‘It just clicked.’ Top-10 matchup takes unexpected turn after fumble.
After a dominating third quarter that vaulted No. 3 DeSales into the lead after an uneven first half, the Colts fumbled on their own 25 to start the fourth.
It could have spelled disaster.
Instead, it seemed to make DeSales more determined as it broke away for a 39-23 win at No. 6 Mercer County that secured a No. 1 seed in Class 3A’s District 4 when playoffs begin in two weeks.
“We had a little mistake there in the second half, but our guys played really good in the second half, said DeSales Coach Harold Davis. “The defense stepped up. … Coming down here is a very tough thing to do and to do it for a district championship, I’m very proud of them.”
James Johnson led the way for the Colts, powering to 237 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns in a game that was played in light but nonstop rain at Mercer’s Alvin Johnson Field.
“I just had to do what I do. I play running back. So, I run the ball,” Johnson said, understatedly. “Our offensive line blocked their butts off and kept doing what they needed to do.”
DeSales trailed 17-13 at halftime as Mercer County’s Malachi Yulee ran in TDs of 1 and 21 yards. Noah Davis tacked on a late first-half field goal after Dillon Warren intercepted Jayden Scroggins with about a minute left until the break.
Johnson had a 54-yard TD to start the second quarter, but the Colts failed to convert the extra-point attempt.
“In the first half, I don’t think we were really focused,” said Scroggins who finished with three 1-yard TD runs. “In the second half we came out strong. Our line was blocking really good in the second half. Our backs were hitting the hole harder. It just clicked in the second half.”
After forcing Mercer to punt on its first drive of the second half, DeSales methodically marched down the field to take its first lead on a Scroggins keeper and a DeMarcus Avery two-point conversion to make it 20-17.
After stifling another Mercer drive, DeSales could have let its momentum slip when it fumbled on its own 25. Mercer scored to retake the lead 23-20, on a Dillon Warren 21-yard catch from Kaelin Drakeford. The score came on a fourth down with 4 yards to go.
DeSales responded with 19 unanswered points capped by a 45-yard interception return for a TD by Avery that put the game away with 1:01 left.
“We proved something tonight, but we’ve got to play the whole game like that,” Davis told his team in their postgame huddle.
DeSales (7-2) will play Class 6A’s Meade County next week as a tuneup for the district playoffs. Mercer County (7-2) next take on Class 5A’s West Jessamine. Despite Friday’s loss, Mercer County will get to host its first playoff game in two weeks as a No. 2 seed.
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 12:32 AM.
