KOSCIUSKO — The Caledonia High School football team ended a four-year wait just in the nick of time Friday night.
In the process, the Confederates kept their playoff hopes alive.
Senior quarterback Spencer Unruh threw for three touchdowns, and senior running back Zion Ford rushed for 151 yards to lead Caledonia to a 31-14 victory against Kosciusko in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A, Region 4 game.
The win was Caledonia’s first against Kosciusko since 2012. It helped the Confederates improve to 4-4 and 1-2 in the region, while the Whippets slipped to 1-7 and 0-3.
“We are ecstatic to come out of here with a win,” Caledonia coach Andy Crotwell said. “I thought it was a great team effort and defensively I thought our defensive line, particularly our defensive ends and linebackers as well, played good football.”
Two-time reigning Class 4A State champion Noxubee County and Houston are tied for the region lead at 3-0. Louisville is 2-1, while Caledonia is 1-2. Kosciusko and Leake Central are at 0-3. The top four teams in the region advance to the playoffs.
Caledonia closes the regular season with games against Noxubee County (next week at home) and Leake Central (Oct. 28 in Carthage).
“We continue to get better and better each week,” Crotwell said. “We still have work to do to get into the playoffs, and we will keep working toward that goal going forward.”
The victory against Kosciusko came on the heels of a 42-35 loss to Louisville. Caledonia didn’t waste any time bouncing back from that loss, taking over after Kosciusko turned the ball over on downs at the Caledonia 25-yard line with 9 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first quarter.
That possession helped set the tone because Caledonia’s defense tightened after freshman running back Bobo Miller broke a 51-yard run up the middle and ran nearly untouched to the Caledonia 26. Four plays later, Caledonia’s offense went to work.
With 4:04 left in the first quarter, Unruh, who was 15 of 24 for 184 yards, found Ford with a 3-yard touchdown strike. Caleb Comer’s kick made it 7-0. After forcing the Whippets to turn the ball over on downs once again near their 48, the Confederates put together a five-play, 48-yard drive that ended when Ford, who had 27 carries and 10 catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 15-yard run. Comer’s kick made it 14-0 with 5:47 remaining in the second quarter.
The Whippets closed the gap to 14-7 after senior running back Jerry Kern bulled his way in from 3 yards out with 2:08 left in the half.
Not satisfied with the 14-7 lead to go into halftime, Caledonia marched to the Kosciusko 18, where Comer drilled a 35-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to make it 17-7 at halftime.
After deferring until the second half, Caledonia was set to receive the opening kick of the third quarter, but Kosciusko executed a perfect onside kick and recovered the football on the Caledonia 41. Sophomore running back Kenwon Riley found the end zone nearly four minutes later on a 5-yard run to cut the deficit to 17-14.
Caledonia answered again by calling on Ford, who scored on a 12-yard run for his third touchdown to make it 24-14 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
The Confederates added the final score with 8:47 remaining, when Unruh found senior receiver Jamel Thomas, who had four catches for 72 yards, with a 21-yard touchdown pass.
“I think our offensive line did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage and the wide receivers did a good job of running routes, catching balls, and blocking,” Crotwell said.
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