To win a tight playoff game, teams have to play clean football and get a few breaks.
Central Holmes football coach Jim Crowder said the Trojans not only played a sloppy football game but got no breaks either as visiting Clinton Christian came away with a thrilling 26-24 win in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs.
Central Holmes finishes the season with a 6-4 record, while Clinton Christian improves to 8-3 and will travel to take on top-seeded and defending state champion Greenville St. Joseph on Friday night.
“We fought hard and did some good things,” Crowder said. “The breaks didn’t go our way. We had several big plays called back and a couple of touchdowns come back. The things that have hurt us all year reared their ugly head. They were very fast and did some things that they haven’t done all year. They are very active on the defensive front. They throw teams for losses a good bit and put us behind the chains a good bit. We didn’t run the ball as well as we usually do. But it was something all night. It was a night where things just went against us.”
Crowder was quick to point out that no single play cost the Trojans the game, but it did come down to a single play at the end.
The Trojans got the ball as they trailed 28-20 last in the fourth quarter. The Trojans drove deep in Clinton territory and scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Taylor to senior wide receiver Lake Melton with no time left on the clock. But that’s when things went wrong as the Trojans were flagged 15 yards for a celebration penalty. The try for two then fell incomplete and Clinton Christian held on for the win.
“To start with, I have absolutely no problem with what our guy did,” Crowder said. “He was excited. It’s the playoffs and you catch a touchdown pass on the last play of the game. He celebrated with one of his teammates. I have a pretty good two-point play ready to go and then we get flagged for celebration. It’s high school football; it’s an exciting moment.
“We teach sportsmanship and respecting your opponent. If he had directed it toward the opposing team, I totally understand that. It’s too long of a grind not to have fun. I would have been excited as well. It is what it is. I hate it for our guys. It should have never come to that.”
Despite the loss, Crowder things he has laid a foundation for the future of Central Holmes football.
“When you look at it, we lost two games at the end of the year by three points,” Crowder said. “Those weren’t blowout games but really good high school football games. We are definitely moving in the right direction. I told the kids after the game that his senior class has changed the way that people view Central Holmes football. We expect things to get better from here. They have set the benchmark. We will now turn to the offseason and improve on what we did this year.”
The Trojans opened the game with a touchdown pass from Taylor to Ethan Ables and added a touchdown run by Pacey Thompson in the first half. The other score came on a screen pass from Taylor to Wykese Johnson.
Clinton Christian had 407 yards of total offense as quarterback Dylan Mitchell was 5-of-11 for 93 yards while Keiwon Rogers had 169 yards on 11 carries. Devin Armstrong had 83 yards on 16 carries.
Clinton had 10 tackles for loss with four sacks and two interceptions on defense.
