SHANNON — New Hope coach Seth Stillman wouldn’t have been shocked to see a team in the Trojans’ circumstances Friday night give up the fight.
A 14-0 lead had vanished in moments at Mike Scott Field in Shannon. The host Red Raiders had scored three times in eight minutes to race out to a 10-point lead late in the third quarter.
Momentum flagged on the Trojans’ sideline. Stillman had seen this movie before.
“That’s what New Hope’s always done: quit,” the former Trojans player admitted.
Not this time. Not this season.
Tre Doughty returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, Hayden Dodson ran for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, and the Trojans (2-0) held off Shannon (1-1), 28-24.
“That was unbelievable,” Stillman said.
Dodson, New Hope’s senior quarterback, took a read-option keeper to the house with 4 minutes, 35 seconds to play as the Trojans reclaimed the lead. Javeon Henry pounced on a Shannon fumble, but New Hope had to punt the ball away in the final minute.
The Trojans’ defense held again, though, sacking quarterback Jamarcus Shines near midfield as the final seconds ran off the clock. When zeros flashed on the scoreboard, New Hope players and coaches on the sideline charged the field in celebration.
Stillman praised a defensive effort that saw New Hope hold Shannon scoreless for the entire first half despite multiple opportunities for the Red Raiders inside the 25-yard line.
The Trojans stopped Kegan Ruff on a fourth-down run on one play, and Jakobe Brewer intercepted a pass on fourth down on another series.
“I think it’s one of the best defenses in the state,” Stillman said. “I wouldn’t trade ’em for anybody. There’s a lot of really, really good players. I think they’re really, really well coached. They play for each other. Eleven brothers. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
But that vaunted, senior-heavy defense flagged a bit at a critical moment.
Ruff burned the Trojans on an 11-yard touchdown run barely three minutes into the second half. A little more than two minutes later, he scored again from 49 yards out. Ruff scored both two-point conversions to put Shannon on top, 16-14.
On the sideline, Stillman lit into the same defense he would later praise, calling its effort “unacceptable.”
“I need to see the energy,” he told his team. “I need to see a little fight.”
It took a few minutes for that to sink in. Ruff scored again for the Red Raiders, pushing the lead to 10 with 52 seconds to play in the third quarter after Jaiden Shannon punched in the two-point conversion.
Then Doughty delivered the spark the Trojans needed.
He received the kickoff at the 20 and cut across the field from left to right, diving into the corner of the end zone for his second return touchdown of the day.
“It helped us a lot, gave us the momentum, kept us going,” Brewer said.
Doughty got things started for New Hope in the first quarter with a 77-yard punt return score, cutting back in the same direction and racing down the right sideline.
He played a limited role in the Trojans’ running game Friday, but that might be set to change.
“I’m obviously not doing a very good job coaching because we probably need to get him the ball a little more on offense if he’s going to score every time he touches it,” Stillman said.
Alex Dawkins had New Hope’s other touchdown, a 1-yard rushing score just before halftime. New Hope took a 14-0 lead into the break and received the second-half kickoff.
The Trojans’ offense began to flag. Their defense broke down. Shannon took advantage.
Stillman took stock of his team. Despite the abrupt momentum swing, he saw what he wanted.
“I think we were shocked,” Stillman said. “We had a little shock. But they knew. They had the look in their eyes, and they knew that it wasn’t over yet and we were going to make another charge.”
The Trojans did, improving their record to 2-0 for the second straight season. They have a week off before a Sept. 16 game at Itawamba Agricultural.
Brewer called New Hope’s early success “the start of a new legacy” at the school, and his coach appeared to agree.
“It means the world to me,” Stillman said. “It’s something that we’ve been fighting for. These guys have put the time in. These guys have put the time in. They’ve put the blood, sweat, tears. They’ve listened to me yell and scream at ’em. It’s paying off right now.
“I think we’ve got something special brewing.”
New Hope 28, Shannon 24
New Hope (2-0) 7 7 7 7 — 28
Shannon (1-1) 0 0 24 0 — 24
First quarter
NH — Tre Doughty 77 punt return (Cole Crawford kick), clock 9:44
Second quarter
NH — Alex Dawkins 1 run (Crawford kick), clock 0:31
Third quarter
S — Kegan Ruff 11 run (Ruff run), clock 8:52
S — Ruff 49 run (Ruff run), clock 6:36
S — Ruff 30 run (Jaiden Shannon run), clock 1:13
NH — Doughty 80 kick return (Crawford kick), clock 0:52
Fourth quarter
NH — Hayden Dodson 11 run (Crawford kick), clock 4:35
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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