A wake-up call is what the New Hope School football team received Friday night in a 32-29 loss to Class 5A, Region 1 rival Saltillo in the regular-season finale for both teams.
New Hope (9-2, 5-2 region), which clinched the No. 2 seed in the region last week with a victory at West Point, was plagued by penalties and turnovers all night and trailed all game. Still, the Trojans’ Brenton Spann scored on a 3-yard run to cut the Tigers’ lead to 32-29 with 1 minute, 11 seconds remaining.
The Trojans then recovered an onside kick, but the joy was short-lived. New Hope was penalized for holding on the kick, which gave the ball back to Saltillo. The Tigers took a knee to kill the remainder of the clock.
“We came out flat and didn’t match their intensity, and that was obvious,” New Hope coach Kris Pickle said. “We didn’t play aggressive enough, and this was definitely a learning experience.”
Entering the action, Saltillo still had a chance to make the playoffs. Coach Pat Byrd’s team needed a win and Clarksdale to lose to Center Hill. Despite the win, Saltillo (8-4, 4-3) lost the tiebreaker after Clarksdale (6-5, 4-3) beat Center Hill 48-36. Clarksdale won at Saltillo 20-15 to earn the tiebreaker.
On Friday night, New Hope seven penalties and couldn’t recover from a slow start. The Trojans started inside their 15-yard line three times and led in the game.
Spann acknowledged New Hope might have let outside influences affect them. Earlier in the week, New Hope had moved up to No. 2 in Class 5A in The Associated Press’ weekly rankings. The Trojans also moved up to No. 8 in the state’s overall rankings.
“We came out not ready to play,” he said. “Us being No. 8 in the state, we can’t do that. We have to come out and go hard every game.”
Four turnovers doomed New Hope. Quarterback Stone Sisson threw for 246 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw four interceptions.
Byrd said those four turnovers played a big role in the outcome.
“When we create turnovers, we’re a pretty good football team,” Byrd said. “We were able to get and stop some drives with the turnovers, and that’s what did it for us.”
Despite the loss, the Trojans still had plenty of positives. Spann rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns, and Bryson Ellis had seven catches for 150 yards and a score.
Ellis, a senior, said losing was tough enough, but losing on Senior Night made it feel even worse.
“This was a wake-up call,” Ellis said. “The season still isn’t over with this loss. I try to give my all every time I strap up my gloves, and I’m using this loss as my motivation for next week.”
The good thing for New Hope is it will play host to Callaway next week in the opening round of the Class 5A North State playoffs. Pickle said he wants his team to remember how the loss feels as it prepares for the playoffs because it left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.
“The beauty in this is we host a playoff game next week,” he said. “This loss was a true learning experience because it’s going to help us stay focused and remind us that if we don’t come out playing like we’re capable of playing, this (the loss) is what’s going to happen.”
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