RESPLENDENT IN RED
Mountain Pine’s Kason Porter, left, tries to evade two Spring Hill defenders as Jeremiah Walker (50) pursues the play in Friday night’s game at Stanley May Field. Rolling to a 54-13 victory, its sixth consecutive, Mountain Pine is 6-1 overall, 4-0 in Class 2A-7. The Red Devils play at Lafayette County this week before an Oct. 27 matchup against defending Class 2A champion Mount Ida.
MOUNTAIN PINE — With Mountain Pine legend Stanley May in attendance, the Red Devils put on a show for their former coach Friday night on the field that bears his name.
Recovering from a fumble on their first offensive possession, the Red Devils erupted for 48 first-half points and rolled to their sixth-straight win, 54-13 over visiting Spring Hill.
“We prepared a little differently this week; we got after them on defense and made them realize they weren’t firing off the ball like they should,” Mountain Pine coach Sam Counce said. “Sometimes you go back and re-teach, go back and remind them of what we’re doing and what got us here. Once we did that, they took hold of it and we got after it tonight.”
Forcing a quick three-and-out on Spring Hill’s first drive, Mountain Pine atoned for its early turnover when Elijah Browning broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run.
After a fumble by the Bears, Chad Graves capped a 64-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 advantage. Entering the game with just 77 yards on nine carries through the first six games, Graves finished with 81 yards on four attempts.
“I guess we held him at bay early in the year,” said Counce. “He stepped up tonight. He knows this is his season as a senior, and he’s ready to go every time we try to give it to him.”
Spring Hill closed the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Keymonte Rhodes before the Red Devils took control. Graves, Collin Smith and Fay Haywood each rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter while Smith connected with Kason Porter for a 24-yard score to make it 48-7 at halftime.
The Red Devils limited Spring Hill to 56 yards in the first half while forcing three turnovers, including a fumble returned 43 yards for a touchdown by Josh Walpole.
“We were good on offense and defense tonight, and that was big for us to come out and play a complete game,” Counce said. “Defense was something we had to get better on, and they did that.”
With the mercy rule and running clock enacted, Mountain Pine played mostly reserves in the second half and Devon Washington scored from eight yards out to make it 54-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Spring Hill set the final margin on Lewis Cham-
bers’ one-yard plunge with 3:05 remaining in the game.
Smith completed three of four passes for 57 yards, Walpole his leading receiver with two catches for 57 yards. Browning had 74 yards on seven carries while Haywood shook off the early fumble to finish with a team-high 84 yards on seven attempts.
“He’s a competitor; he doesn’t let that stuff get to him,” Counce said. “He has a short memory and he comes back and gets after it. He just goes so hard on every down and he’s a good kid.”
Rhodes paced the Bears with 97 yards on 11 carries and quarterback Payton Massanelli finished with 19 on five carries.
Now 6-1 overall and 4-0 in conference, Mountain Pine travels to Lafayette County next week before visiting defending Class 2A champion Mount Ida Oct. 27.
“It’s business every week for us and I want the guys to treat it that way regardless of who we play next,” said Counce. “I want these kids to get better every week. That will be our focus; just get better as a team, stay healthy and play the next person.”