For the first time this season, the Trojans were able to play a full four quarter football game and it sure was an exciting sight to see. The game against the North Forrest Eagles featured everything you could possibly want in a football game: big pass plays, long runs, good defense, and a lot of scoring.
Unfortunately, there were also many penalties and turnovers as well, which is typical for an early season game. The biggest problem for the Trojans as they prepare for the "Simpson County Super Bowl" this upcoming Thursday is finding consistent production on the offensive side of the ball. With the number of weapons Magee boasts on offense, it is only a matter of time before the offensive machine gets its gears properly greased and begins clicking on all cylinders.
"We were inconsistent on offense," said Coach Dyess, "We've got to learn to finish drives. We left points on the field last week and we left points on the field this week. If we can get to where we finish drives, we're going to hang a lot of points on people." The offense has the ability to dominate on the edges and in open space, but has been searching for a power run game between the tackles to compliment the speed on the edges. That bruising running game may come in the form of Ross McInnis, who provides a nice change of pace as the "Thunder" to Chandler Pittman and Josh Sanders' "Lightning."
Add Chase Rankin into the mix on occasion and the Trojans backfield is locked, loaded, and very deadly both inside and between the redzones. Defensively the Trojans were dominant for three and a half quarters, but some late game miscues allowed the Eagles to put 12 points on the board to make the score a little more respectable. Magee's defense is led by a dominant defensive line that has found a second home in opposing backfields the first two weeks of the season. Complimenting the strong pass rush is a shutdown secondary that has proved to be a "no fly zone" for opposing offenses thus far. The Trojans have also had spectacular special teams through two games as well. The kicking game has been immaculate and the Magee punter, Thomas Dyess, has been a deadly weapon for the team as he has pinned opposing offenses within the shadow of their own goaline several times this season.
The game started with laundry on the field on the opening kickoff that eventually led to the Trojans starting their first possession at their own 36 yard line. More flags littered the field as the Eagles and Trojans exchanged offside penalties before the first official play from scrimmage could be run. After a few misfires, Magee's offense was finally able to kick things into drive and begin a long march down the field. The main focal point of the drive was offensive weapon Chandler Pittman, who led the team in rushing and receiving on the drive. The Trojan offense was aided by several North Forrest penalties on the drive that seemed to come just when Magee needed them. The drive was capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Pittman to give the Trojans an early 7-0 lead in a drive that saw Magee go 64 yards in 5:38 off the clock.
The ensuing kickoff was placed perfectly along the Magee sideline and allowed the Trojans to rush down and recover the pooch kick just outside the North Forrest redzone. Magee added a 32-yard field goal on the drive to make the score 10-0 with 5:04 remaining in the opening stanza of the game. The Eagles began their first drive of the game just past the 5 minute mark of the first quarter on their own 35 yard line. Unfortunately for them, the coaching staff must have slid the offense in reverse rather than drive as they found themselves facing a 1st and 25 after penalties backed the team up into their own redzone. The drive ended with a punt, or attempted punt, on fourth down. The Eagle punter bobbled and dropped the snap before finally picking up the ball to only whiff the punt attempt and be gang tackled by a plethora of Trojans deep in North Forrest territory. Magee was unable to capitalize on the great field position as the following offensive series stalled and led to a spectacular punt that was downed by the Trojan punt team at the Eagle 5 yard line. The teams changed sides of the field and marched from one side of the field to the other as the first quarter drew to an end with the Trojans up 10-0.
The Eagles started the second quarter with a bang as quarterback Leon Jones scrambled away from danger, narrowly escaping a safety and finding room and blockers on the North Forrest sideline that escorted him to a 70-yard run. On the following play, Jones watched as the ball flew over his head back to the 50 yard line as he scurried to regain possession. The drive stalled and the Eagles were forced to punt the ball away to the Magee 26. Magee started the drive with a quick first down as QB Javo Thurman connected with Zacc Hall on a screen pass on third down. The drive then seemed to hit a snag as the Trojans faced 3rd and 17 on their own side of the 50.
However, Sanders came to the rescue on third and long with a long 18 yard gain to put the team near midfield. The drive again faced a premature end on fourth down, but McInnis came through with a clutch fourth down conversion to get the Trojans a fresh set of downs. With :04 on the clock until half and the ball within the range of kicker Sam Rials, Dyess called for Thurman to kill the clock. Magee made one of their few mistakes offensively in the first half as Thurman took a knee rather than spiking the ball and the half came to a stunning end. Coach Dyess proved again why he is one of the classiest coaches you will encounter as he accepted full responsibility for the clock management, "It's on Coach Dyess. We have not practiced that and anything that you have not practiced you can't expect a kid to do so that's on Coach Dyess."
As the second half got under way, the Eagles seemed to be still stuck in reverse as the offense found themselves backed up deep in their own territory after an illegal pass attempt to a lineman. Jones and the offense finally showed signs of life as they clawed to a gutsy first down after starting the drive with a 1st and 20. The North Forrest offense then found their first sustained success on the night after two big plays found them on the Magee side of midfield. The Magee defense managed to catch on to the newfound success by the Eagle offense and forced a fumble that was recovered by Brando Collins on the North Forrest 46. Thomas Dyess was called upon again as the Magee drive stalled and he delivered another fantastic punt that was downed inside the Eagle 5.
The following North Forrest drive ended in what I can only describe as the shortest but most exciting punt return for a touchdown that I have ever witnessed. The Eagles’ punting woes continued as their punt unit was sent out in the shadow of their own goalpost. The North Forrest punter was able to safely field and get off the punt this time; however, that punt only managed to go a whopping two yards beyond the line of scrimmage and found itself in the arms of Cayden Bridges. Bridges seemed stunned when he realized the ball was in his hands, standing perfectly still for a few seconds before regaining his composure and galloping into the endzone for an 8-yard punt return for a touchdown. Yes, I said 8-yard punt return for a touchdown! Magee now found themselves ahead 17-0 early in the second half. "I've been doing it 27 years, I don't know if it’s that crazy," said Dyess when asked if that was the craziest play he has ever seen. "The only thing that scared me is that he stood there and froze with it instead of taking it to the house and scoring."
The Eagles attempted to gain some traction by inserting Eric Robinson at quarterback in the wildcat formation. Robinson did what he does best and sprang two first down runs on consecutive plays giving the Eagle offense a much needed spark. The Trojan defense wised up to the wildcat offense as they forced North Forrest into a fourth down situation in which the team failed to set up a screen and handed the ball back to Magee on the Eagle 46. Magee's offensive inconsistencies continued in the third quarter as the team quickly went three and out. Like a jolt of lightning, Terrell Thornton electrified the Magee team and stands with a 26-yard spectacular pick six putting the Trojans ahead 23-0. The energy continued on the ensuing kickoff as the North Forrest return team bobbled the ball allowing for Magee's Janorris Newsome to pounce on the ball setting the Trojans up with the ball on the North Forrest 34.
Like many teams, Magee decided to go a big shot on the first play following the quick change of possession, unfortunately, Thurman's pass was intercepted Eric Robinson of North Forrest inside the Eagles redzone. The very next play, the Eagles returned the favor by giving the ball back to Magee on a fumble. Magee wasted little time on the following drive by putting Pittman into motion from the slot and handing the ball to the speedster on a jet sweep that he carried 50 yards for a Trojan touchdown putting Magee ahead 30-0 with 11:32 remaining in the game.
North Forrest was finally able to break through and put points on the board in the weirdest of ways. Jones had a case of déjà vu as the snap flew over his head yet again to midfield. However, Jones did not panic this time, instead Jones picked up the ball and turned his eyes downfield. The play was broken and Jones went into survival mode scanning the Trojan defense before finding a receiver for a 50 yard strike in busted coverage. The play was as unique as the game itself had been and saw the Magee lead shrink to 30-6. After sleep walking through the middle quarters, the Magee offense went into high gear in the fourth after the last drive saw Pittman break through for a big touchdown run. Pittman carried that success into this drive as well as he started off the drive with a 20 yard run on a second down play. Thurman then found "the best kept secret in the state," Josh Sanders, for a 30-yard touchdown strike pushing the lead to 37-6.
North Forrest wasted no time responding with a quick two play drive shortening the gap to 37-12. The Eagles attempted to squib the ball down the left side of the field, but the attempt was thwarted by the Trojans as they recovered the ball not far from midfield. The Trojans got the ball with 5:41 left on the game clock and began to salt the clock away, that was until Ross McInnis got other ideas. Thurman handed the ball off to the bruising tailback who found a hole in the Eagle defense. McInnis cut up field and found room on the Magee sideline and began trucking North Forrest defenders as he made his way down the field. As ESPN legendary anchorman Chris "Boomer" Berman would say, McInnis was "rumblin, bumblin, stumblin and could go all the way!" McInnis did just that in route to a punishing 35-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 43-12 for the Trojans which it would remain the final score for the game.
Next week, the Trojans play their first game at home in front of the home crowd in a special Thursday night kickoff at 7 pm against county rivals Mendenhall. The Tigers are coming in riding two blowout victories against Florence and Raymond. If you are lucky enough to find a parking spot within a four mile radius of the field, make sure to come out an support the Trojans in the "Simpson County Super Bowl" that is among the longest rivalries in the state of Mississippi. See you Thursday night as the Trojans continue their march for the 3A crown.
