If there was any loose ends to tie up after a rusty first week in the Class 4A playoffs, Louisville did it last week.
Following a 30-12 win over Yazoo City that could be considered beneath the Wildcats’ standards, they left no margin for complaints in round two against the Pontotoc Warriors. Louisville came out firing through the air with quarterback Drea Shumaker and routed the visitors in a 52-0 blowout to continue to move on in the playoffs.
Shumaker had one of his best games of the season passing the ball as he went 12-of-18 for 286 yards and five touchdowns. It was his two favorite receivers that were making the plays for him as Kaleb Mosley and Niselbyion Kirk caught all of the passes. Mosley went for nine catches, 179 yards and three scores and Kirk had three receptions for 107.
It was also another solid game on the ground as the Wildcats had 29 carries for 182 yards led by Michael Foster’s 11 rushes, 74 yards and a score.
“Our guys came out really focused and played a lot better than we did in the first round,” head coach Tyrone Shorter said. “That’s what it’s going to take. We wanted to be balanced. We wanted to establish a passing game from the beginning. We thought we could hurt them that way and we did. We started fast.”
The Wildcats did indeed start fast as they got a three-and-out defensively and Shumaker would hit Mosley for an eight-yard touchdown and the Kirk for a 25-yard pass within a couple of minutes of each other for the 12-0 lead. It was 24-0 by the end of the first quarter as Shumaker found Kirk for a 60-yard pass and had his fourth touchdown pass of the first quarter when he got Mosley for 17 yards after an interception from Jamarcus Eiland.
Mosley got his final big play of the day when he hauled in a pass and raced 70 yards for the score at the beginning of the second quarter, all while the defense was completely clamping down the Warriors’ offense.
The defense forced consecutive turnovers right before the half with a fumble recovery leading to a 12-yard run from Jehmiah Harden and an interception from Rankevious Johnson ending with a two-yard run from Foster for the 45-0 halftime advantage.
It was all about preserving the players for round three in the third quarter as Louisville emptied the bench and Kylan Tippett scored on a three-yard run as the clock rolled through the third and fourth quarters in the 52-point win.
Shorter knows exactly what the undefeated Bulldogs of Greenwood will bring to the table when his Wildcats travel to the Delta on Friday night for the third round of the MHSAA Class 4A State Football Playoffs.
“They have a really good quarterback, three good receivers and a great running back. they’re big and athletic. It’s going to be a tough matchup for us,” Shorter said. “It’s always a challenge when you go on the road and play a football game. To win a state championship you’ve got to go on the road and win. We’re battle-tested. We’ve played teams that will get us ready for this game.
“It’s a big match up. It’s two of the best teams in 4A and it’s unfortunate we’re playing in the third round instead of a state championship. It’s always a big game when Greenwood and Louisville plays. We’d have to play them no matter what so we’ll have to take care of business.”
