The challenges just keep coming for the AAA top-ranked, and now 6-0, Indianola Academy Colonels football team.
One week after pummeling previously undefeated District 1AAA foe North Delta School of Batesville by a 38-8 score, the Colonels will take Legion Field for the third consecutive Friday against a strong and long-time opponent.
This Friday’s final regular season home game will bring AAAA member Washington School of Greenville, owners of a very deceiving 2-3 record, to town for a 7 p.m. non-district contest.
With these schools located less than 30 minutes apart, and with players on both teams who are very familiar with each other, there is also little doubt the Generals will come to Indianola yearning to be the team which ends the Colonels’ current 20-game win streak; as well as putting a stop to the 36-game home-field win streak currently enjoyed by the IA team.
According to IA Head Coach Tommy Nester, the Generals “Have a lot of speed and are quick defensively. They are just a very good football team.”
As for last Friday’s 30-point win over the now 5-1 Green Wave of North Delta School, the Colonels scored on five of their six first-half possessions while rendering the Batesville school scoreless to take control of the game with a 35-0 halftime lead.
This first half of play also featured a 206-yard, three touchdown first half rushing performance by running back Sebastian Harris.
This week IA will face a Washington School squad which also opened their 2017 season with a rugged schedule; the Generals have fallen to heavy weight AAAA schools Jackson Academy and Jackson Prep as well as suffering a narrow 35-28 loss to East Rankin Academy.
Since that time, Washington School has regrouped to earn a 35-7 decision over Vicksburg St. Aloysius High School before slamming Lee Academy of Clarksdale last Friday night by a dominating 48-6 margin.
Meanwhile, in this week’s 40th overall meeting between IA and Washington School, this Friday’s game is the first between these two schools since the 2012 season. The 2000 season also served as the last time an IA team defeated the Generals, who own a 27-12 series advantage over the Colonels.
Last season, Washington School earned a 6-7 record which ended with a second round playoff loss.
In last Friday’s game against North Delta School, the Colonels opened the game’s scoring on their first possession after the Green Wave began the game with a three-and-out punt.
Using only seven plays to cover the 75 yards to the end zone, it was Harris doing the scoring honors with a six yard touchdown run.
William Barrier then split the uprights with the first of five PAT kicks and IA was up 7-0 with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
The Colonels would strike again with only 22 seconds remaining in that initial period after covering 68 yards in just five plays. On this occasion it was junior Wesley Lester bouncing off of, and running through, tacklers in route to a 16 yard scoring run.
North Delta then opened the second period with their best threat to score as a sustained drive took them into a fourth and goal situation at the IA one yard line.
The Colonels refused to yield the end zone to the Green Wave, however, and IA took over the football at their one yard line.
With an impressive performance by the IA offensive line, the Colonels used only seven running plays to cover the 99 yards to the end zone.
Harris was the workhorse of this drive as the senior followed a 36-yard run two plays later with a 42-yard sprint for his second touchdown of the game.
Now up by a 21-0 margin, the IA defense repelled another North Delta advance which ended with the football being turned over on downs at the Colonels’ 16 yard line.
It would only take one play and 14 seconds for IA to score again as Harris burst through the line and outran defenders 84 yards for the touchdown.
The score would then move to 35-0 with 30 seconds remaining in the first half when quarterback Will Davis connected with Randy Kimble on a four-yard touchdown pass to end a 50-yard drive.
The Colonels’ final scoring of the night occurred midway through the third period when Barrier launched a 37-yard field goal through the uprights, a kick that traveled a much longer distance than required.
The Green Wave would avoid a shutout with just over two minutes remaining in the third period after a long kickoff return helped set up an eight yard touchdown run.
Their two point conversion was successful taking the score to its’ final 38-8 margin.
Offensively in this game, the Colonels rushed 26 times for 309 yards and Harris’ dozen carries picked up 221 yards along with his three touchdowns.
Through the air, Davis completed eight of 14 passes for 106 yards as T.K. Bolden pulled in three passes for 74 yards.
Defensively, the Colonels not only limited the Green Wave to one touchdown scored, far short of the 46.4 points per game average they had been enjoying, the visitors were also only able to accumulate 203 yards of total offense in the contest.
With only 92 of those yards being earned on the ground, defensive end Lester paced the IA resistance with three solo tackles, four assists, and one sack.
Other leaders included linebacker Josh Hill (3 solos, 2 assists) while Kimble and John Abbott Smith registered two solos and three assists apiece.
