Stepping up three classifications in competition can reduce an already slim margin for error.
That fact wasn’t lost on Mt. Pleasant heading into Friday’s Rumble In The Jungle II against host Columbia Central, but it may have made itself known even further over the course of an eventual 32-20 decision that served as the Tigers’ first defeat of the season.
Junior quarterback Nick Brown, who had thrown for nearly 170 yards per game through Mt. Pleasant’s 4-0 start, completed just 5 of 13 attempts for 52 yards against the Class 5A Lions. In fact, the visitors’ longest offensive play of the night was a 45-yard Jackson Collier pass to Keevan Cooper on a fake punt late in the opening period.
“In our league, you’ve got about four seconds to throw. Against these guys, you’ve got about two,” Mt. Pleasant coach Kit Hartsfield said after the loss.
“They did a good job bracketing our receivers in obvious passing downs and did a good job of dictating where we could or couldn’t throw.”
It didn’t help, either, that it was the Tigers’ first full outing without senior receiver Demarkus Brown, who injured his right knee in the team’s 32-21 Region 5-2A win in Week 5 over visiting Loretto and will miss the remainder of the season.
“They’re super talented,” Central coach Bobby Sharp said. “If they don’t lose that No. 4 (Brown), I think you’re looking at a team that’s got a chance to make a (postseason) run. I think that hurt them more than anything.”
Mt. Pleasant, the eighth-ranked team in the Associated Press Class 2A statewide poll, hardly had a chance to adjust to its bigger opponent as Central (2-4) took the opening kickoff and drove 64 yards on five plays, with junior Kayden McCoy scoring from 40 yards out to give the hosts a lead they’d never relinquish.
“McCoy is one of the best backs in the state,” Hartsfield said. “He proved that tonight.”
Columbia Central scored on two of its next three possessions before halftime, as Jordan Davis and Calen Slaughter added 33- and 32-yard receptions on passes from Luke Uselton. The Tigers’ only answer was Collier, whose pass led to his 43-yard field goal late in the first quarter before he added a 42-yard boot at the break.
Between field goals, Mt. Pleasant had a chance to swing momentum when Central punter Dane Holley couldn’t cleanly handle a snap and was smothered by the Tiger punt cover unit inside his own 5-yard line. However, offsetting penalties – an illegal shift by the Lions, roughing the snapper by Mt. Pleasant – resulted in a rekick and Holley turned in a 60-yarder to flip the field.
The Tigers went three-and-out, and Central extended its lead with the Uselton-to-Slaughter pass.
“It was a tough break, a tough call – a big turn of events,” Hartsfield said of the roughing infraction. “I don’t think it cost us the game, but it was a huge momentum swing for us.”
Coming out of halftime, Mt. Pleasant did force that momentum swing. Darien Meza, who returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in last year’s 35-14 loss to Central, went 43 yards to set his team up at its own 47. Seven plays later, Nick Brown was in the end zone from six yards out and the visitors trailed just 20-13.
Another special teams breakdown – a fake punt resulting from miscommunication between the Central sideline and the field – left the Tigers 13 yards short of potentially tying the game, and the visitors took advantage with a Zavier Davidson 5-yard run just before the end of the third quarter.
“The noise was awesome, but we couldn’t get the refs to look when we were trying to call timeout,” Sharp said. “We’re (intent on) punting right there, but one of the players made the fake call.
No sooner than Mt. Pleasant tied the game did McCoy go back to work, putting the hosts back in front with a 59-yard run, then – following Davis’ 37-yarder from midfield on the next possession – restoring a two-score lead with his 3-yarder with 6:32 remaining.
“We started getting ahead of ourselves,” said McCoy, who finished with 151 rushing yards on 11 carries and was named the game’s offensive most valuable player (Central linebacker DeAndre Mathers earned defensive MVP honors). “We got a little cocky. I knew it was going to flip at some point. When they got it to 20-20, we had to lock in, and we took it from there.”
Despite the loss, Meza and the Tigers were in good spirits.
“We were with them the whole game,” he said. “They’re 5A, we’re 2A, and we stayed with them.”
For Central, the victory was the first since edging Dickson County in overtime in Week 2.
“I’m proud of them,” Sharp said. “We made a lot of mistakes. We’re still learning how to win.
“Any time you can get Kayden in space is great. That’s going to be our biggest challenge.”
Columbia Central 32, Mt. Pleasant 20
MP 3 3 14 0 – 20
CC 13 7 0 12 – 32
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CC – Kayden McCoy 40 run (9:24), Max Patton kick
CC – Jordan Davis 33 pass from Luke Uselton (5:09), kick failed
MP – Jackson Collier 43 field goal (0:14)
Second Quarter
CC – Calen Slaughter 32 pass from Uselton (0:53), Patton kick
MP – Collier 42 FG (0:00)
Third Quarter
MP – Nick Brown 6 run (7:55), Collier kick
MP – Zavier Davidson 5 run (0:02), Collier kick
Fourth Quarter
CC – McCoy 59 run (10:22), kick failed
CC – McCoy 3 run (6:32), kick failed
Team Statistics
MP CC
First downs 13 12
Rushes-yards 46-151 28-223
Passing yards 97 87
Comps-Atts-Ints 6-14-0 4-6-0
Penalties-yards 7-36 8-63
Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-1
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Mt. Pleasant – Nick Brown 20-82, Zavier Davidson 13-30, Keevan Cooper 1-5, Austin Hicks 2-8, Jakyri McClure 9-20
Columbia Central – Kayden McCoy 11-151, Jordan Davis 8-46, Quortez Duncan 7-31, Christopher Cathey 1-(-4)
Passing
Mt. Pleasant – Nick Brown 5-13-0, 52, Jackson Collier 1-1-0, 45
Columbia Central – Luke Uselton 4-6-0, 87
Receiving
Mt. Pleasant – Keevan Cooper 2-75, Perez Carter 1-(-1), Darien Meza 3-23
Columbia Central – Jordan Davis 1-33, Kayden McCoy 1-8, Ki’Marion Dawson 1-14, Calen Slaughter 1-32
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