For the second week in a row, the Trojan offense got off to a quick start. Magee hit the Bulldogs early and often Friday night, but like two boxers trading blows, the Bulldogs provided a mid-round flurry of their own that set up what could turn out to be a season defining win.
Like a well seasoned boxer, the Trojans weathered the Bulldogs’ second half onslaught with several knock-out punches that showed that Magee is ready to get in the ring with anyone 3A has to offer.
Magee got off to a hot start with a quick opening drive that saw the Trojans go 62 yards in little over two minutes. The drive started at the Magee 38, after a solid return by Cayden Bridges. After an exchange of penalties by the two teams, the Trojan offense found their bearings and began moving the chains with ease against the Lanier defense. The big play on the drive was a 35-yard strike from Javo Thurman to Josh Sanders for the first blow of the game giving the Trojans an early 7-0 lead. Magee introduced a new tradition on the sidelines following scoring plays. Following the new Mississippi State Bulldogs’ slam dunk celebration, the Trojans have a designated "ball boy" and person to hold the goal for the scoring player to slam home a miniature basketball on the sidelines. As much as the Trojans scored, the sidelines looked like a dunk contest against Lanier. It was not long before Magee would have another chance to practice this new tradition. On the ensuing Bulldog drive, K.D. Dampeer got a strong pass rush around the right side, forcing a hurried throw by Chrishaun Williams that hung in the air just long enough to be snagged by a diving Bridges, giving the Trojans the ball at the Lanier 42. Ross McInnis went to work on the Bulldog defense throwing body blows to soften the defense up for later in the game. McInnis pounded his way through the porous Lanier defense for a 3-yard score and the first of his five touchdowns on the night giving Magee an early 14-0 lead.
The Bulldogs looked shook early in the game after two quick scores from the Trojans, who offered them no reprieve as they continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs. Lanier tried to settle in and get the triple option run game going but put the ball on the ground where it was scooped up and taken to the house by Daryious Collins for a 20-yard fumble recovery to give the Trojans a 21-0 lead with 8:00 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs’ knees were a little wobbly after sustaining several shots from the Trojans early, and they couldn't seem to get off the mat as they went three-and-out, giving the Trojans the ball at their own 20. Chandler Pittman made his first impact on the night as he picked up 6 on a 2nd down pass from Thurman, who then used his speed to pick up the first down. Thurman again found Pittman for 6 on a short pass to set up back-to-back 6-yard runs by McInnis to put Magee near midfield. The drive appeared to stall as the Trojans faced 4th and 4 on the Lanier 46. Enter Josh Sanders, the human video game. Sanders’ unique speed and cutting ability brings back fond memories of Michael Vick on Madden 2004. Sanders received the ball on a shovel pass from Thurman and went on to-- as Muhammad Ali would say-- "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" as he showed flash and finesse in a quick strike for a 46-yard touchdown. Sanders’ reception was a thing I've only seen on video games. His ability to stop on a dime and cut defenses up show that this kid has some major talent.
Much to the Bulldogs’ joy, the first quarter finally came to an end with the score 28-0 in Magee's favor. Thanks to some opportune penalty calls by the referees, the Lanier offense finally found their footing and were able to put together their first scoring drive of the night as Williams hit Michael Brown for a 23-yard TD to make the score 28-6. The Magee offense got a little sloppy on the following drive as Thurman attempted to pitch the ball to Pittman but sailed it over the running back’s head where it was recovered by the Bulldogs at the Magee 15. Luckily for Magee, Lanier was unable to capitalize on the fumble and turned the ball over on downs. The Trojans offense continued to go into a second quarter slumber as they went three-and-out on the next drive. The Bulldogs offense found a quick strike ability in the form of the Williams to Brown connection as the two united on a 65-yard touchdown on the first play of the following drive. Lanier closed the gap to a two touchdown game as the teams entered halftime with the score 28-12 Magee's way.
The second half saw the Bulldogs come out swinging, much as they did at the end of the first half. Williams started the drive with a 30-yard strike to Cornelius Scott IV. Freshman tailback Christopher Jones found room in the Magee defense for a 28-yard run to set Lanier up with the ball 1st and goal inside the Trojan 5. Jones capped off the drive with a 1-yard run, followed by a 2-PT conversion by Ladarius Mayers-Peals to shrink the Trojans lead to 28-20 early in the third. It was now Magee's turn to be backed into the corner and struggle to get off the ropes as the offense were unable to muster a response to the Bulldogs offensive success and went three-and-out to give the scalding hot Lanier offense the ball again. The Bulldogs offense continued to throw haymakers as they blazed down the field, ending the drive with another Williams touchdown this time from 10-yards and a 2-PT conversion by Willie Preston knotted the game up at 28-28. Lanier finally scored a knockdown in the match and Magee needed to respond.
The spark came on a punt block by Bridges, which was returned to the 10-yard line by Collins. McInnis finished the drive with a punishing 6-yard touchdown to push the score to 35-28 and give the Trojans back the lead. The Bulldogs now had to respond to the Magee score if they had any hopes of completing the comeback. However, Lanier was unable to get anything going on the following possession and were forced to punt the ball back to the revitalized Trojan offense. Magee was able to continue fighting back out of the opposing corner as they marched down the field. Thurman managed to find Pittman on a crucial 3rd and 18 play for a first down that set-up yet another McInnis touchdown from 8-yards to make the score 42-28 Magee at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The referees again got involved in the game in Lanier's favor as they called an illegal blindside block on Magee's kick coverage team. Yes, the guys who are attempting to make the tackle. Thanks to the penalty, the Bulldogs started the drive with great field position. However, the Magee defense had other plans as Bronsha Harris intercepted the ball and took it to the Magee 45, giving the ball back to the Trojan offense. Thurman and the boys went back to work as he found Sanders for 20 on jet sweep around the edge. McInnis then unleashed one of the most disrespectful runs to an opposing defense I have ever seen. McInnis ran over a would be tackler at the line of scrimmage before making his way into the Lanier secondary. McInnis then delivered a stiff arm so vicious to a Bulldog defender, the referees called a facemask on him to shorten his gain from 30 yards to 15. McInnis saw that only as an opportunity to dish out more punishment to the weary Lanier defense as he pushed ahead for another first down on the drive getting back the yards lost on the penalty. Thurman then connected with Jalyn Lee to set the Trojans up with first-and-goal at the Lanier 6 where McInnis would take it in for another touchdown on the night. The Trojans had blown the game open pushing their lead to 49-28 with 8:36 left in the 3rd.
After exchanging three-and-outs, the Bulldogs were able to answer back with a one play, 76-yard drive that saw Scott find the endzone again to make the score 49-34 with 4:14 left in the 3rd. Magee would dominate from there. On the following drive, Pittman got things started by picking up 15 on a reverse. Thurman then hit Xavier Franks for 40 on a deep fade to give the Trojans the ball inside the Lanier 10. McInnis would take the ball in for his fifth touchdown on the night to push the score to 56-34 Magee. McInnis finished the night with 32 carries for 151 yards and 5 touchdowns, as I have said before, Ross McInnis is a MAN! The game ended in exciting fashion as Harris intercepted his second pass of the night and followed a convoy of blockers to a 75-yard touchdown return as time expired to cap off the 63-34 win for the Trojans.
Magee showed a lot of resolve in the game and responded to controversy well as they rebounded from 28 unanswered points by the Bulldogs in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Coach Teddy Dyess was highly impressed with his teams effort in the face of adversity, "The guys were unbelievable, I told the guys three or four weeks ago against Mendenhall, when momentum swung we didn't swing it back, tonight we answered and that's the sign of a young football team growing up, whenever it went against us we answered it back." Magee starts division play next week as they travel to Camden to play the Velma Jackson Falcons. Coach Dyess' goals for the team are clear moving forward, "We want to be one of those four teams in the playoffs first of all, second of all we'd like to be first or second so we can host the first round playoff game, third of all we want to win the division, but the most important thing is getting one of those four slots and getting in the playoffs." Make sure to travel safely as you come out to Camden to support the Trojans as they suit up at 7 pm against division rivals Velma Jackson this Friday night.
