Nobody gave the South Pittsburg Pirates a snowball’s chance of making it back to the championship game at the BlueCross Bowl after graduating 18 seniors from last year’s state champs.
Even though the Pirates came up short at Finley Stadium Friday afternoon in the D-I, Class A title game, it was an incredible season as they finished at 12-3, the 36-14 loss to the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering snapping a 10-game winning streak.
While it was an amazing football season for South Pittsburg, it was even more so for the Phoenix, who lost their first game of the season before winning their last 13 for their first state football title ever and becoming the first charter school to win a football title.
MASE coach Cedric Miller was all smiles as he walked off the field with the championship trophy in his arms.
“We had to make some adjustments at halftime and we did. We wanted to establish our running game and that was the difference in this game as we were just a little more physical than them in the second half,” he began.
“I’ve been a state champion in basketball before, but this is my first time in football. What an amazing feeling it is, but I’m so proud of these kids as they worked really hard all season and this is a nice reward for all their hard work,” he added.
South Pittsburg coach Wes Stone had a heart-felt talk with his kids following the trophy presentations, doing his best to sooth the hurt his kids were feeling.
“This is not the outcome I was looking for and not the one that any of us wanted, but nobody expected us to be back this year and we have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of,” he began.
“I’m not the least bit disappointed in the way we played. They beat us up as they were more physical, but we’ll get better. All this game should do is let this drive us to get back next year. But we came further this year than any team I’ve ever been around and I couldn’t be more proud,” he added.
Both teams traded a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter in what looked like a possible track meet on a football field, but that was the halftime score as neither team threatened in the second quarter.
The Pirates, who had 159 yards rushing in the first half, had a much tougher time in the final 24 minutes as the Phoenix limited them to just 36 yards on the ground and five first downs.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix scored three touchdowns in the final half to win by a decisive margin,
Senior Chris Watson, who gained 76 yards rushing on 10 carries including three TDs and also had one pass reception for 40 yards, was honored as the game’s MVP.
Meanwhile, South Pittsburgs’s Dayon Cooper, a promising sophomore who has been the Pirates quarterback this fall, had a game to remember with 187 yards on 22 carries and both of his team’s touchdowns in the first half.
Kysaun Powell, another talented sophomore, returned the opening kickoff 20 yards to the 35 and it took just three plays and 62 seconds for the Pirates to get in the end zone as Cooper raced 59 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. The kick by Alex Phillips gave the Pirates a 7-0 lead with 10:52 left in the opening quarter.
The Phoenix had a quick scoring drive as well, moving 68 yards in four plays with Devante Jones scoring on a 15-yard run. The difference was 7-6 after the conversion pass failed.
MASE scored again on its second possession when Watson zipped 18 yards off right tackle with 2:48 left in the first quarter. He also caught the conversion pass from quarterback Brody Whittaker as his team had a 14-7 lead at that point.
Another nice kickoff return by senior Devon Cooper put the Pirates in business at the 34. Needing just five plays and 2:42, the younger Cooper scored again on a 38-yard keeper as the horn sounded to end the first period.
The Phoenix took the second-half kickoff and marched 59 yards in 12 plays, using 6:14 before taking the lead on a 19-yard pass from Whittaker to Kadience Nelson for a 20-14 lead with 5:46 left in the third quarter. South Pittsburg then fumbled on the following kickoff which was recovered by Leandrew Branch.
Taking just 2:20 and five plays to cover those 22 yards, Watson increased his team’s lead to 28-14 with a five-yard run at the 3:26 mark of the third quarter.
Watson then scored his final touchdown of the game on a 14-yard run with 4:27 to play as his team moved 83 yards in 10 plays, the biggest turn of events a 19-yard run by Whittaker from punt formation on a fourth-and-9.
The Pirates had one final possession that included a 31-yard pass from Dayon Cooper to Devon Cooper, but the game ended with South Pittsburg on the MASE 20.
While Dayon Cooper was the rushing leader with his 187 yards, Devon Cooper was the leading receiver with the one catch for 31 yards. J.R. Hardwick also had one catch for 24 yards.
MASE ended the game with 302 total yards, including 235 on the ground and 67 through the air. Jones was the leading rusher for his team with 104 yards on 18 carries and the one touchdown.
South Pittsburg’s record in championship games is now 7-8.
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SOUTH PITTSBURG
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14
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0
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0
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0
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--14
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MASE
|
14
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0
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14
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8
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-- 36
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter
SP 10:52 Dayon Cooper 59 run (Alex Phillips kick) 0-7
M 08:57 Deuonte Jones 15 run (pass failed) 6-7
M 02:48 Christopher Watson 18 run (Watson pass) 14-7
SP 00:00 Dayon Cooper 38 run (Alex Phillips kick) 14-14
Third Quarter
M 05:46 Kadience Nelson 14 pass from Brody Whittaker (pass failed) 20-14
M 03:26 Christopher Watson 5 run (Kadience Nelson pass) 28-14
Fourth Quarter
M 04:27 Christopher Watson 14 run (Leandrew Branch run) 36-14
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TEAM STATS
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South Pitt
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MASE
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First Downs
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12
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17
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Rushes-Yards
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36-195
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37-235
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Passing Yards
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55
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67
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Total yards
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250
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302
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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2-6-0
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4-8-0
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Penalties-Yards
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2-15
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11-85
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Punts-Average
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1-30.0
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2-29.0
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Fumbles-Lost
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5-1
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0-0
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Third Down Conversions
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4-9
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2-7
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Time of Possession
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24:13
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23:37
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Individual Stats
Rushing: Dayon Cooper 22-187; Jamychal Buckner 11-19; TEAM 3-(-11) (SP); Deuante Jones 18-104; Christopher Watson 10-76; Kadience Nelson 5-40; Brody Whittaker 3-9; Leandrew Branch 1-6 (M).
Passing: Dayon Cooper 2 of 6 for 55 yards (SP); Brody Whittaker 4 of 8 for 67 yards and 1 touchdown (M).
Receiving Devon Cooper 1-31; JR Hardwick 1-24 (SP); Kadience Nelson 2-20; Christopher Watson 1-40; Deuante Jones1-7 (M).
Most Valuable Player: Christopher Watson (MASE)
Notable: MASE wins first football championship in school history and first-ever by a charter school.
Records: South Pittsburg 12-3; MASE 13-1.
(Contact John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)