Whew! Mustangs survive playoff scare

Kam Jackson hauls in a touchdown pass during the first half of the Mustangs’ 13-12 victory over Lauderdale County in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

In a game that saw the two teams go for it on fourth down 10 times combined, nine combined turnovers, an onside kick, a fake punt and a blocked extra point, the Madison Academy Mustangs were able to survive a Lauderdale County comeback, 13-12, to advance to the third round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

The Mustangs (10-2) opened a 13-0 halftime lead over the Tigers (10-2), but Lauderdale County came storming back in the second half, and had a chance to take the lead with minutes remaining.

After Madison Academy’s Kam Jackson fumbled a punt inside the Mustang 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, the Tigers converted a fourth-and-1 run by quarterback Octavius Nance before Titus Legg powered in for the 2-yard touchdown run.

However, a host of Mustang defenders burst through the line and blocked the extra point to leave the score 13-12.

Lauderdale recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Mustang defense held strong and stuffed the Tigers on a fourth-and-1 run.

The Mustangs had a chance to put the game away after quarterback Joe Dobson ran for the first down on fourth-and-1, but Dobson’s pass with one minute remaining was picked off by Vickey Gilbert.

Madison Academy’s defense once again stepped up and made a play as Marcus Sease recovered a Tiger fumble to seal the victory.

“We played a good first half, but we just didn’t have the ball the second half,” said Madison Academy head coach Eric Cohu. “They had the momentum the entire second half.”

The Mustangs, however, had most the momentum in the first half, except the opening drive.

After Dobson got the first down on a fourth-and-1 sneak, he fumbled two plays later and Lauderdale’s Patrick Grisham recovered.

The Tigers’ drive wouldn’t last long as Grisham fumbled on the ensuing possession and Jake Hamlett recovered.

The Mustangs were once again held on third down, but Cohu decided to fake the punt, and the decision paid off as the Mustangs gained the first down and scored several plays later on a 5-yard pass from Dobson to Jackson.

“I was pretty confident I wanted to (fake the punt) at some point in the game, and why not go ahead and do it early,” Cohu said.

After forcing the Tigers to punt on the next possession, the Mustangs once again converted on a fourth down as Dobson hit Ben Seabrook for the 30-yard gain inside the Tigers’ 5-yard line.

Dobson connected with Hunter Olive three plays later to put the Mustangs up 13-0 following the missed extra point.

The Tigers scored all the points in the second half, including their first touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run by Jacob Newton on the opening drive of the third quarter.

The Mustangs advance to the third round to take on Hamilton, who defeated Glencoe 3-0 in the second round.

Kickoff for the Nov. -19 at Hamilton is set for 7 p.m.