By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – There wasn’t much to cheer about for the home team Saturday afternoon.
Alabama dominated from start to finish, defeating Mississippi 20-0 in the 35th annual Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game at M.M. Roberts Stadium. It was the second consecutive victory in the series for Alabama and increased their advantage to 24-11.
“(Justin Finkley) was a beast,” said Mississippi head coach Todd Breland. “He caused a lot of problems for us today, got in our backfield and got our quarterbacks moving. We never could get in a rhythm, and that’s a credit to them.”
It was a smothering defensive performance for Alabama, which held Mississippi to just seven first downs and 117 yards of offense. Mississippi’s deepest penetration into Alabama territory was the 46-yard-line on their opening possession.
That came after Mississippi surprised everyone by trying an onside kick to begin the game. Poplarville linebacker Khalid Moore fell on the ball for Mississippi at their own 46.
“The onside kick, they told me to go to where the first person was, and the ball went to him,” said Moore. “I thought he had it, but he didn’t, so my go-get-the-ball skills kicked in and I just jumped on it.”
But three runs by Laurel’s Kiron Benjamin only picked up 8 yards, and on fourth down, Cameron Young of West Point was stopped for no gain out of the wildcat formation.
Alabama’s subsequent possession ended in a missed 28-yard field goal attempt by Alex McPherson, but that was one of the few missteps by the kicker from Fort Payne.
McPherson, who is expected to sign with Auburn, boomed four punts for an All-Star Game record 50.0-yard average, had touchbacks on all five kickoffs and finished the game with a record-setting 58-yard field goal that would have been good from 68 yards.
“We never could get our feet set,” said Breland. “They were a lot quicker up front than we were, and their back half had an easy job.
“On offense, they controlled the clock, and, of course, their kicker is pretty doggone good, and he flipped the field a bunch of times. When you’re struggling a little bit and have a long field, it’s hard to recover from that.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama completed a 14-play, 73-yard drive with a 31-yard field goal by McPherson. And on the next series, Alabama cornerback Miguel Mitchell made a sensational play on a pass from Mississippi quarterback Zack Wilcke down the right sideline.
Mitchell made a leaping grab at the Alabama 48, circled around the pursuit and motored almost untouched for a touchdown that made the score 10-0. The way Alabama’s defense played the rest of the way, it might as well have been 100-0.
“They were just jumping on every route, stopping every play,” said Oak Grove quarterback Kabe Barnett, who started for Mississippi. “They were just playing good defense. The outside (linebacker) on the right side kept coming free, so I had to avoid him every play.”
It was more of the same in the second half. Mississippi went three-and-out with the opening possession of the third quarter, and Alabama drove from its own 11 to a second-and-6 at the Mississippi 22.
But Moore got his hands on an ill-advised pass from Alabama quarterback Bennett Meredith at the 25-yard-line and returned the pick to the Mississippi 41.
“I just dropped back into coverage, because that was what I was supposed to do,” said Moore. “We needed a turnover, and I went up and got it for us. It was a great moment. I always envision myself making plays before a game, and that one became a reality.”
However, once again, Mississippi went nowhere, and this time Alabama cashed in.
Starting at their own 24, Alabama needed just five plays to score the only offensive touchdown of the game.
On the first play of the drive, Alabama quarterback Zach Pyron fit a pass to Kobe Prentice, who made the grab for a 33-yard gain, despite tight coverage by Jefferson Davis County star Malcolm Hartzog.
Two plays later, Alabama tailback Braylon McReynolds bounced off a pair of arm tackles and dashed 31 yards to the Mississippi 1. Kierstan Rogers scored the touchdown on the next play for a 17-0 lead.
“Through the playoffs, we faced some of the best receivers in the state and helped us prepare for this game,” said Hartzog.
Alabama’s defensive line spent the rest of the game making Mississippi quarterbacks Barnett and Wilcke run for their lives, forcing another interception, this by Barnett, and a lost fumble. For the game, Barnett and Wilcke were 15 of 32 for just 62 yards.
“They were playing with their hands real well, reading a lot of things we were doing,” said Oak Grove tackle Klabron Pollard. “They were about what I expected out of the top guys from Alabama
One Alabama drive ended with Hartzog getting an interception in the end zone, solidifying his selection as Mississippi Most Valuable Player after finishing with nine tackles, including eight solos.
“I knew they were coming with a pass, because I figured out the alignment,” said Hartzog. “I just read it all the way.”
McReynolds led Alabama with 98 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Although the day didn’t end in victory for the Mississippi stars, they all said the experience was worth it.
“It’s been a great experience,” said Moore, who said he will sign with Mississippi State next week. “I’m the first one from my school to do something like this, and I loved every second of it.”
GAME SUMMARY
Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium
Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game
Alabama 20, Mississippi 0
AL 0 10 7 3 – 20
MS 0 0 0 0 – 0
Second Quarter
AL – Alex McPherson 31 field goal, 11:49 (14 plays/73 yards/4:30 possession).
AL – Miguel Mitchell 52 interception return (McPherson kick), 10:39.
Third Quarter
AL – Kierstan Rogers 1 run (McPherson kick), 3:32 (5/76/1:38).
Fourth Quarter
AL – McPherson 58 field goal, 1:17 (3/-3/1:21).
TEAM STATISTICS
AL MS
First downs 15 7
Total net yards 296 117
Rushes-yards 39-158 24-55
Passing yards 138 62
Comp-Att-Int 11-21-2 15-32-2
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 4-30 1-4
Punts-total (avg.) 4-200 (50.0) 7-245 (35.0)
Sacks 2-11 2-18
Third down 2-11 3-15
Fourth down 1-1 0-2
Time of possession 25:57 22:03
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Alabama – Braylon McReynolds 13-98, Quinshon Judkins 12-43, Kierstan Rogers 10-22, Evan Smith 1-1, Zach Pyron 3-(-6); Mississippi – Kiron Benjamin 8-16, Zach Wilcke 4-16, Kabe Barnett 3-9, Kenyon Clay 4-9, Cameron Young 5-5.
Passing
Alabama – Zach Pyron 7-11-0-91, Bennett Meredith 4-9-1-47, Evan Smith 0-0-0-0; Mississippi – Kabe Barnett 6-14-0-40, Zach Wilcke 9-18-2-22.
Receiving
Alabama – Kobe Prentice 4-64, Omari Kelly 2-28, Jarel Williams 2-26, Braylon McReynolds 1-12, De’Andre Coleman 1-8, Kierstan Rogers 1-0; Mississippi – Jamorris Hopson 3-23, Kiron Benjamin 3-21, Larry Simmons 2-6, Jerry Lee Johnson 1-4, Jordan Anthony 4-3, Cameron Young 1-3, Kenyon Clay 1-2.
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
