T.R. Miller, Johnson lean on UMS-Wright for 28-14 victory

 

 

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

MOBILE — On one sideline was the winningest high school football coach in state history. On the other was the winningest program.

In the end, the only number that mattered was 32, the jersey identity of Myles Johnson, a brute with speed from T.R. Miller who showed UMS-Wright why SEC power schools want him in their backfield.

Johnson — a three-star running back who has been offered by Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU but has committed to Florida — ran for 138 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead the No. 1-ranked Class 3A Tigers to a 28-14 win over the Class 5A Bulldogs Friday night at Cooper Stadium.

“They didn’t really wear us down. They started off running at us and we were having trouble stopping them,” said UMS-Wright coach Terry Curtis, who lost for the first time in his decorated career coming off an open week and dropped into a tie with Central Clay County’s Danny Horn as the state’s winningest high school coaches — each with 357 victories and eight Blue Maps.

On Friday night, Miller (6-0) looked the part of a state champion, which if it carries through to ultimate triumph in Class 3A this season will give it seven Blue Maps — its first in 22 years — to go along with its exalted status as the state’s winningest program with 732 all-time victories.

“We’ve got each other’s back, we work hard and we’re not getting too complacent,” said Tigers quarterback Nathan Commander, who complemented Johnson’s productivity on the ground by completing 9 of 11 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re keeping our heads level and we’re not thinking we made it yet ’cause we haven’t made it anywhere.”

Johnson — a 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior who came into the game averaging 12.7 yards per carry — made it tough for the Bulldogs, although they denied him the big play for a touchdown. Nonetheless, he scored on a pair of 2-yard runs, helped Miller run for 198 yards and own the clock for 27:34.

“We’ve just got a special bond on this team,” Johnson said. “I love playing with these guys. And that just helps your playing level when you love the guy next to you and you’re playing for him. I think we’re just all playing for each other.”

It was obvious on the first possession the ball was going to Johnson, who carried it six times and had gains of 9, 6, 8 and 9 yards.

“He’s got to run the ball,” said Tigers coach Brent Hubbert, who won three straight state championships at Maplesville in 2014-15-16. “He’s a Division One running back. I thought our offensive line did a good job. Our quarterback did a good job taking what they were giving us and executing. I thought our defense played extremely well.”

Commander said his team — which broke a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs — was content to be patient against what he said is a fundamentally sound defense.

“They don’t make a lot of mistakes,” he said. “So, we’ve just got to do us and do our job.”

UMS-Wright (2-3) had allowed only 103 yards per game on the ground but Miller, which never trailed, had touchdown drives of 71, 73, 71 and 80 yards on 13, 10, eight and nine plays and converted 7 of 9 third downs.

“Brent Hubbert’s a good football coach,” Curtis said. “I mean, he’s a good coach on any level and he showed us that tonight. He did some stuff that we didn’t have an answer for. The running back makes a big difference. He’s an SEC guy for a reason and he played both ways, so he must be some kind of a tough kid.”

The Tigers presaged what kind of night it would be on their first possession, picking up six first downs on a 13-play drive that digested 6:34 before Johnson scored from 2 yards away from the Wildcat formation.

The Bulldogs tied it 7-7 midway through the second quarter on quarterback Max Fowler’s 10-yard pass to Denton Elliott after Miller fumbled a punt return and Perry Hand recovered at the Tigers’ 28.

Trailing 21-7 in the third quarter, UMS-Wright had a chance to make it a one-score game after David Lott’s interception of Commander’s tipped pass at Miller’s 28. The Bulldogs’ Bo Wills converted a fourth-and-1 but the play was called back on a holding penalty and Fowler was intercepted in the end zone by Langley Folsom in the end zone to end the threat.

UMS-Wright was held to 5 yards rushing, a statistic that didn’t sit well with Curtis, who is now 9-1 in his career coming off an open week and fell to 2-8 against No. 1-ranked teams at UMS-Wright.

“We’ve got to be able to run the ball a little bit and we couldn’t run it tonight,” said Curtis, who was forced instead to roll Fowler out away from pressure. “We couldn’t block them up front and then you get behind, so now you’re having to start trying to catch up and couldn’t really get into it.”

The loss marked the 11th straight game the Bulldogs have been held under 30 points, the longest such streak during Curtis’ 26-year career there.

“We’ve got to find a way to get better real quick,” Curtis said.

Fowler was 18-of-32 passing for 164 yards but was intercepted three times, including the one in the end zone and another at the Tigers’ 18 late in the game. Fowler had UMS-Wright’s other TD on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Hubbert said the Bulldogs offered no surprises with the extra week to prepare but he’s not about to bet against them making the playoffs for the 26^th straight season under Curtis.

“UMS is a well-coached team and they’re gonna do what they do,” he said. “We were on the upside tonight. They’ve been on the upside a lot of times and they’re gonna be on the upside a lot more.”

An apparent serious injury to Miller’s Kenneth Lett on the opening kickoff cast a pall over the game. Lett returned it 22 yards, then was flattened and didn’t get up. After an extended examination on the field, Lett’s head was immobilized with his helmet left on. Lett was conscious but not moving his extremities as he was loaded into an ambulance. Both teams gathered next to the ambulance and prayed on the field before Lett was taken away to a local hospital.

“That just lets us know that this game is not promised,” Johnson said. “And we’ve just gotta thank the Lord for letting us play this game. We’ve just gotta play it like it’s our last time. We realized that he went down and we’ve gotta step up. And that’s our brother. He would want us to go out and get the win for him.”