Last Friday, the Trojans celebrated Senior night and what would hopefully not be the final game at Trojan Field for the 2019 Magee Senior class. With the definitive win over the Tigers of Crystal Springs last Friday night, the Trojans all but assured hosting a playoff game in Magee for the first time in over half a decade. The Trojans have grasped control of the #2 seed in division 6-3A with only the Falcons of Velma Jackson ahead of them. It appears very unlikely that the Falcons will stumble in their season finale, so if Magee takes care of business against McLaurin this Friday, then prepare for postseason football in Magee. If the Trojans should stumble, then a Raleigh loss would still place the Trojans as the #2 seed. Magee is in the driver’s seat of their own postseason fate, which is exactly what coaches aim for at this point in the season.
As the season has progressed, this team has matured and grown into a sound football team that is capable of dominating any or all three phases of the game at any point in the game. The team stumbled a little out of the gate this past Friday as the Tigers assumed an early 7-0 lead over the Trojans after a 36-yard quarterback draw by Ta'Darious Barnes for a touchdown. Magee wasted no time responding to the score as Javo Thurman hit Chandler Pittman out of the backfield on a slip screen that saw Pittman follow the blocking of Matthew Thurman to a 60-yard touchdown followed by a Ross McInnis 2-pt conversion to make the score 8-7 after barely two minutes of football. The following Crystal Springs drive ended in a three-and-out. As the Tigers punter went to get the ball off, Cayden Bridges timed his dive perfectly as the ball hit his hands and flew into the waiting arms of CP2. After the punt block, the Trojans set up shop at the Crystal Springs 42 looking to increase their lead. McInnis started the drive by bullying his way to a 12-yard run around the left side of the Trojan offensive line. Thurman then took to the air attack to connect with last week's star performer Xavier Franks on a curl route that Franks turned from a 10-yard to a 20-yard gain after turning up field and avoiding several attempted tackles to put the Trojans inside the Tigers redzone. On first down, Magee went backwards near the Tigers 30 to set up second down and very long. As the drive began to lose its steam, Thurman found Josh Sanders for a 13-yard gain on a quick screen that was negated by a holding penalty which was declined to set up 3rd and 10 inside the 20. Magee was unable to convert the third down and were forced to settle for a 28-yard Sam Rials field goal to push the lead to 11-7 for the Trojans with 5:44 remaining in the first. The early shootout continued on the following Crystal Springs drive as the Tigers led by Barnes marched down the field. Barnes capped off the 70-yard drive by hitting Keondre Davie on a 19-yard wheel route in blown coverage for a touchdown to give the Tigers back the lead at 14-11 with 4:29 left on the clock in the first quarter.
The turnover bug that has plagued the Magee offense ended the Trojans drive early as McInnis coughed up the ball while fighting for extra yards, giving the Tigers the ball in Magee territory. Barnes looked to strike while the iron was hot as he looked to dial up a deep pass on the first play of the drive. Fortunately for the Trojans, Sanders was in coverage and he must have been wearing Air Jordan cleats because I believe he flew for the interception, as he managed to high-point the ball over the intended receiver who had nearly a foot advantage on the much smaller Sanders. Magee took over at the Tigers 10 looking to regain control of the game as the teams flipped ends of the field as the second quarter began. The Trojans dialed up a little "trickeration" on first down as shades of the Boise State, Oklahoma 2007 Fiesta Bowl flashed before our eyes with a rare hook-n-latter play was successfully executed by the Trojans as Thurman connected with CP2 on a short hitch route who flicked the ball to Sanders who sped by for a 20-yard gain. There was no trickery on the next play as McInnis bludgeoned his way to a 15-yard bruising run to put Magee inside the Crystal Springs side of the field. Thurman continued his hot start by finding Franks for 12 on a bubble screen with good blocking downfield by CP2 and Sanders. The Trojans drive hit a minor speed bump as the team was forced to attempt to convert a 4th and 1 into a first down, but McInnis got six when he needed one to keep the chains rolling. Thurman went back to the air on the next set of downs where he hit Sanders on an intermediate fly route that saw Sanders channel his inner Reggie Bush from his USC Trojan days, as he spun off several would-be tacklers and reverse field to find a seam for a 44-yard touchdown. Sanders continues to show that he is the "human video game" as he electrifies the Magee faithful with his explosive ability to give the Trojans back the lead at 18-14 with 9:53 until the half. The ensuing Tiger drive ended in a short punt to give Magee the ball at the Crystal Springs 36. After a 13-yard run by McInnis to the 23, the Trojans drive stalled and ended in a 34-yard Rials field goal to make the lead 21-14 with 5:21 till halftime. The Trojans forced yet another three-and-out to regain possession of the ball with enough time to score and put the game away in the first half. Unfortunately, the fumble bug continued to haunt McInnis as he fought for extra yards on a 4th and 1 play that ended in the Tigers recovering the McInnis fumble near midfield. Barnes got the Tigers into Magee territory as he connected with Malik Jones on a 15-yard slant. Barnes looked to take a deep shot with little time on the clock to attempt to tie the score before halftime. As Barnes launched the ball into the Trojan secondary, CP2 timed his jump perfectly as he snatched the ball from the air over the receiver and took the ball 90-yards to the house as the Magee announcer repeated, "Chandler Pittman, Chandler Pittman, touchdown Chandler Pittman!!!" Coach Dyess put it best after the game when describing Pittman's ability, "Chandler is Chandler, Chandler's one of the best Sophomore players in the State, I believe everyone saw tonight whenever the game got to clutch time he stepped up and made a play for us and that's what Chandler does." The Trojans now held a 28-14 lead at the half as the teams celebrated the retiring of former USM legend, Harold "the train" Shaw's #14 jersey at halftime. As someone who grew up attending Southern Miss games, Shaw was one of those players and people you will never forget meeting in life. Numerous times I saw "the train" pull into the station for touchdown after touchdown in the black and gold and do his signature "choo-choo" arm celebration for my beloved Eagles.
As the game resumed in the second half, Crystal Springs looked for a spark offensively as they moved Jones to quarterback from receiver and began running a triple option offense with a much more agile quarterback. Jones was able to dink and dime the Tiger offense into the Magee redzone as he looked to close the gap in the score. As Crystal Springs faced a 3rd and 11 at the Magee 12, Jones dropped back where he was chased down and sacked for a 25-yard loss by Etoya "Money" Traxler to force a Tiger punt. The following Magee drive ended fruitlessly with a punt to give the ball back to Crystal Springs who would capitalize on the opportunity. After getting deep in Trojan territory, Johnnie Daniels looked like Marshawn Lynch against the Saints in the playoffs as he barreled over several Magee defenders and slipped through multiple arm tackles for an impressive 24-yard touchdown run to shrink the Trojans lead to seven.
The next two Magee drives ended in turnovers by Thurman, one interception and one fumble, which allowed Crystal Springs to continue to have hope late in the game. Barnes re-entered the game as quarterback after the Trojans knocked Jones out of the contest after several vicious hits on scramble attempts. Barnes did well after being on the bench cold for nearly two quarters as he marched his team near midfield with barely two minutes remaining in the game and a chance to force overtime or win the game with a touchdown and 2-pt conversion. When the Trojans needed a big play to seal the game, insert CP2 and enjoy. Jones braved possible injury and came back in the game to try to spark the comeback. Jones took off on a short run that ended in a fumble that was scooped and taken 60-yard to pay dirt by Pittman for yet another clutch touchdown to push the lead to what would be the final score of 35-21.
The win by the Trojans all but locked up a first round home game, which would be the first in Magee in several years. After the game, Coach Dyess expressed his joy with the future of his team, "The big thing is we get to be at home in the first round of the playoffs, it's been a while since Magee's been at home [in the playoffs], that is huge that we get to host a playoff game here in front of these fans and for these kids to be at home for a playoff game." As the brackets for the playoffs depict, Magee the #2 seed out of division 6 would host the #3 seed of division 8 which is currently slated as the Jaguars of Jefferson Davis County. Magee looks to avoid a trap game as they travel to Florence, MS to play the McLaurin Tigers who are winless in district play and are riding a five game losing streak, looking to possibly play spoiler to the Trojans hopes to host a playoff game. If Magee wins we host. If we lose and Raleigh lose, we host. If we lost and Raleigh wins then the Trojans may be on the road week one of the playoffs. Make sure to come out and support the Trojans and travel safely to Florence this Friday night.
