JACKSON — The first half was about 10 seconds too long and the second half was 10 seconds too short for the Tylertown Chiefs as they lost 26-21 on Saturday.
In the MHSAA 3A State Championship game, the clock ran out on Tylertown before the Chiefs could spike the ball to stop the clock inside the 10-yard line.
Louisville scored with four seconds remaining in the second quarter to score twice in the final three minutes and take the lead going to the locker room.
“I think it was the fumble right before halftime,” Tylertown head coach Walter Denton said. “Those three minutes, that was the turning point in the ballgame. Then we had a breakdown in coverage right over there in the corner.
“That’s a heartbreaker.”
That made it 20-14 at half after Jordan Christio caught a 14-yard pass with four ticks on the clock.
It took one series, but the Chiefs started to move the ball in the third and regain their momentum from most of the first half. On a 13-play drive, Tylertown took back the lead 21-20 with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
Tylertown had thrown seven times in the first half, but threw eight times in the third quarter.
Brandon Thompson caught the sixth completion of the quarter for a 17-yard touchdown.
Christio scored again with 6:19 left in the fourth to give the lead back to Louisville at 26-21 after the two-point conversion pass was dropped.
Tylertown went three-and-out and punted back to Louisville, which did its best to run down the clock.
The Chiefs got a punt out of the Wildcats, but an illegal participation penalty gave Louisville another first down.
“I can’t wait to see which one can count better, me or the referee,” Denton said being flagged for having 12 players on the field for the punt return.
Dennis Thames broke free for a 32-yard run, but fumbled at the end to give the ball to Tylertown with 2:24 left, and on their own 11.
Ken Brown toed the sideline to move the Chiefs out of the shadow of the goalposts, and quarterback Jameon Lewis rushed for a first down at midfield with 1:30 left in the game.
Lewis completed three of his next four passes to give the Chiefs a first down at the 10-yard line and 19 seconds left on the clock.
“I was just trying to run around, find a receiver open and throw it to score a touchdown,” Lewis said.
The previous eight plays of the drive had worked out, but on first down, he scrambled to his left and then tried to duck in to find some space. The Wildcat defense caught him, and the scramble was on.
The Chiefs were trying to line up while the referees moved to spot the ball, and Louisville milled around the line of scrimmage with one eye on the clock.
Before Lewis could get the snap off, the Wildcat bench had run onto the field once the clock hit :00.
“I really don’t know what it feels like,” Lewis said of having the game end waiting for a snap, “but it isn’t good.”
The final drive worked for what the Chiefs had, but one extra timeout could have made the difference.
“We had to burn timeouts to slow them down some,” Denton said. “They played their hearts out, and we had an opportunity to win.”
Tylertown played toe-to-toe with the defending state champs the entire game. The teams were even on first downs and were separated by three yards rushing and 12 yards passing.
The Chiefs recovered three fumbles by the Wildcats. Thames fumbled in the fourth quarter, and quarterback Chris Wraggs fumbled three times in the first half, but the Chiefs only recovered two.
Anthony Carr recovered the first fumble that led to a Deon Howard touchdown to the left side for a 7-0 lead.
Louisville scored to make it 7-6 on their next drive, and the Chiefs responded right back with a 10-play drive.
Lewis rolled to his right and threw back across the field to an open Thompson behind the defense in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
Lewis ran for 68 yards and threw for 191 with two touchdowns. Thompson caught both of those touchdowns and had 94 yards receiving. Brown added four catches for 62 yards as well.
“I thought we played how we needed to play,” Denton said.
Saturday was the Chiefs’ first visit to the state championship under Denton, who has been coaching at the school for 18 years.
The loss was their first of the season and put them at 12-1.
“It’s been one of those great years for us,” Denton said, “one of those fun years.”
Tylertown beat district rival Franklin County for the South State Championship on a muddy field last week to punch its ticket to Jackson and its shot at the state title.
