By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – It was a case of too little, too late for the Seminary Bulldogs Friday afternoon as they fell short in their bid for a state title.
Seminary fell into a deep hole that a 16-point fourth-quarter rally was unable to overcome as Water Valley held on for a 34-28 victory in the Class 3A State Championship Game at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the Southern Miss campus.
Water Valley (14-2) won its second 3A state title, to go with a championship the Blue Devils won in 1990. Seminary (12-4) was also gunning for a second state title, after winning the 2A crown in 2003.
“They did a good job of game-planning, and they got us out of our rhythm offensively early on,” said Seminary coach Brian Rials. “We finally got something going, but it was a little too late.”
But it was on offense that Water Valley surprised the Bulldogs. The Blue Devils averaged almost twice as many rushing yards per game as passing yards coming into the state final, but it was the pass that did in Seminary.
In particular, the Bulldogs had no answer for Blue Devil wide receiver Bud Tolbert. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior caught four passes for 100 yards, and all four went for touchdowns.
And all of Water Valley’s scores came through the air, as the Blue Devils totaled 144 passing yards to 137 yards on the ground.
“We knew they could pass, but we didn’t expect them to throw it as much as they did,” said Rials. “We tried to get our cornerbacks some help (on Tolbert), but give them credit, they made some big plays.”
After Seminary went three-and-out with the opening possession of the game, Water Valley drove 70 yards on 10 plays, scoring on a 24-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Truss to Tolbert, converting a third-and-17 on the play.
The Blue Devils successfully pulled off the Philly play for their second score, early in the second quarter, when running back Martavius Rockett took a handoff running left then threw back to Truss in the right flat for a 6-yard score.
The touchdown came on a fourth-and-goal play after the Bulldogs’ only turnover, an interception by Water Valley’s Darius Tolbert, who fumbled at the Seminary 46-yard-line, only to have teammate Damicah Hervey pick up the miscue and dash 39 yards to the Bulldog 7.
Seminary finally got its offense going on the next series, driving 66 yards on seven plays.
Sophomore Joseph Owens dashed 24 yards to the Water Valley 11, and a face-mask penalty gave the Bulldogs a first-and-goal at the Blue Devil 6. Junior Jordan Barrett got the score after a pair of 3-yard runs. But the PAT kick was blocked leaving the score 14-6.
Water Valley made it 21-6 after denying the Bulldogs on a fourth-down play near midfield. The Blue Devils drove 53 yards on six plays, with Truss splitting two defenders on a 35-yard TD pass to Tolbert with 43 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Blue Devils took the opening kickoff of the second half and moved briskly 64 yards on just four plays, with Truss and Tolbert again hooking up for a 35-yard touchdown.
Seminary began to get some offensive rhythm going on the next possession, driving 80 yards on 10 plays, with senior quarterback Jeff Miller hitting a wide-open Poundarius Youngblood for a 45-yard scoring play. The PAT run failed.
Hervey’s 31-yard kickoff return of a pooch kick set Water Valley up at the Bulldog 42, getting the score on a 6-yard pass from Truss to Tolbert.
Seminary drove inside the Water Valley 5-yard-line on its next possession, but the Bulldogs were denied on a fourth-and-goal from the Blue Devil 2, as Barrett was stopped after just a yard-gain.
However, Truss’s quarterback sneak was stuffed in the end zone for a safety, and that finally turned the game around in Seminary’s favor.
“It hurt not punching it in on fourth down there, but give our guys credit, they bowed up and got us the ball right back,” said Rials. “They never quit. They just keep fighting. They have great character, great kids and they give it all they’ve got every play.”
The Bulldogs wasted no time in narrowing the deficit, driving 80 yards on just five plays, using 1 minute, 39 seconds off the clock.
Senior Antonio Mobley roared up the middle for 33 yards, then Owens got another 13, plus a face-mask call put the ball at the Water Valley 11, and Youngblood got the rest of the yardage on a run through the right side. This time Jackson Bryant’s PAT kick was good.
After stopping Water Valley on fourth down at the Seminary 35, the Bulldogs drove 65 yards on 11 plays, with senior Marquis Crosby carrying much of the load.
Crosby converted a third-and-13 with a 26-yard run to the Blue Devil 31, then got 2 yards on a fourth-and-1 at the 22. Owens’ 15-yard run to the right corner of the end zone capped the drive, and Bryant’s partially-blocked kick just cleared the crossbar to make the score 34-28.
But Water Valley collected the onside kick attempt, and Truss converted a third-and-5 with a 9-yard run to end Seminary’s comeback hopes.
“A lot of our games this year, we’ve had to come from behind,” said Rials. “I thought maybe we could do it one more time, but we came up a little short. But we’re proud for our guys, proud for our community. Hopefully, we can come back next year.”
Seminary finished the game with 422 yards of offense, to 281 for Water Valley, with Crosby rushing for 169 yards on 19 carries. And the good news for Bulldog fans is Crosby has two more years at Seminary after finishing this season with 2,066 rushing yards.
GAME SUMMARY
Class 3A State Championship
Friday at M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg
Water Valley 34, Seminary 28
Seminary 0 6 6 16 – 28
Water Valley 7 14 13 0 – 34
First Quarter
WV – Jacob Truss 24 pass to Bud Tolbert (Jon Surrett kick), 5:04 (10 plays/70 yards/4:59 possession).
Second Quarter
WV – Martavius Rockett 5 pass to Truss (Surrett kick), 10:51 (4/7/1:14).
S – Jordan Barnett 3 run (Kick failed), 8:16 (7/66/2:26).
WV – Truss 35 pass to Tolbert (Surrett kick), 0:43 (6/53/2:30).
Third Quarter
WV – Truss 35 pass to Tolbert (Surrett kick), 10:35 (4/64/1:25).
S – Jeff Miller 45 pass to Poundarius Youngblood (Run failed), 5:55 (10/80/4:40).
WV – Truss 6 pass to Tolbert (Run failed), 2:20 (7/42/3:26)
Fourth Quarter
S – Safety, Truss tackled in end zone), 11:04.
S – Youngblood 11 run (Jackson Bryant kick), 9:20 (5/80/1:25).
S – Joseph Owens 15 run (Bryant kick), 1:35 (11/65/3:09).
TEAM STATISTICS
S WV
First downs 20 15
Total net yards 422 281
Rushes-yards 52-335 39-137
Passing yards 87 144
Comp-Att-Int 4-11-1 9-11-0
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 10-86 4-26
Punts-total (avg.) 2-74 (37.0) 1-36 (36.0)
Sacks-yards 0-0 0-0
3rd down conv. 6-14 5-9
4th down conv. 3-5 2-3
Time of possession 25:39 22:21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Seminary – Marquis Crosby 19-169, Joseph Owens 6-54, Jordan Barrett 18-43, Antonio Mobley 5-40, Poundarius Youngblood 2-18, Cameron Sanford 1-9, Nathan Pickering 1-2; Water Valley – Tay Rucker 16-68, Jacob Truss 17-60, Martavius Rockett 2-11, Team 2-(-2).
Passing
Seminary – Jeff Miller 4-10-1-87, Marquis Crosby 0-1-0-0; Water Valley – Jacob Truss 8-10-0-139, Martavius Rockett 1-1-0-5.
Receiving
Seminary Poundarius Youngblood 1-45, Joseph Owens 1-27, Jayren Johnson 2-15; Water Valley – Bud Tolbert 4-100, Devontrae Bailey 1-14, Tay Rucker 1-11, Martavius Rockett 1-9, Jacob Welch 1-5, Jacob Truss 1-5.
