For those who weren't aware that Ackerman was one of the players in Class 2A football, they got a crash course on Friday night.

The homestanding Indians limited Hollandale-Simmons, the No. 6-ranked team in the state going into the contest, to just 29 yards of total offense and a single first down on the way to a convincing 27-0 win in the second round of the MHSAA Class 2A State Football Playoffs.

"Defensively, what else can you say?" asked AHS head coach Adam Dillinger following his team's convincing win. To shut down a bunch like that is spectacular. We never thought it would be that kind of victory, but we are definitely happy with it."

Next up for Ackerman, ranked No. 1 in MHSAA Class 2A according to the Mississippi Prep Sports Source, is a short trip east to take on East Webster at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Indians took a 31-0 win there during the regular season, but Dillinger said he will be cautioning his team all week about looking past the surging Wolverines.

"If you lose you are out," Dillinger said. "That has got to be the reality of it. If you don't go play with the same kind of effort we did tonight, you could be out of it and we certainly don't want to be out of it.

"The big thing is you have to keep the kids focused," he said. "We have a senior team and they haven't been this deep in the playoffs before. If they want to keep going, then we have got to stay focused."

East Webster had to win its last regular season game just to make the playoffs, but it is currently on a three-game winning streak and has pulled two upsets so far in the playoffs, including a 28-14 win over Calhoun City last week.

"East Webster has kicked it into another gear," Dillinger said. "You don't get into the third round accidentally. I fully expect a battle next week. We are just going to have to strap it on and play."

East Webster is currently 7-6 on the season in its first year in Class 2A, after being a 1A power for the past several years.

Going into last Friday night's game Hollandale-Simmons had given up just 30 points all season with the majority of those coming in a 16-7 loss to Region 4-2A champion West Bolivar two weeks ago.

"They said we couldn't put up 21," said senior running back/wide receiver Shawn Stricklin. "But we came out and showed everybody what we are really made of."

The number 21 was one that was floating around in Dillinger's mind headed into the game.

"We felt if we could get 21 points on the board — three touchdowns — we had a good chance to win," he said. "We thought that is what it would take."

On that count, he was wrong.

A field goal would have done the trick, for that matter, a safety would have been enough.

The Ackerman defense was dominating, holding the visiting Blue Devils to just 29 yards of total offense and only one first down.

"We worked hard this week and came out here with the mentality that we could do it and we did," said AHS senior nose guard Javier Murphy, who spent most of his night in the Hollandale-Simmons backfield. "I work hard to pressure the quarterback. Once we got ahead, I was able to do that even more."

And the Indians got ahead in a hurry.

A Pat Scriber interception and 38-yard return gave Ackerman incredible field position for its first possession, putting the Indians at the Hollandale-Simmons 2-yard line.

One play later John Cummings scored to make it 7-0 following Nolan Long's kick with less than two minutes gone off the block.

Ackerman controlled field position throughout the first half, setting up good field position to start its first drive of the second quarter.

On the third play after taking over at the Hollandale-Simmons 28-yard line when the punter went to his knee while in possession of the ball, Andrew Furr hit Stricklin with a 16-yard scoring pass.

The ball was behind Stricklin who was running an out route, but he managed to pull it in and then tight-roped down the sidelines for the touchdown.

"It surprised me," Stricklin said of the catch. "I stuck my hand out there and it hit it and stuck. Then I just took it in for the score."

Stricklin has seen limited playing time the past few weeks due to a high ankle sprain, but he says he expects to be 100 percent going into his team's third-round game against East Webster.

The winners went up 20-0 on an 18-yard run by Cummings with 6:38 left in the half. The touchdown was set up by a 14-yard pass from Furr to Nolan Long.

Ackerman's last score of the game came on a 3-yard run by Cummings in the fourth quarter.

The junior, who has been filling in at the tailback spot with Stricklin out nursing his injury, finished the night with 165 rushing yards on 26 carries. The Indians finished the night with 290 yards of total offense and 13 first downs.

Furr hit on 5-of-8 passes for 49 yards, while Levias Simmons rushed for 34 yards and Furr had 27.