With the playoffs looming and needing only a victory this Friday to claim their fifth consecutive District 1AAA title, the now 8-0, 2-0 Indianola Academy Colonels will travel to Bayou Academy in Cleveland for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Colts.
Fresh off last week’s 42-14 non-district road drubbing of Winona Christian School, a district title will also clinch IA’s home field advantage for the upcoming playoffs, a postseason trek which could earn IA its first back-to-back football state championships since the 1975 and 1976 seasons.
As for this week’s competition, Bayou Academy comes into this contest against IA owning a 5-3, 2-0 record following last Friday’s 37-0 loss to Washington School of Greenville.
The Colts do represent a real challenge according to IA Head Coach Tommy Nester,.
“Bayou is big and athletic at the skill positions and will come after you,” Nester said. “We have to stay focused on our tasks if we are to contain them.”
The Colts are somewhat of a contradiction among opponents shared with the Colonels, who are riding a 22-game win streak.
Despite IA having defeated that same Washington School squad two weeks ago by a 42-7 margin, on that same night Bayou Academy nearly matched (42-12)the Colonels’ recent margin of victory over Winona Christian School.
Interestingly, with the Colonels currently attempting to earn back-to-back AAA state championships coupled with back-to-back perfect records, a feat never accomplished in the previous 47 years of Indianola Academy football, it was a 14-14 tie with the Bayou Academy Colts in that 1976 season which spoiled that particular IA championship team’s bid for that dual achievement.
Historically, the Colonels own a 10-game win streak over the Colts as well as a 23-5-1 series advantage in this long-running series.
In last Friday’s win over Winona Christian School, the Colonels exploded to a lead they never gave up by scoring on the game’s first offensive play. Then, following a Stars punt, the IA offensive unit proceeded to score on its second offensive play of the game.
The Colonels’ quick scoring began with a game-opening 72-yard pass from quarterback Will Davis to wide receiver T.K. Bolden. This was followed on their next series by a 69-yard, tackle-breaking sprint to the end zone by Sebastian Harris to give IA a 14-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game.
Two possessions later, the Colonels completed a 66-yard drive on the second period’s fourth play when Harris crashed over for the score from six yards out.
William Barrier kicked his third of six PAT kicks and IA owned a 21-0 lead.
It would only take two plays following another Winona punt for IA to strike again as Wesley Lester outran defenders 26 yards to the end zone to give the Colonels
