A clear example of teamwork was on prominent display last Friday night at Legion Field.
The resulting dividend for this Indianola Academy Colonel effort was a 21-14 victory over visiting Bayou Academy of Cleveland.
In yet another smash-mouth football game played between these two schools, the Colonels benefited from an efficient offensive line in front of a bevy of ballcarriers, some key pass completions, and a young but opportunistic IA defense.
“We won a hard-fought game we knew would be a battle”, said IA Head Coach Tommy Nester. “Offensively, we converted some key plays in the fourth quarter and did what we needed to do to win the game. Defensively we need to do a better job of tackling but we came up with some big turnovers.”
With their 14th consecutive victory over 5A member Bayou Academy now in the books, the 3A member IA squad has now also increased their home-field win streak to 49 games.
However, this impressive streak will be severely contested this Friday at 7 p.m. when Pillow Academy of Greenwood visits Legion Field.
The 5A member Mustangs opened their season last Friday night as well, and in impressive manner, as they handed 6A member Jackson Academy a 26-21 loss.
Per Coach Nester, “Pillow Academy is a good football team. They have a big offensive line and a very quick defense, which runs to the ball. This is a big test for us.”
The Mustangs come to Legion Field with high expectations for a successful year after completing the 2018 season with a 6-7 record.
However, that season began with four consecutive losses before the Mustangs rebounded to win six of their last nine games.
One of Pillow Academy’s 2018 early-season losses was a 33-12 decision to IA and this Friday’s game marks the 40th time these two teams will meet on a football field.
IA owns a 24-15 edge in this series.
In last Friday night’s victory over Bayou Academy, the Colonels tallied their first touchdown of the season on their second offensive play of the game.
Following Leland Selby’s return of a punt to the Colts’ 25-yard line, an 18 yard run by Woods Toler was followed by a seven-yard touchdown dash by senior James Hill.
Spencer Roberson’s PAT kick was good and IA owned a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
However, the Colts answered by using 14 plays to move from their own 20 yard line into the IA red zone.
They would come up empty as one play later, however, when senior tackle John Landen Chism fell on a loose ball to end the Bayou Academy drive.
The Colonels capitalized on the mistake three plays into the second period. It was senior quarterback Thomas Putnam who finished off the 11 play, 74-yard drive with a seven-yard TD scamper around the right side.
At one point, this long drive was mired in a third and 15 situation, but was kept alive when a great catch by Selby resulted in a 32yard pass play from Putnam. The first half of the game ultimately closed with IA up by a 13-7 margin after the Colts returned a pass interception 34 yards for a touchdown.
The Colonels would score what proved to be the winning TD on their second possession of the third quarter.
With the offensive line leading the way, 15 plays and 50 yards later junior Walker Zepponi crashed over from one yard out for the touchdown.
Scoring IA’s final two points of the night was Conner Roncali, a freshman who alertly became a receiving target for Putnam following a muffed PAT attempt.
The Colts rallied back for another score almost midway through the final quarter, but the IA offensive unit then proceeded to keep the football out of their opponent’s hands.
With 7:21 remaining in the game, the IA offensive line paved the way for a 10-play clock-killing drive; a clutch march down the field, which twice was kept alive by a pair of third and long, passes from Putnam to Toler and Selby respectively.
Offensively in this game, the Colonels rushed 54 times for 244 yards
There were four players picking up the bulk of this yardage and were led by James Hill’s 65 yards on 19 carries.
Close behind were Putnam (9 for 63), Toler (6 for 56), and Selby (14 for 49),
Through the air Putnam completed six of 12 passes for 102 yards and Selby served as his primary receiver.
The sophomore gathered in three passes for 51 yards while Toler (34 yards) and Grant Coleman (15 yards) were on the receiving end of one pass apiece.
Defensively, the Colts were limited to 124 yards rushing and 21 yards passing by the IA defense.
Leading this resistance were Brayden Kimble (5 solos, 3 assists), and John Luther Selby (5 solos, 2 assists).
Meanwhile Houstin Danna and Roberson added 5 solos and 1 assist apiece while Brandon Brown recorded five solo tackles.
