After watching his team turn a 10-point halftime lead into a four-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, Louisville coach M.C. Miller couldn’t bite his tongue any longer.
The Louisville defense kept Greenwood's offense on its side of the 50-yard line all night, but Greenwood parlayed two Wildcat turnovers into touchdowns to put Louisville in unfamiliar territory.
So the veteran coach relayed a message to his offense.
“I told the guys we can’t afford to lose a game like this,” Miller said. “The defense has played their heart out. (Greenwood) hadn’t come close to scoring. I told them, ‘You all have to do better than this. If we stop them here…’ They have to pick it up and do their job.”
Facing fourth-and-goal with 8:37 left in the fourth quarter, Louisville running back Kevon Jackson broke free on a 3-yard touchdown run for the go-ahead touchdown. Kicker Elijah Wilkes followed with the PAT and it was enough to secure a 17-14 win over Greenwood and send Louisville to Saturday’s MHSAA Class 4A state championship game.
“They took it on down and scored,” Miller said of the early fourth-quarter drive. “That gave us 17 (points). The defense closed it out like they were supposed to.”
Playing in its ninth state title game in school history, Louisville (14-1) will face Poplarville (13-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at the University of Southern Mississippi’s M.M. Roberts Stadium, setting up a showdown between two teams that have won a combined 26 consecutive games.
With Louisville’s offense struggling to gain traction Friday, the Wildcats’ defense shined again when needed most. The unit accounted for three sacks and one interception and rendered Greenwood’s offense ineffective all night.
Jy’Kevious Hibbler, Derius Hopkins and Antrous Glenn recorded one sack apiece, and Marcus Glenn tallied one interception.
The Wildcat defense combined for 72 total tackles.
Ashanti Cistrunk led the way with nine tackles, while Derius Hopkins (three tackles for losses) and Kristian Hopkins recorded eight apiece.
“They’ve played well all year long,” Miller said of his defense. “We had seven people out for three games…We were very good when we got them back. We got stronger and better. Right now, they’ve been playing hard and we’ve done a good job. We have a lot of young people playing a little more, and they’re doing well. We just have to keep it going like we’re supposed to.”
Louisville is responsible for handing Greenwood two of its three losses this season while also holding the Bulldogs to their two lowest scoring outputs this year. The Wildcats defeated Greenwood 21-0 on Sept. 21.
Wilkes kicked a field goal with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter to give Louisville a 3-0 lead, and quarterback Deonte Yarbrough scored on a 10-yard run with 10:48 left in the second quarter. Wilkes followed with the PAT to move the Wildcats ahead 10-0, a score Louisville carried into intermission.
Two Louisville turnovers in the third quarter proved costly.
With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Greenwood returned a Louisville fumble for a touchdown to chip the Wildcats’ lead to 10-7.
Two minutes later, the Bulldog defense netted a pick-six to give Greenwood its first lead of the night, 14-10.
Miller’s pep talk, however, invigorated his offense, and Jackson’s 3-yard, fourth-quarter scamper pushed the Wildcats ahead for good.
Greenwood’s offense received the football at its 17-yard line with just over two minutes left to play in the fourth, but Louisville’s defense forced a turnover on downs.
Yarbrough had a team-high 134 yards rushing and one touchdown on 21 carries, and he completed four of 10 passes for 62 yards with one interception. Jackson finished with 31 yards rushing and one touchdown on 13 carries.
Drea Shumaker led the Wildcats in receiving with 48 yards on two receptions.
Soggy field conditions at Louisville prompted Miller to move his team’s practice to Mississippi State University Monday, where the Wildcats will practice through Wednesday in preparation for Poplarville.
Poplarville snapped East Central’s 12-game win streak last week with a 33-17 win to clinch a state title berth.
The Hornets have used a three-headed backfield all season that has produced 4,819 yards and 71 touchdowns. Chase Sears has a team-leading 1,239 yards and 19 touchdowns, Ethan Taylor has run for 935 yards and seven touchdowns and quarterback Antonio Barnes has tallied 454 yards and 14 ground scores.
“They run the double wing and the single wing, and they have a good quarterback who does a good job,” Miller said. “They have two good running backs, and they don’t throw the ball that much. They might throw at most, four or five times a game. What we have to do is stop the running attack because they have a good offensive line. And when you have a good offensive line, you can run that way and get pretty good at it.”
