A remarkable Indianola Academy Colonels football story is continuing another week.
As a result, the Colonels are now only one victory away from playing for the 3A State Championship.
Following last Friday’s 27-12 second round playoff win over Marshall Academy in Holly Springs, the 8-4 Colonels are now among the Final Four of the 3A state football playoffs.
“It was probably our best team performance of the season,” said IA Head Coach Tommy Nester. “We played very well offensively, defensively and on special teams. This is what we must do to win at this point of the season. Nothing is going to come easy.”
Making their school’s seventh consecutive appearance in a semi-final playoff game, the Colonels will take a Friday trip to Winona Christian School. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Last Friday night in Holly Springs, the Colonels featured a defense which largely throttled Marshall Academy’s potent offense. The Colonels’ offense also enabled a pair of senior football players to post points on the scoreboard.
In addition to the three-touchdown rushing effort by quarterback Thomas Putnam, the Colonels received a pair of Spencer Roberson field goals and three PAT kicks to help tally their point total.
In assessing the 9-2 Stars from Winona, Coach Nester noted “We know they are big up front and have some playmakers on both sides of the football. But the kids are going to go play well with great effort and give it a good shot.”
This Friday’s game is the second meeting this season between the Colonels and the District 2-3A champion Stars.
Yearning to avenge the 25-15 turnover and penalty plagued loss suffered eight weeks ago to the Stars, the Colonels will also be putting their six-game win streak on the line.
Last Friday night the Stars advanced to this week’s semifinal clash with a 45-26 victory over Centreville Academy.
The winner of this Friday’s IA-WCS contest will then earn a berth into this season’s 3A State Championship game to be played November 22 at Jackson Academy.
Should the Colonels win this week, their state championship game competition will be the winner of this Friday’s other semifinal game between Greenville St. Joseph High and Carroll Academy.
In last Friday’s second round victory over Marshall Academy, the Colonels began the game in strong fashion and eventually owned a seemingly comfortable 17-0 halftime lead.
Scoring on the game’s first possession, the Colonels used only five plays to record the night’s first touchdown.
Two plays after Putnam hit Roberson with a 53-yard pass completion, the senior quarterback kept the ball on an option to the right side.
Receiving key blocks from tackle James Roberts and tight end Grant Coleman, Putnam ran untouched 12 yards into the end zone.
Roberson then kicked the first of his three PAT attempts and IA owned a 7-0 lead barely two minutes into the game.
Two possessions later, Roberson then drilled his first field goal of the night. With additional yards left in it, the kick easily covered the 35 yards through the uprights to give IA a 10-0 lead.
This score stood until 2:05 remained in the half when Putnam’s 22-yard dash through the middle of the Patriot defense helped take the score to the 17-0 halftime margin.
However, the Patriots battled back with a third period opening drive which ended with a one-yard TD run. Although the PAT failed to cut the IA lead to a 17-6 margin, the drama continued.
