The Mount Ida Lions took care of business Friday night, defeating the visiting Lafayette County Cougars 42-14 to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2A state playoffs.
The win puts the Lions in the cross hairs of McCrory next Friday night as Mount Ida takes to the road for the first time in this year’s playoffs.
Mount Ida’s defense made themselves known throughout Friday night’s matchup, holding Tre Burke to only 46 yards in the first half and 133 yards and one touchdown for the night.
The Cougars had 34 carries on the night for 192 yards on the ground and they were 7-17 in the air for 130 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
T.J. Wilson had the interception for Mount Ida while Gunner Gilbert recovered a fumble for the Lions.
Offensively The Lions did what they needed to do, controlling the clock for most of the game. Mount Ida had 49 carries for 248 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson was 5-6 in the air with an interception and two touchdowns. Jesse Lowry had four of the catches for 96 yards and a score and Cade Helms had a 24 yard catch for a touchdown.
Cody Robertson was the workhorse for Coach White’s offense, carrying the ball 17 times for 148 yards and a touchdown. Lowry had 11 carries for 45 yards, followed by Caleb Jones with nine carries for 29 yards and a touchdown. Helms had three carries for 14 yards and Wilson had five carries for eight yards and two TDs.
The Mount Ida defense opened the game with a stop, forcing a Cougar punt on fourth and four from their 40 yard line. Lowry returned the punt to Lafayette County’s 34 yard line.
On fourth and seven from the Cougar 31 Wilson found Lowry racing across the middle of the field and hit him with a pass. Lowry raced the distance for the first touchdown of the night. Tyler Allenbrand’s PAT was good and the Lions held a seven point lead with 7:38 to go in the first quarter.
A block in the back call on Lafayette County pinned them just inside their own 20 on the ensuing kickoff. The Lions was able to move the Cougars back to the 13 before Derrick LeMay hit Lepatrick Miller on a dead run for an 87 yard TD reception. The two point conversion fell short and the Lions’ lead stood at 7-6.
Mount Ida took control of the game on the next series, launching a 12 play drive that ate up over five minutes of the clock. The drive went 60 yards and ended with a one yard run by Wilson. The PAT was good and the Lion lead was 14-6.
Lafayette County was able to work their way down to the Lion 28 before a sack by Anthony Spurling set them back to the 36. Two plays later Wilson picked off a pass to give Mount Ida the ball on their own 27.
Mount Ida methodically moved the ball down field to the Cougar 32 before Jesse Ward picked off a pass to Lowry on the Lafayette County nine yard line.
A couple big runs by Burke carried the Cougars into Lion territory, but Gunner Gilbert fell on a fumbled snap to give the Lions possession on their own 47. Eight plays later Mount Ida scored on a two yard run by Caleb Jones with 31 seconds to go in the half. Allenbrand’s PAT was good and the Lions led 21-6 at the half.
Mount Ida opened the second half with the ball on their own 36 yard line. They launched a clock killing 14 play drive that cleared over eight minutes off the clock and ended in a five yard touchdown run by Wilson. Allenbrand hit the PAT and Mount Ida’s lead was 28-6 with 3:36 to go in the quarter.
A facemask penalty moved Lafayette County into Lion territory, but the Mount Ida defense stiffened on a fourth and five and took possession on downs at the Lion 31.
Mount Ida only needed four touches to score their fifth touchdown of the night. Robertson burst through the Cougar defense with three ticks off the clock in the fourth period to score from nine yards out. The PAT was good and the Lion lead stood at 35-6.
Mount Ida’s final score came at the 8:17 mark on a 24 yard pass to Cade Helms. Allenbrand hit his sixth PAT of the night to give the Lions a 42-6 lead, invoking the sportsmanship rule.
Burke would break a 60 yard run late in the game to give the Cougars another score. Lemay ran the two point conversion in to set the final score at 42-14.
Mount Ida moves to 12-0 on the season and will travel to McCrory Friday night for a quarterfinal matchup in the 2A state playoffs. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
