Colonels shock Cougars in overtime thriller

By Watson Cook

The Indianola Colonels traveled to Raymond Friday night to take on Central Hinds in the first round of the AA playoffs. It was the Colonels' second trip to Raymond this season. Going in, the Colonels believed they had a shot at pulling the upset, but no one could have imagined how it would actually play out. The Colonels, the #1 wild card in the North, did indeed pull off the upset of District 3 #1 Central Hinds with a 34-28, 3OT shocker.

IA got off to a slow start as Central Hinds controlled the line of scrimmage for the better part of the first half. After playing to a scoreless first quarter, the Cougars got on the board by taking advantage of an Ashton Knight fumble. Central Hinds recovered at the IA 42 and found the endzone on the next play on Dallas Townsend's 42-yard run. Mason Sollie's PAT was good to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead with 9:30 to play in the second quarter. The lead held until :02 remaining in the quarter. On 4th and 10 from the Cougar 33, Colonel quarterback Jonathan Holland's desperation pass was hauled in by Wheeler Timbs at the 5 yard line. With a second and third effort, Timbs carried Cougar defenders into the endzone. Following Holland's 2-point pass to Knight, the Colonels took momentum and an 8-7 lead into halftime.

The Cougars took the ball to start the second half and drove inside the Colonel 30 before Trey Roberson came up with an interception to give the Colonels the ball at their own 24. IA, taking advantage of the turnover, drove 76 yards on 8 plays. Holland capped the drive with a QB keeper from 1 yard out. The 2-point pass fell incomplete leaving IA with a 14-7 lead with 5:30 to play in the third quarter. The Cougars answered on their next drive, setting the back-and-forth tone for the remainder of the game. Brian King's 31-yard touchdown run and Sollie's PAT tied the game at 14-14 with 3:01 left in the quarter. The Colonels took the ensuing kickoff and used a 10-play, 73-yard drive to re-take the lead on Knight's 6-yard touchdown run. Timbs added the 2-point run to put IA up 22-14 with 10:27 to play in the game. Once again, the Cougars answered. Skylar Price's 10-yard pass to Townsend pulled the Cougars within 2 and Price's 2-point pass to Gray Jordan tied the game at 22-22 with 6:40 to play. IA had a chance to win at the end of regulation but Roberson's halfback pass was intercepted as time expired.

Central Hinds won the coin toss and elected to play defense in the first overtime period. On 4th and goal from the 1, Knight appeared to cross the goal line for a touchdown. In fact, one official, then the head referee, signaled touchdown. As the Colonel offense was running off the field in celebration, another official ran in and claimed to have Knight marked down shy of the endzone. The officials discussed it and reversed the touchdown setting off a firestorm on the Colonel sideline. With the turnover on downs, the Cougars, blessed with the powerful leg of Sollie, tried to win it with a field goal on 3rd and goal. The 21-yard attempt was pushed wide left, giving the Colonels another life. They wouldn't waste it.

In the second overtime, each team found the endzone but could not convert the 2-point attempt. King's 3-yard run and Knight's 1-yard run left the game tied at 28-28 at the end of the second overtime period.

The Colonels caught a couple of breaks in the third overtime and made sure to take advantage. The Cougar offense took the field first and fumbled the snap on 1st down. While they were able to recover, the play resulted in a five yard loss. Then penalized for a false start on 2nd down, the Cougars were looking at 2nd and goal from the 20. The Colonel defense made stops on three consecutive passes to force a turnover on downs. With a golden opportunity to win the game, the IA offense took the field. On 3rd and goal from the 7, Holland dropped back with play-action and hit tight end Michael Sykes with a strike in the endzone for the 34-28 win, igniting a wild celebration among everyone wearing blue and white.

With the win, the Colonels advance to take on Marshall Academy on Friday, November 9. The Patriots won their opening round game at Canton Academy 20-7. The Colonels suffered a 28-6 loss to Marshall earlier in the season in Indianola. Kickoff from Holly Springs is set for 7:00.