Mustangs come up short
BY LINDSAY VAUGHT
Just stick to the game plan was what Madison Academy head coach Eric Cohu preached to his team all week. Treat it like it is another Friday night even though it
was a Thursday morning in Bryant Denney Stadium.
The Mustangs did just that but the result was not what Coach Cohu had in mind. The school’s first state championship in football eluded the Mustangs by the slimmest of margins as Handley scored 13 fourth quarter points and claimed a 20-14 victory.
Academy could not sustain the rushing game that had led them to 4 straight playoff wins as Handley outrushed the Mustangs 272 to 203 yards. Most of those came in the fourth quarter.
“The game plan worked perfectly except we didn’t come out on top. We wanted to limit their possessions and outnumber them at the point of attack. We just lost on field position and an onside kick at the end of the game. The guys played outstanding we just came up short,” Cohu said after the game.
“The kids played championship football to get here. First time in the history of Madison Academy to reach the state championship game, playing here at Bryant Denney Stadium, these guys believed it and we were just a play or two away. We just have to turn the page and help these seniors get to college where they will play football at the next level,” Cohu said referring to Kyle Jackson, Marcus Sease, and Hunter Olive.
Leading rusher Kerryon Johnson had 2 touchdown runs and on defense had an interception but his catch of a pass with .05 seconds left was ruled out of bounds as time expired.
Johnson finished with 60 yards on 12 carries. His 11-yard touchdown run in the first
quarter and a Chandler Trach extra point put Academy up 7-0. Handley answered early in the second quarter to tie the game on a Duran Zachary 2-yard touchdown run on an 11-play 55-yard drive.
With Johnson nursing a foot injury, Khyle Jackson took some carries at tailback and finished with 56 yards on 3 carries. The Mustangs missed an opportunity just before halftime to add to the lead. Nick Haas fumbled after taking a 22-yard pass from Hunter Olive to the Handley 39 yard line.
“That was big. I thought we had a field goal for sure there. Every play counts. You could go through a game like this and a lot of plays determined the outcome, not just one,” Cohu said.
Academy went ahead in the third quarter on a long 8 play, 86 yard drive culminated when
Kerryon Johnson burst out of a pile of players to streak 24 yards for a touchdown.
The lead held up until deep in the fourth quarter. Academy appeared to have the game won when the defense held on downs inside their own 10-yard line. Hunter Olive and Khyle Jackson stopped Handley’s Quay Hunter on fourth and 4 just short of the goal line.
But Academy failed to gain a first down and a short punt had Handley in business at
Academy’s 31-yard line. Handley’s running game moved to a touchdown on 3 plays with only 3:53 left on the clock. A pivotal 2-point conversion was stopped short by Jackson who led Academy with 10 total tackles.
Again the Mustangs appeared to have the game won if they could recover an onside
kick. The expected onside kick resulted in a scrum recovered by Handley.
“We worked on that,” Cohu said of the onside kick. “We had our best guys right there, 10 guys within 20 yards of where that ball was going. It was a great onside kick. It took a wild bounce over our guys.”
Handley scored the go ahead touchdown with 42 seconds on the clock.
Academy drove from their 45 yard line to the Handley 12 with only 5 seconds left. The
last second pass play to Kerryon Johnson was complete but ruled out of bounds.
Handley running back Duron Zachary was named MVP. Also playing for Handley was 6-foot-4, 317 pound junior Bradley Bozeman at offensive and defensive tackle. He is an Alabama commitment for the class of 2013.
