McAdams football coach Jim Risen got the start he wanted out of his Bulldogs against top-ranked Hollandale Simmons on Friday night.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but that was the height of the excitement as Simmons scored 52 unanswered points to take a 52-6 win on Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.
McAdams enters the Class 1A playoffs for the second straight year with a 5-7 record as the No. 3 seed out of Division 2-1A. They will travel to Biggersville on Friday night.
Risen was pleased with the way his team started against the No. 1 team in the state but not with the outcome.
“We missed too many opportunities against a well-disciplined team that plays very technical football,” Risen said. “They are fundamentally sound and they don’t make mistakes. They possess a lot of depth and a lot of team speed as a whole. Having a player out with a concussion and losing two in this game with ankles doesn’t help when your own depth is limited. But now we’ve got to get ready for round 1 of the playoffs with Biggersville at their place.”
The Bulldogs got the football to open the game and put Simmons in an unusual position, trailing on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs scored with 10:12 left in the first when Jordan Fleming scored on a run. The two-point conversion failed and McAdams led 6-0.
But that is where the bottom fell out for McAdams as Simmons scored 12 in the first and 14 in the second quarter to lead 26-6 at the half. They added 12 in the third and 14 in the fourth for their final margin.
On offense, Fleming led the rushing attack with 79 yards on 18 carries while Brown had 32 yards on five carries and Bubba Ward had 14 yards on three carries. Fleming was just 2-of-6 passing for 6 yards.
Percy Lewis and Kendrion Boatman each had six tackles for the defense while Lewis Latiker had five tackles. John Bayne had four tackles while Bubba Ward and Fleming each had three tackles apiece. T’Calvin Bolton had one interception that he returned for 71 yards.
The Bulldogs will hit the road as the No. 3 seed out of Division 2-1A as they take on Biggersville.
The Lions are 11-1 on the season and are coming off a 28-22 loss to Smithville that determined the Division 1-1A championship, making the Lions the No. 2 seed.
The Lions have wins over Middleton, Tenn., (59-12), Donoho, Ala., (52-14), West Lowndes (49-16), Tupelo Christian (21-18), Coldwater (51-6), Ashland (52-0), Thrasher (52-0), Potts Camp (38-0), H.W. Byers (45-0), Okolona (40-21) and Falkner (54-12). Their lone loss is to Smithville.
“The next season is now upon us and it’s really a simple formula at this point,” Risen said. “It’s a single-elimination tournament — win and advance.”
The Lions are averaging 396 yards a game of total offense with 312.8 on the ground and 83.2 in the air.
Senior Quamon Davis leads the rushing attack with 1,183 yards on 90 carries with 23 touchdowns. Davis also has five interceptions to lead the Lions on defense as well.
