LFO can’t corral Coahulla Creek at home
LFO senior running back Jacob Brown has been on an absolute tear in the past month.
Starting with the Oct. 2 game against Ringgold, the 5-foot-7, 170-pounder has shown off his speed, strength and shiftiness, running around and sometimes through defenders on his way 693 yards on 71 carries, an average of nearly 10 yards every time he touches the ball.
Brown put on another show for the home crowd last Tuesday night, carrying 21 times for 182 yards to give him 775 over a fivegame stretch. However, he wasn’t the only hard-running tailback on display at Tommy Cash Stadium.
Coahulla Creek senior Titus Underwood, himself just 5-8 and 175 pounds, played much bigger than his size and shouldered most of load in the Colts’ 34-21 region victory over the Warriors in a rare-early weeknight game.
The game had originally been slated for Oct. 9, but COVID-19 issues forced the teams to have to find another date for the 6-AAA clash. With the two teams not having an available Friday open on the same night for the rest of the season, the Tuesday, Nov. 3 date was set more than three weeks ago, meaning both teams would be playing on just three days’ rest after battling in region games the Friday before.
And early on, it was the visiting Colts looking like the fresher team.
A long opening kick return by Manny Dominguez set up his team at the LFO 18 and it took just five plays for Underwood to bull his way into the end zone from two yards out.
Then, after the Warriors were flagged for holding on their first snap, a fumble gave the ball right back to the Colts at the LFO 15 and Underwood covered that distance just two plays later. A missed PAT made it 13-0 in favor of the guests just 3:52 into the contest.
LFO answered with a 39yard Alec Gentry field goal and the Warriors’ Keenan Walker recovered a surprise onside kick at midfield. A 28-yard pass to Jackson Flanagan set the table for Brown, who went 12 yards on a direct snap, and Gentry’s extra point sliced the deficit down to 13-10 with 3:19 left in the first.
Coahulla Creek responded with a 72-yard march, covering 12 plays. Underwood’s 30-yard burst on fourth-andtwo from his own 36 jumpstarted the drive, which ended with him plowing in from the 1-yard line with 8:09 left before halftime. He also added the conversion run to make it a 21-10 ball game.
The two teams exchanged punts, but LFO’S special teams got into the action with 2:46 to go as Trevon Gott picked up a bouncing punt at his own 35 and raced down the LFO sideline for a 65-yard score. Brown took in the conversion off another direct snap to cut the Colts’ lead to 21-18.
The Colts missed a chance to add to their lead with just 37 seconds left to play as a 41-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, but they would get a gift on the first play of the third quarter as Mason Milstead recovered an LFO fumble and a 15-yard personal foul on the Warriors gave the Colts great field position at the LFO 35.
Coahulla Creek took the ball down to 17 before a holding penalty backed them up 10 yards and brought up thirdand-14 from the 25-yard line. However, the Warriors were hit for a 15-yard pass interference penalty in the end zone and a 5-yard offsides call gave the Colts a crucial first down. Three plays later, Underwood went in from the 1-yard line for his fourth TD of the night to make it 28-18 midway through the third quarter.
LFO took its next possession at their own 39 and moved down to the Coahulla Creek 13 before the drive bogged down. Gentry connected on a 30-yard field goal to cut the Colts’ lead down to seven and the Warriors’ defense stepped up to force a punt with less than a minute to play in the third period.
A 21-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass by Flanagan and a 35-yard tackle-breaking run by Brown moved the ball inside the Colts’ 30 as LFO looked to tie it up early in the fourth. But a fumble at the Coahulla Creek with 24 with 8:40 to play thwarted a golden scoring chance.
Starting at their own 25, the Colts went on a long drive when they needed it the most. A methodical 11-play, 75-yard march not only ended with a 10-yard TD run by Tyler Locklear, one that gave his team a two-score lead, but also took a precious 7:01 off the clock.
Following a short kickoff and a nice return by Gabe Helton, LFO went on offense at the Coahulla Creek 35. However, the Warriors turned it over for the third and final time in the game as Justin Baker intercepted a deflected pass at the LFO 8 and the Colts were able to run out the final 32 seconds to claim victory.
Underwood had 28 carries for 216 yards, while Locklear had 44 yards on 14 attempts. Quarterback Kace Kinnamon went 4 of 9 in the air for 41 yards.
Jevonnie Womble added 46 yards on six rushes for LFO, while Flanagan’s two catches for 49 yards led the way for the Warriors’ receiving corps. Carroll threw for 79 yards on 6 of 13 attempts.
LFO (1-7, 1-5) will play at Murray County on Friday.