curry gave Aberdeen a first down at the Louisville 40-yard line. Back-to-back 20-yard pickups by Deonte Carter and Williams accounted for Aberdeen’s only score with 6 minutes, 50 seconds to play in the quarter.
Louisville’s second possession resulted in a punt and Aberdeen went on the march again. Starting at its 20, Aberdeen reached the Louisville 36 thanks in part to a 12-yard scamper by Williams followed by a 24-yard completion to Tyreke Gates.
But things unraveled from there and it was, as they say, all downhill for the Bulldogs from that point on.
“We did the same thing last week at Kemper County last week,” Aberdeen coach Mark Bray said. “We jumped out on them early and then relaxed, and once that momentum is gone it is hard to get it back.”
Facing a second-and-5 from the 36, a dropped pass and then back-to-back false start penalties pushed the Bulldogs back to near midfield and brought on the punting team.
“Our downfall started with the dropped pass followed by the two penalties,” Bray said. “Momentum means so much to a football team, and we had it but let it go.”
Louisville reached the Aberdeen 3 on its third possession when Damarcus Brooks scampered 55 yards before being caught from behind by Jerrick Orr, but the big-gainer was nullified by a facemask penalty on the Wildcats. Quarterback Brady Anderson then was sacked twice, once by Tae Carothers for 17 yards followed by Juwan Davis to end the threat.
After an exchange of punts, Louisville grabbed the lead 56 seconds into the second quarter on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Devonte Glenn and a McCullough kick.
Aberdeen dodged the proverbial bullet after fumbling the ensuing kickoff when Justin Drake forced a fumble and Carothers recovered it at the Bulldogs’ 11, but a Louisville interception was returned to the Aberdeen 16 four plays later.
A carry by Brooks gave Louisville what appeared to be a first down at the Aberdeen 1, but a block-in-the-back penalty followed by a holding call brought on McCullough for a 38-yard field goal and a 10-6 lead.
Two minutes later after an Aberdeen three-and-out, Anderson found Devon Lee for a 39-yard gain to give the Wildcats a first down at the Bulldog 6. Brooks took it in from there. McCullough’s kick with five minutes to play in the quarter made it 17-6.
After yet another Aberdeen punt, Anderson hooked up with Lee on a 75-yard scoring toss. McCullough’s kick gave the Wildcats a 24-6 lead with 1:50 to play in the quarter.
The Bulldogs had a chance to cut into the deficit on their final possession of the half, but a dropped pass, a holding penalty, and an interception by Isaiah Latham ended the threat.
“We couldn’t block anybody and our quarterback didn’t have time to throw the ball,” Bray said.
After a scoreless third quarter, Anderson threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Frazier for a 30-6 lead. He then scored on a 1-yard sneak with a little more than five minutes to play. McCullough’s kick capped the scoring.
Anderson, who came in in relief of starter Brody Burchfield late in the first quarter and is the son of offensive line coach Brian Anderson, teamed with Brooks and Lee to make the difference. Anderson was 11 of 13 for 256 yards — an average of 23.3 yards per completion to seven receivers. Brooks was the workhorse with 24 carries for 161 yards, while Lee torched the Bulldog secondary for 131 yards on five catches.
“Brady (Anderson) did a good job,” Miller said. “He turned out to be the spark we needed and we needed a win like this because we are a very young team and have been struggling all year.
“Defensively, we are very young, with three ninth-graders and an eighth-grader starting, but we are getting better each week.”
With the win, Louisville grabbed the inside track for the division crown and, barring a home loss to Kemper County next week, Miller’s squad should claim the top spot in the division for the second year in a row. Aberdeen will play host to Winona.
“There’s no use jumping up and down and raising Cain about it,” Bray said. “Louisville has a good football team, and they proved it. The only good thing that came out of this loss is that if we win out, we are in the bracket opposite Charleston when the playoffs start.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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