SA vs. Copiah: Week 11

Photos by Mike Brown Sports Photography

Vols Advance To Semis

Starkville Academy kept its football season alive for at least another week with a hard-fought, 10-7 victory over Copiah Academy Friday night in the opening round of the MAIS Class 4A-Division II playoffs here at J.E. Logan Field.

The Vols have their hard-hitting defense, a clutch, drama-filled 14-play, 99-yard drive that will go down in program postseason lore, an overlooked QB turned unsung hero who helped cap said drive in flawless fashion, and a bunch of seniors who weren’t ready for their high school careers to be over to thank.

“You have to rely on your seniors, lean on them, especially this time of year,” SA coach Chase Nicholson said. “When it’s playoff time they know, they have that realization, that you wake up the next day with a smile on your face, or you wake up knowing it’s over. Those guys played a great game. When you start going down the list, they stepped up and made plays. That’s what you expect from them . . . . bunch of great dudes.”

SA, losers of three of its last four coming in and considered by most a sizeable underdog in this one despite being the higher seed, improved to 7-4. The Vols, making their 12th straight playoff appearance, advanced to next week’s semifinals at top-ranked Parklane (9-1). Copiah finished 8-3.

Magnolia Heights hosts Heritage Academy in the other Division II semifinal. The winners advance to the championship game the following week.

Copiah cruised past SA 36-7 a year ago in the opening round of the playoffs at Gallman. It looked like the Colonels may be on their way to another lopsided playoff victory over the Vols in the early going as 6-foot-3, 240-pound running back Tre’ Ellis rambled 36 yards for a touchdown to stake his team to a 7-0 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Turns out, that was it for Ellis and Co. SA’s defense held the Colonels scoreless over the final 43 minutes, turning in arguably its most impressive performance of the season. Meanwhile, SA’s offense managed just enough points – 10 to be exact – to help the Vols emerge victorious. Strong-footed and reliable kicker Nathan Miller booted a 33-yard field goal late in the first quarter to make it 7-3, and backup quarterback Sam Wall tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Owen Couvillion near the end of the third quarter to give the Vols their first lead – a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“We were lights out, flew to the ball, really physical, really quick and we played probably the best all-around game we’ve played yet,” senior defensive lineman John Scott Lesley said.

Considering the stakes, it’s hard to argue. The Colonels mustered only 199 yards total offense – 136 after that opening scoring drive. They finished with 123 rushing yards, 76 passing, yards and 11 first downs. This from an offense that entered averaging nearly 30 points per game. Ellis, a linebacker also who owns an offer from Ole Miss, had 132 yards on 17 carries. However, he was limited to just 22 yards on five carries in the second half, and wasn’t nearly the factor he was in last year’s playoff win over SA.

Clearly, big No. 0 was No. 1 on the priority list of first-year SA defensive coordinator Jonathan Worrell’s scouting report. He went primarily with a four-man front, the first time he’s done so this year. It was the right move, backed by the aggressiveness and physicality his unit displayed throughout. With Ellis mostly negated in the second half, Copiah was forced to in large part turn to quarterback Jackson Teasley (11-for-21, 76 yards) and others. Mission accomplished.

The performance was even more impressive considering that starting linebacker Brody Burkley didn’t play due to injury, and starting cornerback Thomas Graves was lost to injury less than four minutes into the game.

“The defense played great tonight,” Couvillion said. “That’s the strength of our team. Coach Worrell had them ready to play.”

For the stat nerds out there, SA’s defense has yielded only 9.7 points per game in the seven wins. Furthermore, it has allowed only 176.5 yards (100.2 rushing, 76.3 passing) in those games, and it has held opposing offenses scoreless in 18 of those 28 quarters. Not to mention the 18 forced turnovers (9 fumbles, 9 interceptions) to go along with three Pick 6’s and three safeties overall. Is that good?

Apparently, this early November evening was all about the fit. From the run fit on defense, to Wall fitting in a pair of perfectly thrown passes on the epic scoring drive in the third quarter, to the themed camouflage clothes worn by many of the fans, to the fitting ending when Scott sealed the deal with yet another big play on defense. And, yes, of course, the snazzy, new orange jerseys donned by the Vols.

“I don’t think we had to adjust much from the first half to the second half,” Nicholson said. “We did a pretty good job against the run. We didn’t fit that one long run that one time . . . (Ellis) is a good back, and that’s a good football team. If you don’t fit it right, they will make you pay for it. After that, he had a hard time because we fit it from then on. We did a great job with that.”

As good as the defense was, SA still found itself trailing 7-3 at halftime. That’s where the score stood when the Vols started their first possession of the second half at their own 1-yard line – in the shadows of their own end zone – following a well-executed Copiah punt. Nobody, not even the most ardent, positive SA fan, could’ve predicted what happened next.

Mixing the run and pass, SA drove 99 yards over the course of the next seven minutes, converting two third downs and one massive fourth down along the way. Throw in a huge 51-yard pass and run from Jack Northcutt to Jackson Knight and it added up to the biggest, most consequential scoring drive of the season. With Northcutt banged up, on came Wall, who had played sparingly the last few games after rotating with Northcutt earlier in the season. Facing a 4th-and-15 at the Copiah 35-yard line, Wall, a righty, rolled to his left and threw a dart to Knight covering 17 yards.

Three plays later, on a 3rd-and-6 from the Copiah 7-yard line, he looked to his right and found a wide open Couvillion, who waltzed untouched into the end zone. Shifty running backs Lawson Mullins and Brantley Berkery combined for 30 yards on the drive, including a 17-yard run from Berkery that moved the ball from the 20-yard line down to the Colonels’ 3-yard line.

“We’ve been doubted since Week 1,” Wall said. “Going back to East Rankin, we’ve been down just about every week. We know who we are, we know what we can do, and we go out and do it.”

As for that decisive drive?

“It was all a blur,” said Wall, with a big smile. “I just stuck to the basics, made my read, and put the ball out there . . . (Couvillion) was wide open on the touchdown. We put six up on the board, felt good. On the other play, it was fourth down . . . we adjusted Jackson’s route so we could get the first down. I knew he was going to be open based on the way the safety was playing. There was a perfect pocket for him there.”

Said Couvillion: “That combo has worked really well for us in practice . . . Sam couldn’t have put it in a better spot, and it was wide open in the corner.”

Wall now has 26 completions this season. Four of those have gone for touchdowns. None were any bigger than the two completions on that drive, including what turned out to be the dagger. SA finished with 172 total yards (82 rushing, 90 passing and just eight first downs. More than half of that came on the highlighted scoring drive, and nearly half of that came on the one long pass play.

SA’s previous longest touchdown drive of the season was 80 yards.

“Lawson gave us a couple of good runs early that gave us a little room to breathe, and then Jackson hit the big pass and catch,” Nicholson said. “After that, we went down and do what we do. We did a great job of finding a way to get it into the end zone. Sam came in and did a great job of finishing that drive when Jack was out.”

Copiah went three-and-out on its next three possessions, but it got the ball one last time with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Colonels took over at their own 38-yard line with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining. Ten plays later, facing a 4th-and-10 at the SA 39-yard line with :20 seconds left, Lesley stormed through the middle of the line and dropped Teasley for an apparent sack. Teasley tossed the ball away aimlessly as he was being brought down to the ground by Lesley, thus technically avoiding the sack. The play was ruled an incomplete pass.

Either way, game over!

It was very similar to the strip-sack Lesley had in the waning minutes of the narrow victory over Lamar School a few weeks ago on this very field, a play that helped secure what had been the Vols’ biggest win to date.

“Coach put me and Leo (Pieralisi) into one’s (gap), and I knew between me and him we could both blow that center up and get pressure on the quarterback,” Lesley said. “It was just up to one of us to shed and make that play. I saw him rolling out, and I knew I couldn’t miss that opportunity. I had to make sure I got him down.”

Just a couple of weeks ago, Lesley and the rest of the seniors lost to rival Heritage on Senior Night. The scene was certainly different after this one, as the players, coaches and fans celebrated on the field as Kool and the Gang’s hit song “Celebration” played over the PA system. The seniors and parents, all smiles, lined up for a group picture, at one juncture.

“This group of seniors . . . we’ve known each other for so long. We’re never going to quit,” Couvillion said. “We knew we had a good shot of coming out here and winning, and we did.”

Up next is a trip to McComb to take on top-seeded Parklane, coming off a bye. The reigning Class 5A State champions have won 21 of their last 24 games dating back to last season, including a 15-game winning streak at one point. One of those wins was a convincing 37-0 victory over SA in Week 5. The Vols came into that game 4-0 but were no match for the talented Pioneers, who led 7-0 after the first quarter, 24-0 at halftime and 37-0 through three quarters.

Parklane’s only three losses the past two seasons came against MRA (twice) and Jackson Prep – a loss it avenged 18-7 earlier this season.

“Parklane has a great football team, they’ve won a lot of games over the last two years,” Nicholson said. “We know we’re not the same team that played down there six weeks or so ago . . . we’re looking forward to a great football game.”