One obstacle remains in the Class A Division I No. 1 May Tigers’ quest to return to AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the state championship game, as the No. 2 Abbott Panthers stand in their way.
The Class A Division I state semifinal showdown between May (13-0) and Abbott (13-0) will kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday in Dublin.
May carries unblemished record into its 14th game of the season, coming off a pair of victories over previously undefeated, state-ranked foes in No. 6 Jonesboro and No. 3 Water Valley. In both of those games, the Tigers got off to slow starts and were facing potential two-touchdown deficits before game-changing plays by the defense turned the tide.
Abbott, meanwhile, enters the contest with 13 consecutive mercy-rule victories to its credit, as the Panthers have yet to play a four full-quarter contest.
“They’re quick, they’re fast, they’re not real big but they swarm to the ball like crazy on defense,” said May 18th-year head coach Craig Steele. “On offense they’re very well-coached, they’re very confident in what they’re doing and you can tell by the way they attack their blocks.”
Steele believes the Tigers do have an advantage over Abbott due to playing close games the last two weeks – wins of 84-55 over Jonesboro and 70-49 over Water Valley.
“I don’t think Abbott has had a full game this year, I could be wrong on that, but I don’t think they have,” Steele said. “I was worried about that for us but these last two games have really pushed us conditioning-wise and physically. As long as we stay healthy, I do think that’s going to help us out.”
Having to rally from early deficits is also something May has recently experienced, and a foreign concept to Abbott this year, which could prove to be another edge for the Tigers.
“We talked about this week, there’s no need to panic if things start off bad, we’ve proven the last two weeks that maybe we don’t start out the game like we want to but we find our footing and start getting stuff done,” Steele said. “The further you go the more possibility you have of panic setting in, but I want them to stay calm and level headed and I have to do the same. I wish we’d start faster but as long as we get it done in the end we’ll take it.”
The Tigers have defeated Borden County (51-6), Sterling City (104-80), Knox City (65-16), Evant (63-6), Blum (77-14), and Newcastle (55-0), as well as District 13 foes Gorman (54-0), Santa Anna (58-0), Baird (82-34), Lingleville (54-8), Irion County (68-20), Jonesboro (84-55), and Water Valley (70-49).
Abbott owns victories this season over Avalon (52-6), Milford (48-0), Covington (62-12), Bellville Faith (48-0), Keene (59-8), Blum (46-0), Lometa (58-12), Coolidge (53-8), Aquilla (52-0), Penelope (56-0), Avalon (67-22) again, Newcastle (54-8), and Coolidge (74-27) again,
For the season, the Tigers are averaging 68 points and 318 yards – 201 rushing and 117 passing – per game.
Leading the way on the ground are Kaden Halk (860 yards, 20 TDs), Avery Williford (728 yards, 18 TDs), Blake Harrell (553 yards, 12 TDs), Braden Steele (218 yards, 3 TDs), and Damian Salinas (187 yards, 6 TDs).
Through the air, Harrell has completed 45 of 64 passes for 1,134 yards with 22 touchdowns and two interceptions, while Luke McKenzie has connected 19 of 31 attempts for 338 yards with 12 scoring tosses and one interception.
Top receiving threats include Halk (16-369, 7 TDs), Williford (13-359, 9 TDs), Kaysen King (9-224, 4 TDs), Salinas (8-203, 6 TDs), and Brian Kunkel (7-163, 4 TDs).
Defensively, the Tigers are allowing 22 points per game and have forced 44 turnovers – 31 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions – with 14 touchdowns. Top tacklers are Salinas (113 tackles, 8.5 for loss, 4 INTs, 5 FRs), Harrell (91 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 4 FRs, 1 FR), Williford (84 tackles, 30.5 for loss, 4 FRs), Kunkel (77 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 4 FRs, 1 INT), Halk (56 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 4 INTs, 4 FRs), and King (50 tackles, 9 for loss, 5 FRs, 1 INT).
Abbott averages 56 points and allows 8 per game with five shutouts. All of the Panthers’ game have ended via the 45-point mercy rule.
Offensively, the Panthers are led on the ground by Karsyn Johnson (468 yards, 13 TDs), Isaiah Singleton (316 yards, 10 TDs), and Kane Klaus (249 yards, 6 TDs). Through the air, Johnson has thrown for a team-high 274 yards and three scores, while Klaus has grabbed 17 receptions for 342 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, Klaus leads Abbott with 105 tackles, including 23 for loss and 3.5 sacks, followed by Johnson with 70 tackles and Singleton with 64.
Regarding the keys to a May victory, Steele said, “We didn’t have any turnovers the other night against Water Valley and that’s been a big key to our success all year. I’d love if we could get a few turnovers. I feel like we’ve been a little loose with the ball lately so we need to cut out our turnovers. They’re an extremely fast team so we have to be really good on our blocks, we have to be really good in space on defense with our tackling. If we miss a tackle in space it’s probably going to be a touchdown, so we have to do a good job in all those phases.”
According to sixmanfootball.com, May is a 19-point favorite.
Saturday’s winner will face either Region I champion and eighth-ranked Happy (10-4) or Region II champion and fifth-ranked Westbrook (9-4) in the Class A Division I state championship game at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.