A trip to Grenada today to take on unbeaten Kirk Academy is next up on the agenda of the Indianola Academy football team.
Hoping to rebound from last week’s 35-7 Homecoming loss to Marshall Academy of Holly Springs, the 2-4, 2-0 IA Colonels will take on a Kirk Academy squad boasting a 6-0 record.
Kickoff for today’s non-district game is set for 7 p.m.
The Colonels will be facing their second consecutive week of competition from District 1-3A tonight, and the defending state runner-up Kirk Academy Raiders are fresh off last Friday’s 35-8 defeat of Carroll Academy.
The Raiders feature a staunch defense which has only once allowed more than one touchdown in a game thus far this season.
It was Marshall Academy who scored a game-high 14 points against the Raiders two weeks ago in their 17-14 loss to Kirk Academy.
Offensively, the Raiders are potent as well as they are averaging 35.6 points per game despite their low-scoring effort against Marshall Academy.
In last year’s meeting between these two teams, Kirk Academy prevailed over IA by a 40-6 margin.
It was a season which saw the Raiders complete a stellar 12-1 record – one blemished only by a 6-0 loss to Greenville St. Joseph High School in the 3A state championship game.
The IA-Kirk Academy series is a long-running event, one in which the Colonels own a 26-10 won-loss advantage over the Raiders.
In the Colonels’ loss last Friday to Marshall Academy, a strong Patriots ground game coupled with three costly IA turnovers enabled the Patriots to take a 35-0 halftime lead.
The Patriots proved opportunistic with the IA turnovers by scoring following each miscue.
A muffed snap on a punt gave Marshall Academy possession at the IA 23-yard line
and an eventual 14-0 lead.
Just over three minutes later, disaster struck IA again when a pass interception was returned 37 yards for a Patriots touchdown as time expired in the first quarter.
The Patriots’ final score of the first half was recorded following an IA fumble that was lost on the Marshall Academy 40-yard line.
Six plays later, the score moved to a 35-0 margin by way of a 37-yard touchdown pass.
IA would avoid a shutout in the fourth quarter when Haygon Sheedy traveled five yards through the Patriots’ defense for a touchdown.
His subsequent PAT kick then concluded IA’s scoring in the game.
Offensive success was hard to come by for the Colonels against the Marshall Academy defense.
Sheedy paced the IA ground game as his dozen carries garnered 31 yards rushing.
Through the air Ty Killebrew completed seven of his 17 passes for 84 yards.
Sheedy’s three receptions netted 37 yards while Evan Burke’s two catches added another 19 yards of offense for the Colonels.
Defensively, Graham Howard’s six tackles paced the IA resistance while Carson Miller added a quarterback sack to his three tackles recorded in this game.
