Shondell Harris, Mary Montgomery grind down Daphne, 21-8, for 11th straight region win

 

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

SEMMES — Asked if Mary G. Montgomery remains the best football team in 7A Region 1, Daphne coach Kenny King didn’t hesitate after swimming up for air at Grider Stadium Friday night.

“They won the region last year and they’re wearing the crown until somebody beats them,” King said after No. 10-ranked MGM dominated the line of scrimmage in a drenching rain and won 21-8 to open defense of its region championship with its 11^th straight region victory. It was also King’s third straight loss to his former offensive coordinator, Zach Golson, now Mary Montgomery’s ultra-successful head coach.

The Vikings clamped their crown on tight against the Trojans (2-0, 0-1), who were coming off two convincing wins over McGill-Toolen and Pine Forest (Fla.) by a combined 68-23.

On paper, there were two big reasons to believe Mary Montgomery should have been at least slightly worried. Daphne’s star defensive linemen Marquaes Lambert (6-1, 280) and Ole Miss commitment Talib Graham (6-1, 235) could have made it tough for the Vikings to run the ball and, on top of that, MGM’s scoring average in its first two games (17.5 points) was the lowest for Golson in 11 years as an offensive coordinator and head coach.

But Mary Montgomery (2-1, 1-0) methodically and patiently cracked the Trojans’ backbone with two long scoring drives to open each half on the way to opening defense of its region championship with a triumph that never seemed in doubt.

Quarterback Shondell Harris ended a 90-yard, 16-play drive that gnawed away 6:41 of the first quarter by dropping a perfect 6-yard fade to D.J. Braughton into the mail slot in the left corner of the end zone to make it 7-0.

“The last couple of games, we hadn’t been scoring the first couple of drives,” Braughton said. “That’s the best we played so far.”

Less than three minutes later, Daphne’s Malachi Norman fumbled a punt snap and was dropped by Shemar Elston at his 13. On the next play, Harris threw a screen pass to Devin Pettway for a 14-0 lead.

The Trojans recovered from the early deficit to twice drive into the red zone, reaching a first-and-goal at MGM’s 8 in the second quarter and the Vikings’ 10 in the fourth quarter.

But Mary Montgomery stopped both threats. The Vikings’ Demarkus Boykin foiled Norman’s 19-yard field goal by throwing him for a 6-yard loss after a high snap and Pettway intercepted Jaylyn Thibodeaux at MGM’s 2 in the fourth quarter.

“After we got hit early, we did a good job recovering but we got down to the red zone and couldn’t convert,” King said.

That’s because the Vikings were better up front.

“We won the battle at the line of scrimmage,” Golson said after changing into some dry clothes. “We leaned on them, which was a big part of our plan anyway but especially when the rain came. It’s not exactly how we drew it up but the weather dictated a lot of the game.”

MGM ran for 157 yards and held Daphne to 95 in winning its 11^th straight home game.

“We executed our run game very well,” Harris said. “We just believed in our running game and we’re going to pound a team if they give it to us. I think that’s the best we’ve played so far. We took what the defense gave us and we weren’t in a hurry.”

Harris, who finished with 68 yards on 21 carries, scored on a 6-yard run to complete an 80-yard, 10-play drive to open the second half and make it 21-0. He also completed 7 of 16 passes for 94 yards.

Mary Montgomery had no turnovers in the horrid conditions and has just two all season.

“The execution was solid the first two weeks,” Golson said. “We haven’t turned it over a lot. Could it be better? Sure. But when you play good teams like these, you try to do enough to win the game and our guys did a good job of that.”

Braughton did an especially good job after making only two catches on six targets for 40 yards in the first two games, something that did not escape Golson’s attention.

Braughton helped secure the victory with a 42-yard gain on a third-and-13 wheel route in the third quarter that set up Harris’ 6-yard scoring run.

“At practice, they came to me and said we’re going to throw it, so be ready for the ball,” the 6-5, 210-pound Braughton said. “I came into the game ready. I should have scored. I saw the cornerback chasing and knew I was open.”

Braughton said the rain wasn’t bothersome for the Vikings.

“We practice in the rain, so we’re used to it,” Braughton said. “We just pushed through it.”

Golson, who wanted to see more production from Braughton, noticed his performance even with all the water in his eyes.

“Braughton caught two big balls,” Golson said. “That wheel route, they did a good job. That’s one of our staples.”

The Trojans scored all of their points in the fourth quarter on a safety when Harris ran out of the end zone and on Labralyn Coleman’s 65-yard return of the ensuing free kick.

Golson was happy with the performance of his defense after Gulf Shores’ Kolin Wilson ran for 358 yards on 33 carries against MGM the week before.

“The defense played well,” Golson said. “There were fewer missed tackles. It was good to see a standard offense because the first two weeks we saw the Wildcat. Daphne had a good plan but our guys made a few more plays.”