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Kicking game gives Mount Olive ‘extra’ advantage against Durant
JACKSON — The kicking game matters. If you need a point of reference, just ask Durant head coach Ashley Kuhn.
It was a kick-off return that kept Mount Olive in the game against his Tigers in the MHSAA Class 1A State Championship Game on Thursday night and an extra point that sealed his team’s doom.
Mount Olive’s Ruben Duckworth drove through an extra point on the last play of the game to give the Pirates a 27-26 overtime win before a crowd of 1,800 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
But had it not been for Duckworth’s 89-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, the extra point in overtime may have never become an issue.
Durant had just taken a 14-0 lead thanks to touchdown runs of 1-yard by Cortez Frizell and 6-yards by quarterback Joffie Hogsett.
Everything was going Durant’s way and appeared to still be bouncing the Tigers’ way when Duckworth bobbled the kick-off.
The talented junior quarterback/safety/place-kicker/kick-returner then managed to find a seam down the right sideline, resulting in a touchdown that turned the game around.
“I think the kickoff return was probably the game changer, because it looked like at that point that we were taking control of the game,” Kuhn said.
Despite the touchdown by Duckworth, the Tigers rebounded to go up 20-7 at the half when Travis Johnson hauled in a 12-yard scoring pass from Hogsett just before the half.
But that play also cost the Tigers dearly as Johnson, who plays tight end and defensive end as well as handling the punting chores, injured his knee on the play and wasn’t able to return.
Durant finished the game with 309 yards of total offense and 18 first downs to just 192 yards and nine first downs for the Pirates, who ended the year at 10-5.
But Mount Olive took advantage of its chances, while Durant let some slide by the boards.
“We didn’t score when we had opportunities inside the red zone,” Kuhn said. “I know of two or three occasions that we got down there inside the 10 and didn’t score. You can’t do that against a good football team.”
Mount Olive held Durant scoreless in the second half, not allowing a touchdown past intermission until the overtime.
Durant had the ball first in overtime and scored on an 8-yard pass from Hogsett to Jose Patterson. But the two-point conversion run failed.
Mount Olive then scored on a 7-yard run by Duckworth, who then booted the winning point.
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