LOUISVILLE — Caledonia head coach Michael Kelly looked over his gathered squad with a solemn grimace and began to speak.
“Three and six does not define you,” Kelly said following Caledonia’s 26-13 loss to Louisville Friday night.
“If you can get on that bus and say that you have no regrets, then you’re going to sleep well tonight,” he continued.
In a year marred by inconsistencies, ups and downs and whatever else a COVID-19 affected fall could throw at Kelly’s team, Caledonia came just a few plays short of upsetting the No. 1-ranked Louisville in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Three weeks ago, Kelly maligned his defense following a 37-12 beatdown against Pontotoc that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. Taking credit for his team’s ill-preparedness that night, it was his defense that held tough throughout Friday’s contest.
After Caledonia gave up a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jace Hudspeth to receiver Dantavius Triplett seconds into the contest, the Wildcats were twice twice stopped on fourth down inside the Caledonia 25-yard line.
“Anytime you can get a stop against the No. 1 team in the state, it’s big,” Kelly said. “Our defense came in here preparing to play well. We haven’t played up to par all year, but we knew that we were better on that side of the ball.”
With the defense holding firm, running back Darrius Triplett received an option pitch from quarterback Daniel Wilburn and raced past the Louisville bench, a gaggle of defenders and into the end zone for a 46-yard score to take an early 7-6 lead.
Louisville returned the favor on the ensuing drive. Converting a fourth-and-2 near the Caledonia 35-yard line, Hudspeth found Jarvis Rush 30 yards downfield on a jump ball in the front right corner of the end zone for his second passing touchdown of the night.
“Only thing I can say is Caledonia came in here to play,” Louisville head coach Tyrone Shorter said. “Hats off to those guys: They gave us a game.”
Coming out of the break, Caledonia narrowly missed a chance to take a brief lead after Triplett ripped off his second long touchdown run of the night, scampering 65 yards on a counter handoff to pay dirt. Following the score, kicker Reed Frady had his kick blocked to keep the score knotted at 13-all.
Louisville finally opened the lid on Friday’s nail-biting contest as Hudspeth connected with Triplett again for a 58-yard gain. One play later, Hudspeth called his own number, plunging into the end zone from a yard out.
Taking over with 5:46 remaining in the contest after Hudspeth shanked a punt to the Caledonia 36-yard line, Wilburn burst through the Louisville defense for a 29-yard gain and set up his team in Wildcats territory.
Three plays later, Caledonia converted a fourth-and-3 on a pop pass from Wilburn, but it was called back for an illegal formation. Lining up again after a slew of confusion from the officiating crew in which the chains were moved unnecessarily, Wilburn was picked off by Shontez Thames to end the possession.
“(The referees) told me we had five guys in the backfield,” Kelly said. “I just find it hard to believe we lined up in that formation about 30 times and we had yet to have five in the backfield. But you know the one time we do … Hey, they control the game.”
The Wildcats put the final touches on Friday’s win when running back Jacorey Coleman beat the Caledonia defense on fourth-and-2 for a 15-yard rushing touchdown with 16 seconds left.
Speaking with his collection of seniors, Kelly reflected on their tenure in his program. He mentioned the team meeting three years ago when they were introduced to their new head coach following an 0-10 season. Kelly alluded to the group’s 11-19 record since, ensuring this year’s 3-6 mark didn’t reflect the progress that’s been made as eyes ran wet with tears near midfield.
“These young men are going to be very successful,” Kelly said. “They’re going to be remembered in our program for years to come because they’re basically what put our program on the map and because of their commitment and their discipline to what we’re trying to do. They’ll always be remembered.”
Louisville 26, Caledonia 13
C 7 0 6 0 — 13
L 13 0 6 7 — 26
First quarter
L — Dantavius Triplett 12 pass from Jace Hudspeth (Brayam Munoz kick)
C — Darrius Triplett 46 run (Reed Frady kick)
Second quarter
L — Jarvis Rush 30 pass from Hudspeth (kick failed)
Third quarter
C — Darrius Triplett 65 run (kick failed)
L — Hudspeth 1 run (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
LHS — Jacorey Coleman 15 run (Munoz kick)
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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