RIPLEY — Following the Caledonia High School football team’s 48-14 loss to Ripley in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A North State playoffs on Friday night, coach Andy Crotwell talked briefly about the loss. Then he spoke at length about Caledonia’s season and, more importantly, the senior class that helped the Confederates reach the postseason for the first time in nine seasons.
“Our consistent goal since we’ve been here is to build this program day-by-day and year-by-year,” Crotwell said. “Every step counts. This season, these players helped this program to a big step. It’s not our final step, but it was a big step.”
That step included a six-win regular season and the third playoff appearance in school history.
That it ended in a 34-point loss at Ripley was of little consequence, as Caledonia’s 12-player senior class exited on a high note. The class included tailback Brandon Henry, who completed his career with a 15-carry, 118-yard performance that featured a 60-yard touchdown run. Receivers Ian Hartmann and Cole Gullette, who combined for 12 of Caledonia’s 17 receptions, also are a part of a class that helped lead the program back to the postseason.
“Our seniors drove us,” Crotwell said. “We have a lot of young talent, but these seniors bought in to what we were doing and they were committed to helping us get better from the very first day. Proud of all of them.”
Caledonia (6-6) was tested early and often by a big, physical opponent that connected on big plays throughout the night. Ripley (9-3), which advances to face Greenwood in the second round, took a 21-0 lead after one quarter and cruised to a 27-7 halftime lead.
Ripley junior quarterback Tucker Childers, passed for a school record 317 yards and five touchdowns, including three in the first half. All five of Ripley’s touchdown passes — the shortest being a 28-yarder from Childers to Stefan Massie, the longest a 74-yard strike from Childers to Isaih Howard — covered more than 25 yards.
“(Childers) did a great job getting the ball to our playmakers,” Ripley coach Chad Cook said. “Caledonia is a well-coached, disciplined football team. For us to be able to hit as many big plays as we did, that was huge.”
The Tigers, who had 593 yards, had 11 plays of 25 yards or more, and six of Ripley’s seven touchdowns were from at least 28 yards.
“Offensively, they are very talented,” Crotwell said of Ripley. “They made big plays all night. They are so explosive that they can hit you in a hurry, and defensively, they are similar.”
Ripley’s athleticism on defense stifled Caledonia for a bit, but the Confederates adjusted. Down 27-0 late in the second quarter, quarterback Spencer Unruh engineered a 16-play scoring drive, leaning heavily on short, precise passing routes that helped the Confederates drive the length of the field. Unruh capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hartmann, who had a game-high seven catches for 51 yards. That drive helped Caledonia get on the board, but it also underscored Caledonia’s problems with Ripley’s defense.
“We found success with the dinking-and-dunking passing game,” Crotwell said, “but that forces you to be absolutely perfect. When we made a mistake, they punished us.”
To Crotwell’s point: Caledonia opened the second half with a similar drive, marching 14 plays to the Ripley 5-yard line. But two straight incompletions ended the drive and kept the score at 27-7. Three plays later, Ripley was back in the end zone for a score that effectively put the game out of reach.
Henry, Caledonia’s talented tailback, scored on a 60-yard run in the fourth quarter, the final run of his remarkable season, a year that included 1,745 yards and 25 touchdowns.
“Can’t say enough about this team,” Crotwell said. “We are building one day at a time. We appreciate everything these seniors have done for this program.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.