By DWAIN SPILLMAN JR., Natchitoches Parish Journal
Finding ways to win ugly games. That is just what the St. Mary’s Tiger football team has done over the last two weeks.
SMS, known in recent history for its consistent and explosive output on offense, again relied on its defense as the Tigers moved to 4-0 on the season with a 21-12 victory over DeQuincy at Turpin Stadium on Thursday night. That victory did not come easy.
The local Tigers, (DeQuincy sports the same mascot) held a mere 14-6 advantage at the half and tallied just seven points in the third quarter to end their offerings to the scoreboard on the evening. The opponents continued to fight back and utilized sustained drives to move deep into SMS territory in the second half.
However, the blue and white clad Tigers defense responded by forcing turnovers and holding DeQuincy on third and fourth down situations. The defense bent but never broke.
“Offensively, we got pushed around up front,” SMS head coach Aaron York said. “We have a whole week off to get some people healthy, get some things cleaned up. The positive is that we found a way to win an ugly game.
“The negative is that we can do a lot better. We don’t want to be peaking during the fourth week of the season. We want to be peaking during weeks 10, 11 and 12.”
A very focused and determined York continued, “We are going to get back to work next week. We have a big off week to heal up and get back to fundamentals. We will start district the week after.”
The local Tigers came out strong on their first offensive possession and jumped on the scoreboard first at the 7:19 mark of the first quarter as quarterback Mixson Bankston found Ethan Busby on a crossing route in the back in the end zone from 15 yards out. Payne Williams tacked on the PAT for 7-0 lead.
On the visitors’ next possession deep in SMS territory, Busby stepped in front of a pass and returned the pick 70 yards for the next St. Mary’s score. Williams tacked on the PAT to move the advantage to 14-0 with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter.
“Whenever receivers do things out of the ordinary, you just have to read it before the play,” Busby said. “I saw the receiver do something different. It was a pre-play read and I was able to jump his route.”
Busby was quick to give praise to his teammates after the win. “I know this wasn’t a really good win but it was a win. Next week is going to be a good week of practice and as leaders we will not knock each other down. We will lift each other up and work together to get better. We have work to do and we will do it as a team.”
The Tigers picked off another aerial offering by DeQuincy early in the second quarter as Bankston grabbed an interception deep inside the opponent’s field of play. Williams’ 55-yard field goal attempt fell just short and to the right of the intended target as DeQuincy took over on downs.
The visiting Tigers notched their mark on the scoreboard after an almost 7-minute drive but the point-after failed and St. Mary’s held the 14-6 advantage to round out the first half scoring.
DeQuincy did reach the SMS 23-yard line before time expired but Busby struck again on the defensive end, breaking up a pass inside the SMS 5-yard line with just one second left. DeQuincy’s field goal attempt was blocked as the Tigers defense stepped up strong again and SMS took the 14-6 score into the locker room at the break.
SMS found the end zone one final time late in the third quarter as Bankston bolted off right tackle from the four-yard line and moved the score to 21-6.
Subsequently, an 80-yard drive by DeQuincy ended with a TD but the two-point conversion failed to close the scoring gap to 21-12 with 10 minutes remaining. Both teams battled down to the wire but neither offense reached paydirt again.
The Tigers earned just eight first downs to 17 for DeQuincy. A somewhat anemic SMS offense recorded 142 yards of total offense while the visitors notched 287. Busby led the offense with six receptions for 120 yards and a TD.
SMS senior Drake Griffin led the defensive charge with 14 total tackles while Braylin Normand added seven. A late interception hauled in by Nathan Slaughter helped seal the win for the Tigers.
St. Mary’s returns to the field to open district play on October 6 as the Tigers host LaSalle.
