South Pike played its best football of the young 2012 season Friday night, yet it wasn’t enough against one of the top teams in the state.
The Eagles challenged Hazlehurst, the No. 1 team in Class 3A, the entire game and watched the Indians rally with a strong second half to secure a 32-16 win.
South Pike remains winless at 0-4 but finally looked like the same team that advanced to the 4A South State semifinals in 2011.
“We have a little bit more work to do. I’m not at all pleased with the outcome, but I am pleased with the effort,” South Pike coach Michael Andrews said. “I feel like these kids have grown up. They stood up for the challenge even though this was the No. 1 team in the state. They never quit.”
It has been a tough start to the season for Andrews, who is in his first season at the helm, and it didn’t get any easier against Hazlehurst.
South Pike looked overmatched at times and somehow hung around long enough to make things interesting with ball control and minimal penalties.
The Eagles went into halftime up 8-6, despite being outgained 156-66. The Indians responded with big play after big play and scored 20 unanswered during the next 14 minutes to grab a commanding 26-8 lead.
“We held up for a half. We just didn’t complete the game in the end,” Andrews said. “They had a good tempo going. They had a good mixture of the run and pass.”
For the second straight week, South Pike was hurt in the passing game. Last week, it was Wilkinson County and LSU commit Devin Voorhies who torched the Eagles’ defense.
This week, it was Hazlehurst quarterback Kenneth Coleman who dominated South Pike’s secondary to the tune of 259 passing yards and three touchdowns. He completed eight passes of 20-yards or more to a slew of receivers. Dycelious Reese led all players with four catches for 108 yards and two scores, and Demetrius Cain hauled in three passes for 61 yards.
“That’s something we are going to work on every day,” Andrews said. “I think we have a good feel in terms of what the other team is trying to do running the ball. Passing ... that’s an area that definitely needs to improve.”
Hazlehurst did rack up 133 yards on the ground, but 112 of those came in the second half as it wore down South Pike’s defense. Aaron Larry totaled 89 yards and scored twice from 26- and 7-yards out.
South Pike finished with a respectable 236 of total offense, with 177 coming via the rushing attack.
Andrews has installed a no-huddle, spread-based attack, which is a drastic change from former coach Willie Brown’s Wing-T offense.
The offensive game plan was simple, yet effective. South Pike lined up either in the pistol or shotgun and ran with quarterback Destin Mcghee and running back John Jones.
“It’s all about the timing and the chemistry when you are trying to install something new, and our linemen, they weren’t used to running the stretch or running the zone last year. They basically just had to block down and kick out,” Andrews said. “We are asking a lot more out of them and it’s really coming together.”
Mcghee got off to a slow start but racked up 87 rushing yards in the second half. His 11-yard run with 7:19 left in the game cut Hazlehurst’s lead to 26-16, but the Indians quickly answered when Coleman hit Reese on a 40-yard touchdown.
Mcghee, who started his second game for injured quarterback William James, finished the game 4 of 6 for 59 yards and added 21 carries for 94 yards.
“For his second game, he had a good feel for the game,” Andrews said. “Destin is a senior. I hate to say it but it’s his last year with us but I saw his potential early, even when we had William James.”
Jones, a sophomore, showed promise as well, with 80 yards on 21 carries. His 9-yard touchdown in the first quarter followed by Mcghee’s conversion gave South Pike the early 8-0 lead.
Hazlehurst had a chance to grab a 9-8 lead before the half, but South Pike blocked a 27-yard field goal attempt with 41 seconds left.
South Pike travels to Jefferson County next week before returning home to host Tylertown in the District 7-4A opener.
