SA vs. Pillow: Week 6

Photos by Mike Brown Sports Photography

Defense, Mullins Propel Vols

GREENWOOD – A few seconds after Pillow Academy introduced its homecoming queen at halftime here Friday night at Bill Davis Field, fireworks were propelled into the Mississippi Delta air followed by loud cannon fire.

Pyrotechnics and deep boom aside, offensive fireworks, “i.e.” points, proved difficult to come by for both teams on this pleasant early October evening.

In the end, Starkville Academy walked away with a hard-fought, not always aesthetically pleasing 16-8 victory. The Vols’ offense manufactured a pair of rushing touchdowns – one early and one late from freshman running back Lawson Mullins – and the defense made that stand up, corralling the Mustangs for all but one of the 48 minutes in the game.

SA bounced back from a lopsided loss at Parklane a week ago to improve to 5-1. The Vols have already eclipsed last year’s win total with four regular season games remaining. They open up a three-game homestand at J.E Logan Field Friday night against Magnolia Heights, followed by Lamar School and Heritage. Those three teams have a combined record of 17-3.

Pillow, coming off a 35-28 overtime victory over Bayou, dropped to 2-5. The Mustangs have now lost six straight against the Vols.

“We played really good for most of the game,” SA coach Chase Nicholson said. “There were spots where we messed up that set us back offensively, and defensively right there at the end . . . we’re continuing to grow as a team, we’re continuing to fight as a team, we’re continuing trying to figure out our identity. I don’t think anybody is going to be upset with winning and learning. We all agree, we know we could be better. I think that was a realization for all of us (after Parklane game), for the guys mostly, that hey we’re pretty good now but we’ve got to continue to get better at a lot of things.”

The two teams combined for less than 400 yards of total offense and 24 points, with seven of those of those points coming on a 47-yard touchdown pass by Pillow with one minute, eight seconds remaining and SA leading 16-0. The Vols finished with 236 yards total offense – 131 rushing, 105 passing. The Mustangs, meanwhile, had 157 yards – 32 rushing, 125 passing.

SA fashioned a nice, 12-play drive on its opening possession, driving from its own 22-yard line to the Pillow 8-yard line before turning the ball over on downs after being stopped on a fourth-and-one. Pillow then went three-and-out followed by a short punt, giving the Vols the ball back at the Mustangs’ 25-yard line. Three plays later, Mullins scored on a 3-yard run for an early 7-0 lead.

That is noteworthy considering SA’s offense had managed only 10 first quarter points over the course of the previous 16 games dating back to last season. That number is now 17 points in the last 17 first quarters. Furthermore, it marked just the second time the offense had staked the Vols to a first quarter lead the past two seasons, with the other coming earlier this season in a win over Winston Academy. Those woes have extended into the second quarter, as SA’s offense has a total of 28 combined points in the first half through six games – 2.3 points per quarter, 4.6 points per first half.

Still, SA finds itself 5-1 overall and 1-0 in district play just past the midway point. Some of that can be attributed to much better play in the second half of games - especially in the third quarter where the Vols have outscored the opposition 71-13 – stellar conditioning, depth at the skill positions, and a stingy defense. More on that unit later.

The score remained 7-0 until early in the fourth quarter when SA’s defense recorded a safety to push the lead to 9-0. Lawson made it 16-0 Vols on a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:31 left in the game, capping a 12-play, 49-yard drive. Placekicker Nathan Miller had booted a 40-yard field goal three plays earlier, but Pillow was ruled offsides.

Pillow scored a little over a minute later as a busted coverage/miscommunication led to a wide open receiver in the middle of the field, resulting in the long touchdown pass. That play provided a little late game drama, cutting the SA lead in half. However, Owen Couvillion safely secured the ensuing onside kick and the Vols were able to run out the clock.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” Nicholson said. “Like I told the guys at halftime, we were playing way too good to only be ahead by seven points. Our guys played hard. I thought we executed pretty good for the most part, and we fixed some things we’ve been working on. I’m proud of them. I thought we did a great job, and we were able to come away with the win.”

SA lost its top two leading rushers from a year ago in Luke Johnson and Graham Hancock. Johnson rushed for 1,000 plus yards in each of the last two seasons. With that duo no longer around, the Vols turned to a running back by committee approach this season consisting of Lawson, senior Miller Shy and junior Brantley Berkery. Lawson has emerged as the go-to-guy, totaling a team-high 390 yards and six touchdowns on 67 carries.

Lawson, a major cog on SA’s undefeated junior high team a year ago, has adjusted quite well to the varsity level while running behind a revamped offensive line and in conjunction with rotating quarterbacks. His 13-yard touchdown run in the second half sparked a come back win over Chambers Academy (Alabama) in this year’s season-opener. He also has a 64-yard touchdown scamper against Bayou Academy on his varsity resume, along with a two-touchdown performance in a road win at East Rankin. His second touchdown that night – a 27-yard run in which he somehow eluded several would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone – helped put that game on ice late.

“Lawson is hard to tackle,” Nicholson said. “Whatever it is, he’s very shifty. He’s good about making that first guy miss, and that’s what good backs do. That’s when it turns out to be good, positive yards. He’s been doing a good job for us.”

The same thing can be said for the SA defense. The Vols have now held opposing offenses scoreless in 15 of 24 quarters through six games, and a touchdown or less in 22 of those 24 quarters. They have forced 13 turnovers (7 fumbles, 6 interceptions) with four of those leading to 19 points. In addition, they have two Pick 6’s and three safeties resulting in 18 more points.

In SA’s five wins the defense has given up a combined 41 points, an average of 8.2 points per game. It has 27 three-and-outs to its credit, with five of those coming on this night. Opposing offenses have had 285 snaps against the Vols’ defense; 41 percent of those have resulted in zero or negative yardage (including pass incompletions). It has had 10 or more such plays against the run in every game this season, including a season-high 13 against Pillow.