BROOKHAVEN — McComb’s jamboree Thursday night was ratcheted up a notch from the preseason exhibition level it was supposed to represent.
There was plenty of tension in the final minute and coaches from both sides had been giving the referees an earful.
With six seconds left on the clock, Wayne County quarterback Calvin McDougle took off from his shotgun stance after he received the snap and waited for a hole to open up the middle.
Once he passed his linemen he darted to the right around a McComb linebacker and beat the pursuit to the sideline, where he turned the ball upfield. At the 3-yard line he jumped for the end zone. Mid-air he was hit and, spinning like an ice skater, he stretched the ball out across the pylon.
Standing out of bounds past the goal line with no time left on the clock, he had tied the game.
After an offside call on McComb, Wayne County’s kicker put the extra point through to win 14-13.
McDougle’s run closed the only preseason action McComb will see before it’s opener at South Pike next Friday.
McDougle’s run was disappointing, but the 40 minutes prior showed promise for the Tigers.
“They had shots at him,” McComb head football coach Randy Martin said of his defense. “He just wanted it more.”
The final play showed what the Tigers have to work on, though, and that is tackling.
“Tackling is a big desire for us,” he said. “We want it, but we have to turn it up a little.”
The Tigers won their first scrimmage against Laurel 8-7.
Laurel scored first after McComb had driven to the 1-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. The Tornadoes marched 99 yards for their only score against the Tigers.
“Everybody had their head down and we were getting there and not wrapping up,” linebacker and running back Justin Powell said. “It finally got in our heads that these guys were trying to beat us. Then it was hit, hit, hit.”
After a 38-yard kickoff return from Bobby Felder, the Tigers scored seven plays later on a Nathan Knox 2-yard run. Felder ran it in for the two-point conversion and the lead.
Laurel reached midfield before failing to convert a first down, and McComb ran out the clock.
The second scrimmage against Wayne County had all the intensity and jawing of a regular season game.
Powell scored both touchdowns for the Tigers. His rushing score came on the first Tiger possession. He skipped through a tackle at the 5-yard line and beat the War Eagles to the end zone to make it 6-0 after a missed extra point.
His second touchdown gave McComb back the lead after Wayne County had scored once and was moving the ball again.
The War Eagles had just gained a first down at the 44-yard line when McDougle threw a quick out towards his sideline. Powell was waiting for it and won the race to the end zone.
“Coach was saying if I just back up into my zone, the ball will come right to me,” Powell said.”Once I caught it there wasn’t nobody catching me.”
The score gave McComb the lead at 13-7 after the extra point was made with three minutes remaining.
McDougle scrambled to convert a third-and-8 on his own 27 to keep the War Eagles alive with a 1:30 left.
Two penalties on Wayne County put the War Eagles at second-and-20 from McComb’s 35.
McDougle threw down the right sideline for the end zone and the Tigers were called for defensive pass interference when the legs of the corner and receiver became tangled.
That’s when McDougle darted in for the score and the win after the extra point.
Despite the loss there were good things that came out of the night.
McComb piled up 115 yards rushing in the 20 minutes against Laurel, but was held to 43 against Wayne County.
Meanwhile, Anthony Daniels at quarterback was 4-of-5 for 40 yards along with 24 yards rushing.
Martin took away a carefully worded lesson and a good idea of what his team has.
“I’m not satisfied with the performance, but I’m pleased with the effort,” he said. “We made mistakes we can correct and they had a good attitude and are working hard. They came on and played together.”
