STARKVILLE — Kyle Burney rushed for three touchdowns Friday night to lead the sixth-seeded Simpson Academy football team to a 29-14 victory against third-seeded Starkville Academy in a second-round Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA playoff game at J.E. Logan Field.
With the victory, Simpson Academy (10-2) advances to play second-seeded Indianola Academy on Friday. Starkville Academy sees its season end at 10-2.
Burney scored on runs of 55, 10, and 46 yards to help the Cougars snap the Volunteers’ seven-game winning streak.
Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said Simpson Academy did a good job of mixing its defenses and putting an extra defender in the box to slow his team’s running game. But the first-year head coach said the Volunteers had their chances to score in each half. One of the missed opportunities was a drive in the second half that ended with a fumble at the 2-yard line. Starkville Academy was tailing 14-7 at the time.
“We’re a running football team. I have said that since day one,” Nicholson said. “We preached all week during wet ball practice that we were going to have to get used to (the wet field conditions and playing in the rain). That is what we had to do and we did. We ran the ball really well, but what we were missing was the big passing play we would usually get. … We took our shots. Not that we didn’t try, but we never could connect. The weather probably played into it.”
Starkville Academy used an interception by Drake Gordman to end another Simpson Academy scoring drive following the turnover, but a 46-yard run by Burney gave the Cougars a two-score cushion.
“You never want to put it on one play,” Nicholson said about the fumble at the 2-yard line, “but we had our chances. We got down there twice and didn’t get points. … Was the fumble very big? Sure, but any other play could have been big.”
A safety and a 2-yard run by Triston Cowan late in the fourth quarter accounted for Simpson Academy’s scoring.
“That is their thing,” Nicholson said of Simpson Academy’s running attack. “We knew it coming because that is what they have been doing all year. … They took some play-action shots like any running team has to take those shots. They had a good sized offensive line, and the Burney brothers are very active. Kyle is a good running back with good speed, and when he breaks through he has breakaway speed.
“They ran the ball and pounded it, and that is what they do, and they did a good job with it. They were patient and kept running it until they were able to open a big run.”
Starkville Academy senior quarterback Houston Clark found senior wide receiver Colt Chrestman for a touchdown pass in the final minute to close the scoring. Clark gave the Volunteers a 7-0 lead with a 43-yard touchdown run up the middle in the first quarter.
The game marked the end of the prep football careers for 15 Starkville Academy seniors. Nicholson, a longtime assistant coach at the school who replaced Jeff Terrill after last season’s run to the Class AAA, Division II title game, said he was proud of the journey the seniors made in “raising the bar” for the next set of leaders.
“I watched them grow from little freshmen to the men they are now,” Nicholson said of the seniors. “They showed what hard work would do and how it would pay off for them. They put a lot of trust in the coaches. They believed in us since day one — me as an assistant coach and coach Butler as an assistant coach. They believed in the leadership and taking on roles of a leader and what it meant to be a leader around the school and the community. Every opportunity they had to go to a pee wee football game, they took it. They set the bar higher. That is what we challenge every class to do, and they raised the bar. They are a special group that words cannot describe what the have meant to Starkville Academy, to the football team, and myself.”
n New Hope 23, Saltillo 6: At Saltillo, Thomas Stevens was 17 of 23 for 213 yards and a touchdown Thursday night to help the Trojans (3-8, 2-5 Class 5A, Region 1) finish the season with a victory.
C.J. Clay (12 carries, 75 yards) and Tyran Reed (15 carries, 71 yards) buoyed a running attack that helped New Hope pile up 373 total yards against Saltillo (0-11, 0-7).
The victory was the second in the final three games of the regular season for New Hope.
Second-year coach Kris Pickle said the feeling is a little different knowing he won’t be coaching a team in the playoffs for the first time in his career, but he said the victory should give his players confidence going into 2016.
“We wanted the seniors to go out with a positive feeling and we wanted the underclassmen to get a little momentum going into the offseason,” Pickle said. “We found out who we could count on and what kids were going to be there when the going gets tough. It is easy to play football when it is easy. The hardest times, when things are not going your way, is when it is tough. We have a group of guys that when the season is over survived throughout the whole season. If they can handle a season like this year, I know they handle anything.”
Pickle said he saw numerous players mature in a season that ended with eight seniors. As a result, he said more sophomores and junior had to step in and play bigger roles. He hopes this season helps the Trojans appreciate and understand what the 2014 team did to win 10 games and advance to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
“I hope if anything comes out of this year it will make the kids hungry to remember what it takes to get where we were a year ago,” Pickle said. “I think we will do that.”
Andre Erby led New Hope with five catches for 35 yards. T.J. Stephens had four catches for 57 yards, Terryonte Thomas had three catches for 37 yards, and Carlos Brooks had three catches for 64 yards.
In addition to watching sophomores mature, Pickle said Stevens, a junior in his first year as the team’s starting quarterback, developed as the year progressed. He said he liked what he saw from Stevens down the stretch when the Trojans showed more consistency in the running game. He said the ability to run the football took pressure off Stevens.
“I think he got more comfortable as the season went on,” Pickle said. “At the beginning of the season, we couldn’t run the ball and we put it on his shoulders to have to throw us into this game. That is hard for anybody, much less someone in his first year as the starter. As the season went on, he started to limit some of his mistakes and understand what we wanted to do with the ball in certain situations. … If there is anything I can point to, I thought he did a really good job in staying calm in the pocket. He got his tail rocked, but he hung in there and showed some toughness.”
n West Lowndes 52, Thrasher 20: At Thrasher, the Panthers unleashed a powerful offensive attack to close their regular season Thursday night.
The Panthers collected more than 400 yards of total offense to improve to 8-4 and 7-1 in Class 1A, Region 1.
West Lowndes will play host to Ray Brooks on Friday night to open the North State playoffs.
“Playing the first playoff game at home is a huge advantage,” West Lowndes coach Anthony King said. “The kids have worked really hard and we had a good season inside region play. The offense has really made some strides, and we are excited about the playoffs.”
Quarterback Lemerrius Fair threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Marcus Farmer caught touchdown passes of 69 and 41 yards and finished with 127 yards. Syborris Pippins had 104 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 10 and 14 yards. Pippins also had a 73-yard kickoff return touchdown. Pippins and Farmer had interceptions to lead the defense.
Jerry Anderson and Kentrell Guyton added rushing scores of 12 and 18 yards, respectively.
n In another Class 1A, Region 1 game, Hamilton fell 55-0 at home to Vardaman. The Lions finished 1-10 and 1-7 in region play.
n Hebron Christian 54, Marvell Academy 46: At Marvell, Arkansas, the Eagles made amends for a 30-point defeat in the regular season to advance in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Eight-Man playoffs.
Hebron Christian (8-3) will face Tallulah Academy (10-2) in a second-round playoff game Friday in Tallulah, Louisiana.
“We played a great football game,” Hebron Christian coach David Foster said. “We really learned a lot from the first game with them and made some great adjustments. The kids were excited about being in the playoffs and shook off the long road trip.”
Landon Hill was a one-man wrecking crew, scoring on runs of 66, 8, 41, and 8 yards. He also caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from Channing Tapley. Hill rushed 22 times for 233 yards and had four receptions for 128 yards.
On defense, he sealed the victory with an interception on the 3-yard line in the closing seconds. He finished with 20 tackles.
“Landon was a one-man gang,” Foster said. “It was a team effort and a team win, but he really put us on his back and made some big plays offensively and defensively.”
Lucas Foster had touchdown runs of 18 and 5 yards. Foster rushed seven times for 60 yards and caught a 5-yard pass. Payton Griffin caught eight passes for 40 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown. Tapley was 13 of 23 for 173 yards. Hill had a two-point conversion rush, while Griffin had two two-point conversion receptions.
Hebron Christian led 28-22 at halftime. The lead changed hands several times before back-to-back scores in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles the lead for good.
Tapley and Griffin each had 13 tackles and a sack. Jessie Moore had eight tackles and a sack. Brian Eaddy had eight tackles, while Foster had six.
“We have another long road trip ahead, but I think the kids picked up a new level of confidence after beating such a great team in the first round,” Foster said.
West Alabama
n Pickens Academy 41, Springwood School 31: At Lanett, Alabama, the Pirates (6-5) snapped a two-year drought in the playoffs Friday night by piling up 422 yard rushing and four touchdowns in their road victory in the first round of the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA playoffs.
The victory pushed Pickens Academy into a second-round game against Marengo Academy on Friday.
Chance Britt led Pickens Academy with 19 carries for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Harcrow had seven carries for 105 yards and a touchdown, Dylan Fondren had seven carries for 77 yards, Brant Criswell had eight carries for 34 yards, Landon Hattaway had four carries for 14 yards and a touchdown, Daniel Powell had three carries for 13 yards, and Riley Harcrow had one carry for 3 yards.
In all, Pickens Academy had 568 yards of offense. Springwood rushed for 184 yards and had 264 total yards.
Brant Criswell was 4 of 5 for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Will Jones was 1 of 1 for 41 yards.
Jones had four catches for 105 yards, while Ryan Harcrow had one catch for 41 yards.
Powell had a team-high 12 tackles. Riley Harcrow and Ryan Harcrow had seven tackles.
n Pickens County 38, Samson 32: At Reform, Alabama, the Tornadoes survived a scare to win their Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 2A playoff opener.
Pickens County (8-3) will play Friday at Elba (10-1) in the second round.
Zach Thomas threw for 157 yards and three touchdowns to lead Pickens County. Thomas hit Tyjavian Ferguson on touchdown passes of 24 and 12 yards, while Javaris Jefferson had a 40-yard scoring reception. Kendall Barnes had two rushing scores (10, 12 yards), while Delvin Spruill also had a 4-yard touchdown run.
n Pike County 14, Aliceville 6: At Brundidge, Alabama, the Yellow Jackets saw their season end in the opening round of the AHSAA Class 3A playoffs.
The night started badly for Aliceville (6-5). A fumble on the opening kickoff was returned 23 yards by Pike County’s Eligha Lampley returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown. Deshon Cowling then scored on a 12-yard run after giving his team a short field with a 25-yard punt return.
The game was played in a driving rain storm that limited both teams’ chances at long drives. Aliceville started its second-half possession on its own 16, 10 and 12 yard-lines.
A 50-yard fumble return touchdown by Nick Spruill was the lone points for the Yellow Jackets. It came with 5:12 left in regulation.
n Sulligent 63, Cold Springs 27: At Sulligent, Alabama, the Blue Devils grinded out 396 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground to win their first-round matchup in the AHSAA Class 2A playoffs.
The win pushed Sulligent (8-3) into the second round, where it will face Cleveland (11-0) on Friday night.
Cordarius Metcalf had seven carries for 170 yards and three touchdowns. His effort helped him eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.
Tyreke Metcalf had two carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns, Caleb Williams had seven carries for 43 yards and a touchdown, Marco Mastin had four carries for 43 yards and a touchdown, Ethan Carter had four carries for 21 yards, and CJ McLemore had one carry for 14 yards and a touchdown.
CJ McLemore was 3 of 4 for 98 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Cordarius Metcalf right before halftime.
Tyreke Metcalf had one catch for 37 yards, and Duston Summerville had one catch for 16 yards. Coach Daniel Merchant said Summerville also had some outstanding blocks on the perimeter.
Hunter Motichek had several tackles on defense and caused a fumble. Caleb Williams and Jonas Brock had several tackles, and James Aaron Trentham had a fumble recovery.
n South Lamar 54, Phillips-Bear Creek 42: At Millport, Alabama, Kyle Redmond had seven carries for 175 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Stallions (7-4) to their first-round victory in the AHSAA Class 1A playoffs.
The victory sets up a second-round playoff matchup against Wadley on Friday.
Redmond also was 3 of 4 for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Dustin Weathers had 16 carries for 156 yards and two touchdowns for South Lamar, which led 27-18 at halftime and 47-30 entering the fourth quarter.
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