Strong finish carries Lions to semifinals
MOUNT IDA — Defending Class
2A champion Mount Ida sputtered defensively in the second half Friday night before coming up big with the game on the line.
After surrendering a season-high
28 points in three quarters, the Lions forced two turnovers while limiting Conway Christian to five first downs in the fourth quarter to secure a 34-28 win at Stidman Field.
“That’s where a championship team will prove itself,” Mount Ida coach Mike White said. “Most championship teams will be great defensive teams, and we challenged them at halftime. You’re going to have some bad nights, but we were able to get some more pressure on the quarterback and had some success with a different look.”
With the scored tied 28-28, Mount Ida drove into Conway Christian territory on its first possession of the fourth quarter, but the Lions were forced to punt after consecutive false start and holding penalties.
After the Eagles took over on their own 34 yard line, Mount Ida had two straight sacks of quarterback Jacob Wood before Jonathan Lagrange made the play of the game for the Lions.
The junior intercepted Wood’s pass attempt on third down, giving Mount Ida the ball deep in Conway Christian territory. Five plays later, Lagrange scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run with 6:46 remaining in the fourth.
“He’s a hard-nosed football player and he’s our go-to guy,” said White. “We always feel comfortable with the ball in his hands, and he proved once again tonight that he’s one of the better backs in 2A.”
The Eagles turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, but had one last chance after Mount Ida failed to pick up a first down.
Taking over on its own 9 with 1:04 to play, Conway Christian gained 60 yards on five plays before Wood’s pass attempt fell incomplete as time expired.
“When we flushed him out of the pocket we actually did contain him a little more,” White said. “He’s a great player, one of the best in 2A if not the state. Overall, your kids have to step up and make plays to win a football game and we did that tonight.”
Taking over after a fourth down stop on defense, the Lions took a 7-0 lead after a four-yard touchdown run by Lagrange in the first quarter.
Following a blocked punt by Drew Allen, Cade Helms extended Mount Ida’s lead to 14-0 on a two-yard run with 5:37 remaining in the first.
In what proved to be a one-possession game down the stretch, White called the blocked punt the difference for his team.
“We saw that on film and again, that’s where a good football team will execute and come up with a big play for us,” he said. “It was basically the difference in the football game.”
Conway Christian capped a 13-play drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Wood to Bennett Ellis on the first play of the second quarter to trim the gap to 14-7.
A 23-yard scoring run by quarterback Cade Jackson pushed Mount Ida’s lead to 21-7, but the Eagles answered right back when Wood rushed for a one-yard touchdown with 5:16 remaining in the second quarter.
Jackson scored on a 62-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half before Conway Christian made things interesting. Wood scored on a six-yard run and connected with Jesse Dather for a 31-yard touchdown as the Eagles knotted the score at
28 with 2:17 remaining in the third, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
Mount Ida rushed for 317 yards, Jackson finishing with a team-high 110 while Lagrange added 86.
Wood completed 25 of 41 pass attempts for 368 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Luke Gates paced the Eagles with 53 rushing yards on 16 attempts.
The Lions (13-0) will take a 21game winning streak into next week’s semifinal at Camden Harmony Grove.
“We’ve got a lot to improve on; I thought we played very sloppy and had some bad penalties, but we won,” said White. “We survived and won, and now there’s only four teams left. Hopefully we’ll have some momentum carry over after holding them out late defensively tonight.”