MACON — There was life to the magic.
All season, the Central Academy football team found ways to win games. Four times by two points and two more by eight points, the Vikings snatched victory from defeat by the slimmest margins.
When Cole Newman hit Drew Pearson with a 33-yard touchdown pass with 2 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the game, there was hope.
That belief gained momentum when Newman struggled and then stretched into the end zone on a two-conversion to cut Franklin Academy’s lead to four points.
But that momentum evaporated one play later.
A 79-yard touchdown run up the middle sucked the life out of the John L. Barrett Field.
A two-point conversion and two plays later, the ending was complete with an interception. Franklin Academy (La.) then ran out the clock to wrap up a 28-16 victory in the opening round of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Eight-Man playoffs.
Franklin Academy coach Doyle Hassell, whose team beat Central Academy 24-12 on Oct. 14 in Winnsboro, La., credited his offensive line for paving the way for the Cougars.
“That’s the kind of football we play: big-boy, smash-mouth football,” Hassell said. “Central Academy stood toe to toe with us. It was a tough game, a very hard-fought game. They came in with a good game plan defensively and slowed us down. We tried to spread them out early and they made some good adjustments and we had to go to what we do best, which is lining up and running the ball at people.”
Franklin Academy (La.) improved to 8-2 and advances to take on Tensas Academy (La.), the No. 1 team out of the South, which defeated Russell Christian, the No. 4 team out of the North, 48-6 on Friday.
One week after rushing for 423 yards and passing for 215 more in a 94-48 victory against Veritas last week, the running combination led by Ethan Vick worked behind an offensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage.
Central Academy coach Ronnie Sciple used a similar strategy in his first three seasons at the school. But with only two true offensive linemen — seniors Redmon Butler and Cody Brown — the Vikings made do and grinded out yards and relied on their fair share of creativity and big plays to get to the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the run ended too early for Sciple, who said after the game he was stepping down as head coach.
“I am proud of my younguns,” Sciple said. “They played a good ballgame. They didn’t quit. They fought all of the way to the end. It was a great football game and they got beat by a good team. They were big. They have a lot of seniors this time.”
Sciple praised the hard work and leadership of seniors Newman, Pearson, Butler, Brown, Britt Reynolds, Will Thomas, and A.J. Jernigan. He said it is time to step away from coaching because it has been tough working a full-time job in West Alabama and having to go back and forth to coach the team. He said there is a possibility he might get back into coaching in a few years to coach his son, who is in seventh grade, but Sciple said the timing was right.
“I have had one bigger senior group, but them boys played their hearts out tonight,” Sciple said. “We weren’t as big as we usually are, but (the seniors) are all good football players and good children. They all have different personalities, but they are a great bunch, and it was a pleasure to coach them. I never had a group of kids I didn’t like.”
Those seniors nearly put Sciple on the spot again late in the game. The Vikings used an 11-play drive to move from their 29 to paydirt to make it a one score game. Central Academy converted two fourth downs on the drive to keep hope alive.
But Franklin Academy’s size up front carved out a hole on the final touchdown to put the game away.
“We load up the gun and we try to shoot it,” Hassell said. “They went toe to toe with us and we just made a few plays when we needed to.”
Franklin Academy led 6-0 at halftime after failing to convert a first-and-goal from the Central Academy 8 with less than a minute in the second quarter. It extended the margin to 12-0 on its second drive of the third quarter before Central Academy used a 17-yard run by Pearson with one minute left in the quarter to get on the scoreboard. Newman’s pass to Pearson made it 12-8.
Franklin Academy used another rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion run to push the lead to 20-8, but, true to its form, Central Academy rallied and showed fight that made Sciple proud.
Still, it wasn’t enough for Pearson, who left the game with a shoulder injury but returned to lead the Vikings with 17 tackles. Ryan Forrester had 12, Brown had nine, and Newman had eight.
“Defensively we kind of slacked up because I couldn’t work my right shoulder anymore and they ate us up,” Pearson said. “Ryan Forrester hadn’t played much linebacker, but he did his job. They have some big boys and they were blowing us out of the hole.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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