Red Devils continue winning run in 2A-5
MOUNTAIN PINE — Senior quarterback Collin Smith put up his best performance of the year Friday night as he led Mountain Pine to a 60-42 win over the Bigelow Panthers at Stanley May Field.
Smith increased his production Friday night by over a third as he rushed for 338 yards on 26 carries, bringing his season total up to 1,221 yards on 137 carries. He also accounted for all eight of the Red Devils touchdowns (seven rushing, one passing), bringing his season total to 20 scores. Smith also had a 45-yard punt return and two kick returns for 33 yards.
“That’s what’s got to be,” Mountain Pine head coach Sam Counce said. “Really and truly, he’s the guy, and he’s got to perform for us, and if he doesn’t, we’re in trouble. And that’s not a secret for any coach anywhere in the state. That’s just the way it is, and Collin has got himself in a position to be that guy. He’s physical, and he’s strong, and he understands what’s going on. He did a really good job tonight, seeing the field and running the ball when he needed to.”
After a slow start, the Red Devils (3-3, 3-0 2A-5) pushed out to a 32-7 lead with 3:32 left in the first half with three straight touchdowns in the second quarter. The Panthers (0-6,
0-3) capped a three-play, 50yard drive with a 38-yard run by quarterback Keithlin Brown with 2:54 left in the half after Brown took advantage of a busted pass play, tucked the ball and ran around the far side for the end zone, breaking multiple tackles along the way.
Mountain Pine burned 2:26 off the clock on the ensuing drive as Smith led the offense down the field on a 10-play,
80-yard drive that ended with Smith carrying the ball in from the 6 with 10.1 seconds left before the break, taking what little momentum that the Panthers had gained into the second half.
“The first half was kind of lopsided,” said Bigelow head coach Luke Starks. “I’m kind of proud of how we fought second half. Mountain Pine, they’ve got a pretty good squad offensively. That No. 2, he’s pretty salty. He torched us. Our game plan coming in was to stop No. 2, and we obviously didn’t do that. So that’s how that turned out.”
Aiming for the 35-point spread that would enact the sportsmanship rule, the Red Devils found the end zone in the third quarter with 4:37 off the clock as Kayden Anzaldua caught a 16-yard pass from Smith. The conversion run by Jeremiah Walker pushed Mountain Pine’s lead out to 34 before the Panthers went on a three-touchdown run to pull within 48-34 with 22 seconds left in the frame.
“We were kind of disappointed and all how we played first half as a unit,” Starks said. “[We] kind of went around and coached them up a little bit to see what we could do. The offense turned it around, started playing ball, and defense stayed in the same groove. We’ve got stuff to figure out defensively for sure.”
Brown broke out in the second half, adding 128 of his 209 rushing yards and 73 of the 114 passing yards in the second half. He also added four touchdowns in the half as well.
Defensive end Jordan Pruitt made his presence known in his first game back after an injury in Week 2. The junior finished with six tackles and two sacks for 13.7 yards while recovering a fumble.
Seniors Jace Chacon and Hayden Barnes led the team’s defense. Chacon had 10 tackles, five for a loss, and two sacks for a total of 19.7 yards while Barnes tallied 10 tackles.
The Red Devils travel to Magnet Cove (5-1, 3-0) to face off against the only other undefeated team in 2A-5 conference play. The Panthers host Poyen (5-1, 2-1).