TYLERTOWN — Tylertown head football coach Walter Denton asked a question so simple, yet so profound.
“Where are we going?” Denton asked, trying to find a spot to gather with his players into a post-game huddle.
For now, the question has one answer — home — a destination that could bring the Tylertown Chiefs’ undefeated season to its conclusion or take them all the way to the top.
The Chiefs kept alive their hopes for a return trip to the Class 3A state championship game on Friday night with a 28-14 victory over the Forest Bearcats here.
The Chiefs (13-0) will host the Morton Panthers next week in the South State championship game for a chance to go to Jackson for the state championship game the following week.
“This is what it’s all about, getting this far in the season,” said Denton, whose Chiefs suffered a heartbreaking 26-21 loss to Louisville in last season’s state championship. “This was a very well-played game on both sides. I’m beyond words.”
The Chiefs, as they had all season, did much of their damage on the ground and on defense. And as he has much of this season, senior quarterback Jameon Lewis provided the offensive spark.
Offensively, Tylertown rushed the ball 35 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Lewis rushed 14 times for 57 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 6 of 12 passes for 137 yards and two more touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
Senior running back T.O. Robertson carried six times for a team-best 89 yards and a touchdown.
And, as it has all season, the Tylertown defense once again put the brakes on an opposition’s high-octane offense.
The Chiefs sacked Forest quarterback Lavadius Lyles twice, both on a combined effort by sophomore defensive end Edward Mark and junior linebacker Paxton Garner.
Lyles completed 10 of 22 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. He had just four completions of more than 10 yards. Lyles also rushed 20 times for 71 yards and another score.
Overall, the Bearcats gained 181 yards on 38 carries.
Along with those by Mark and Garner, Tylertown veteran defensive coordinator Jimmy Lee praised the defensive efforts of twins Dameuntex Magee and Duprezyeon Magee, both of whom had two pass breakups against the Bearcats.
“They’re both 170 pounds and they play like 200-pounders,” Lee said. “We’ve got a lot of speed on defense.”
Tylertown took the lead in quick fashion on its opening possession. After completing a 37-yard pass over the middle to tight end Maquillie Bridges at the Forest 34, Lewis broke around the right end and dashed 34 yards down the Chiefs’ sideline to put Tylertown ahead 7-0 with 2:50 to go in the first quarter. Logan Conerly added the extra point.
After a Forest punt, the Chiefs had some good fortune come their way when Lewis found split end Caston Magee on a post pattern down the Chiefs’ sideline. Lewis’ pass was tipped by a Forest defender, but dropped into Magee’s hands at the Bearcats’ 38. Magee then sprinted the rest of the way to complete the 60-yard scoring pass to make it 14-0 with 55 seconds left in the opening period.
“They can choose their poison,” Denton said. “We’ve got five guys who can catch and run the football.”
Forest answered with a 12-play, 85-yard scoring drive capped when Lyles kept for a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7 with 3:12 left in the first half.
The Bearcats looked to tie the game when they advanced to the Tylertown 33-yard line early in the third quarter. But on fourth-and-9, Mark and Garner chased down Lyles for a 13-yard loss back to the Chiefs’ 46.
Two plays later, Robertson gave the Chiefs some breathing room when he broke free off right tackle and scampered 54 yards for the touchdown to extend the lead to 21-7 with 55 seconds to go in the third period.
The Chiefs made it 28-7 early in the fourth quarter with a quick 5-play, 12-yard drive capped when Lewis’ pass split double coverage and found receiver Jawon Jackson in the back of the end zone with 3:56 to play.
The Bearcats added a 24-yard touchdown pass with 2:33 left to cap the scoring.
“Everyone did a great job tonight,” Denton said. “Even special teams did an excellent job. We kept them in a hole all night and we didn’t let them out.”
