BROOKLYN, Miss. — The North Pike Jaguars had their best defensive performance of the season Friday night, winning on the road against the Forrest County AHS Aggies 23-13 in the first round of the 4A playoffs.
It was the fewest points that the Jaguars’ defense has allowed all year.
North Pike went into halftime trailing 13-9 but scored two touchdowns in the final quarter to pull ahead and come out with the victory.
Head coach Chris Smith gave credit to his defensive assistant coaches for developing the scheme that allowed the Jaguars to handle the Aggies’ offense.
“The defense played their tail off tonight and I’m proud of them,” Smith said. “That’s the best game they’ve played all year. We spent more time in the backfield than we have all year. Coach McCullough, Coach Lott and Coach Lindsey did a great job of creating a scheme for what we wanted to do to them.”
The Jaguars struck first early on offense when quarterback Juwan Adams connected with younger brother Dylan Adams on a 40-yard touchdown pass to put North Pike up 6-0 at the 9:26 mark in the first quarter. A botched snap on the extra point attempt kept the Jaguars’ lead at 6.
As time expired in the first quarter, North Pike sent out kicker Trent Coleman for a 28-yard field goal, and Coleman nailed it through the uprights to give the Jaguars a 9-0 lead with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.
North Pike began to lose momentum early in the second quarter, giving up a 55-yard touchdown pass from Forrest County quarterback Dalton Reiden to Kijana Breeland on the first play of their drive with 11:51 left in the second quarter. That cut the Jaguars’ lead to 9-7.
The Jaguars came back downfield with a successful drive of their own but sent Coleman out for a 37-yard field goal with 9:15 left in the second quarter. Forrest County’s Zhauntre McElroy blocked and recovered Coleman’s kick and took it all the way to end zone for the nearly 70-yard touchdown return.
The Aggies took a 13-9 lead after the missed extra point.
North Pike forced the Aggies to a 4th down in their own territory just before halftime.
The snap on fourth down went over the head of the Aggies’ punter, requiring him to fall on top of the ball at Forrest County’s 2-yard line with 29 seconds left in the half. The Jaguars tried to punch in for the score twice with runs from Adams and running back Nakia Trotter, but had to send out Coleman once again for a 30-yard field goal. Coleman’s kick missed just outside the uprights, and the Jaguars went into halftime trailing 13-9.
“That was probably the worst offensive half of football that we had played all year long. Thanks to the defense, they kept us in it,” Smith said. “They weren’t mentally focused on getting ready to play football.
“It showed, the defense came out and played well, but when you’re trying to do the things we do on offense, a lot of thinking is going on. If you don’t have your mind on playing football, then it doesn’t look good.”
The two teams exchanged possessions throughout the third quarter. North Pike sent out Coleman again and he missed a 33-yard field goal for the Jaguars with 7:42 left in the frame.
Facing 4th-and-inches on Forrest County’s 7 yard line with 11:47 left in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars chose to go for it, and Adams was able to leap across the marker for the first down.
Trotter ran in a 2-yard touchdown for the Jaguars with 10:03 left in the game, as North Pike retook the lead, 16-13, after Coleman sent in the extra point.
Sophomore linebacker Tyric Miller came through in the clutch for the Jaguars, intercepting Reiden’s pass on Forrest County’s next drive and returning it to the end zone for the nearly 30-yard touchdown return.
Coleman kicked in the extra point, and the Jaguars went up 23-13 with 8:30 remaining in the game.
The Aggies fought their way inside of North Pike’s territory, but the Jaguars were able to come with a stop on 4th down from the 24-yard line with 4:53 remaining, and that defensive stop sealed the game for North Pike.
“The offense was kind of stagnant, but it was a lot for what Forrest County was doing. They’re a good football team. We beat a good football team tonight, a lot of the problems we had were caused by the scheme they ran against us” Smith said. “This is big, it’s a tough place to play and it’s the third time we’ve been here. We’re 2-1 here now. They do a great job of coaching their kids up, and we knew it was going to be tough.”
Juwan Adams completed 15 of 25 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Trotter rushed for 115 yards off of 20 carries with one touchdown. Javian Jackson had six receptions for 89 yards, Dylan Adams had four receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown. Miller had one interception returned for a touchdown, and Jake Spears finished with nine tackles. Coleman had one extra point, and made 1 of 4 field goal attempts, with one from 27 yards.
North Pike will host the Moss Point Tigers in the second round of the MHSAA 4A playoffs at John I. Hurst Stadium of Southwest Mississippi Community College at 7 p.m. Friday.
