By DON ROWE
Special to The Dispatch
ABERDEEN — Corinth head coach Doug Jones’ unbeaten winning streak is intact.
Jones, a former Amory standout in the late ’90s, never lost to Aberdeen as a player and the Warriors’ 21-20 win here Friday preserved his unbeaten streak — in games played in Monroe County that is.
“I never lost a game to Aberdeen as a player from the 7th grade through my senior season and after tonight, I’m still undefeated — in Monroe County anyway,” said Jones.
Although last season’s lopsided 42-7 Aberdeen win at Corinth doesn’t impact the Monroe County streak, it did play a big role in this year’s turnaround.
“Last year’s outcome definitely left a bad taste in our mouths as far as we were concerned,” said Jones. “They beat us pretty good on our own field in what was our worst loss of the year. We were pretty focused on evening things up.”
So, beside the revenge factor, what keyed holding the explosive Bulldogs to less than half of their 2014 point total?
“In a nutshell, it was No. 46 — Deonte Keith, who didn’t play against Aberdeen last year after suffering a broken ankle early in the season,” said Jones. “Overall, the defense stepped up tonight and it was a total team effort, but big No. 46 elevates everyone’s play on the defensive side of the ball.”
Keith and his defensive mates held Aberdeen to 273 total yards — 71 yards rushing and 202 yards passing. More importantly, Aberdeen had 15 possessions in the game, six of which were of the three-and-out variety. In addition, three more Bulldog possessions lasted but four plays. The Warriors also had two end zone picks and stopped two of Aberdeen’s three 2-point conversion attempts.
On the flip side, sophomore kicker Michael Baugus’ three point-after kicks proved to be the difference in the one-point Corinth win.
“In the end, we made one more play than they did,” said Jones. “They played well, we played well and both teams played their tails off,” said Jones.
A Corinth rout seemed imminent after the Warriors scored on their first two possessions for a 14-0 first-quarter lead. A 33-yard Antares Gwyn to Armad Wicks TO pass which capped a 12-play, 85-yard march accounted for the first score and then a 4-yard burst by junior Jalen Cobbs on Corinth’s second offensive series made it a 14-point spread (along with Baugus’ PAT kicks).
Corinth cornerback Javen Morrison’s end zone interception stymied Aberdeen’s initial scoring threat on its fourth possession, but the Dogs pulled within eight points late in the second quarter on Donte Carter’s 2-yard burst.
Hamilton transfer Byron Butler came off the bench to complete three passes for 58 yards on the seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive — one for 35 yards to Isiah McMillian and two to B.J. Williams for 23 yards. Prather’s 2-point conversion pass failed, however, leaving Aberdeen on the short end of a 14-6 halftime score.
Gwyn’s punt pinned Aberdeen deep in its own territory at the 10 early in the third quarter and set up what proved to be the Warriors’ game-winning score following Aberdeen’s fourth three-and-out.
Taking over three yards inside Aberdeen territory, Gwyn hooked up with Morrison on a spectacular 45-yard scoring toss three plays later and Baugus’ point after kick proved to be the difference. On the play, Morrison made a leaping catch as he out-muscled an Aberdeen defender in the end zone for the score.
Down 21-6 midway through the third period, Aberdeen made a run at the Warriors with a fourth-quarter rally which ultimately fell two points short of a win.
Prather’s 14-yard scoring toss to Jerrick Orr on the first play of the fourth quarter, followed by a 2-point reception by Dorian Fears, made it a 21-14 count and set up as wild a finish as Aberdeen fans have seen in several years.
Following two unsuccessful drives, the Bulldogs took over at their own 22 with 1:38 to play and Orr hauled in a 30-yard Prather pass for a first at the Corinth 48. On the next play, Prather scrambled out of the pocket and pulled a Tim Tebow with a jump-pass to Orr for what appeared to be a 48-yard touchdown, but the officials ruled he had stepped over the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball.
Undaunted, Prather found Cameron Blaylock on a 15-yard completion and then went back to Orr again on a 33-yard scoring strike to make it a one-point deficit with 24 seconds left. But, as luck would have it, Prather’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete to preserve the Corinth win.
“We had our chance to win, but the important thing is that we didn’t give up,” said first-year Aberdeen coach Eric Spann. “Down 21-6 we could have packed it in, but it was a credit to our players that they came back and made a game out of it.”
Dropped passes and big plays by Corinth hurt Aberdeen’s chances, according to Spann.
“We had to have eight or 10 dropped passes and we gave up two deep balls on defense,” said Spann. “Overall, we didn’t play that badly especially when you consider that we’re heavy on seniors but most of them haven’t played more than one year. There’s a big learning curve for what football is all about and it showed tonight.”
Spann was pleased with the play of his linebackers as a group, as well as his line, and he singled out Isiah McMillian, Jerrick Orr and quarterbacks Prather and Butler in particular.
“For a sophomore, Isiah (McMillian) had a good game, and Tramonte (Prather) and Byron (Butler) did some good things,” said Spann. “As for Jerrick (Orr), he played extremely well on both sides of the ball.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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