ROBERT LEE – For the second time in as many weeks, the No. 1 May Tigers were on the verge of facing an early two-touchdown deficit. But a goal line stand early in the second period swung the momentum in the Tigers’ favor, who then scored 22 consecutive points and never trailed again in a 70-49 victory over the No. 2 Water Valley Wildcats in the Class A Division I Region IV championship game Saturday night.
Trailing 14-8 after witnessing Water Valley (12-1) recover an onside kick to start the game and later pounce on a May (13-0) fumble on its first snap, the Tigers’ backs were against the wall as the Wildcats drove to the Tiger 1 just under a minute into the second quarter. On third-and-goal from the 1, the Tigers stuffed Nathan Treadaway for no gain. On fourth-and-goal, the Tigers dropped Treadaway for a 2-yard loss, but were flagged for being offside. Again facing a fourth-and-goal inside the Tiger 1, the May defense stood tall once more and prevented Tallon Hayes from reaching the end zone.
Starting on their own 1, the Tigers mustered just 1 yard on the first two snaps, but Blake Harrell then connected with Kaden Halk, who made a leaping catch 42 yards downfield, setting up May at the Water Valley 38. Two snaps later, Avery Williford scored on a 32-yard scamper as the Tigers drew even at 14 with 6:22 left in the first half, wrestling complete control away from the Wildcats – who still mustered 548 total yards, 333 passing and 215 rushing.
“The goal line stand was huge,” said May 18th-year head coach Craig Steele. “We were not playing particularly well and that goal line stand really got us going. There was a couple moments tonight where I thought the kids could go off the rails, but we’re not going to panic as a coaching staff, we’re not going to let the kids panic. We just tell them there’s a lot of time left and if we do the things we’re taught to do we’ll be fine. And the kids kind of got back to their roots, if you will.”
Following the tying touchdown, the May defense forced a second consecutive stop against the Water Valley offense at the Tiger 34. Five plays later, Harrell barreled into the end zone from 15 yards out, giving May a 22-14 edge after Kaysen King’s two-point kick with 3:26 left before halftime.
The Tiger defense followed with a four-and-out, giving the May offense the ball at the Water Valley 21, and two plays later Halk galloped into the end zone from 18 yards out to pad the cushion to 30-14 with 1:57 left before halftime.
“We had several opportunities to get turnovers, we just didn’t finish the job, but the defensive stops were huge,” said Steele, whose defense had forced 44 turnovers with 14 defensive touchdowns coming into the game. “We got them to fourth down I don’t know how many times and they’d pick up a first, and that was frustrating, but that’s a credit to team and their coaching staff. They had those kids ready and they played their tails off tonight.”
Water Valley scored with 10 seconds left before halftime on an 8-yard pass from Connor Glass to Gabriel Smith, then opened the second half with a 42-yard scoring toss from Glass to Treadaway. May blocked the second two-point kick at the 7:54 mark of the third period to maintain a 30-28 edge.
The Tigers then reeled off consecutive touchdowns of their own as Halk needed just one play to boost May’s lead to 36-28 on a 46-yard sprint at 7:43 of the third quarter.
Water Valley then failed to advance past the midfield stripe on its next drive. The Tigers took over at the 40 and four plays later were in the end zone on an 8-yard carry by Harrell, pushing the advantage to 44-28 with 3:03 remaining in the third.
After the Wildcats crept within 44-36 on a 13-yard scoring toss from Glass to Smith, Williford returned an onside kick attempt 42 yards for a touchdown, as May carried a 50-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
Water Valley failed to convert a fourth-and-20 from its own 10 on the first snap of the fourth quarter, and two plays later Harrell scored on a 1-yard dive to give the Tigers a three-touchdown cushion, 56-36, with 9:38 to go.
The teams traded touchdowns down the stretch with Braden Steele scoring on a 34-yard run, while Halk added a 2-yard plunge with 1:40 remaining to round out the scoring.
May finished with 424 yards of total offense – 359 rushing and 65 passing. Halk led the way on the ground with 139 yards and three touchdowns, Williford tacked on 90 yards and a score, Harrell finished with 68 yards and reached the end zone three times and Steele chipped in 62 yards and crossed the goal line once.
Through the air, Harrell was 3 of 6 for 65 yards and an 11-yard touchdown to Williford that opened the scoring for May. Halk pulled down the momentum-shifting 42-yard reception and Jackson Easterling caught a 12-yard pass.
“The defense that Water Valley’s been running all year, they came out in some other stuff,” Steele said. “We had a lot of stuff planned that we couldn’t run and that forced us into being a little more vanilla than we intended to be, but the kids did a great job of blocking tonight, they really got after. I think blocking is Water Valley’s calling card, but I thought we did a good job blocking as well tonight.”
May advances to face No. 3 Abbott (13-0) – a 74-27 winner over Coolidge (8-5) Friday night – in the state semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday at Dublin, with the victor earning a berth in the Dec. 15 Class A Division I state title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
“I haven’t hardly seen a thing on Abbott,” Steele said. “I know they’re quick, they’re fast, and I know they’re going to be well coached.”
