MA tops HA in key early-season regional battle

DJ Vinson finds running room around the left end in Montgomery Academy’s win over Houston Academy on Friday. (Tim Gayle

By TIM GAYLE

In a game that served as the region opener but felt more like a late November matchup, Montgomery Academy held on for dear life before escaping with a 12-10 win over Houston Academy at McLemore Field on Friday night.

Both teams entered the 3A Region 2 opener undefeated. Montgomery Academy improved to 3-0 for only the second time in the last 10 seasons. The 2020 squad won its first 13 games before losing in the 3A semifinals to Catholic in overtime.

“We talked all week that 2-0 is awesome, but as far as we’re concerned it’s 0-0,” Montgomery Academy coach Ethan McBride said. “It’s not that we don’t hold non-region games in high regard -- we do -- but we also understand the games that matter in November. These region games we should play at a different level and I think we did tonight.”

The game had a little bit of everything, from early touchdowns by Montgomery Academy quarterback Reid McBride and receiver DJ Vinson to late-game heroics from David Whisenhunt that included a crucial sack, a blocked field goal and a forced fumble that ended the last threat by the Raiders.  

“They’ve got a really, really good scheme,” Ethan McBride said of his opponent. “They’re extremely well coached. They have great technique. I do think a sloppier field mitigates some of our size. But it was a cat-and-mouse game. That was a true chess match. They’d make a thing, then we’d adjust to it, then they’d put something else on it, then we make an adjustment. Hats off to our young players for making those adjustments mid-game while playing on both sides of the ball.”

The first adjustment came on the game’s opening drive. Reid McBride ran the ball four times on the seven-play drive, racing the final 51 yards for a touchdown.

“The whole game this week was to run RPOs (run-pass options) and try to get people open (on pass routes) because we knew it was going to be a rainy game,” Reid McBride said. “Once we started expanding out, they started playing the pass and that opened up a lot of running lanes for me to get through.”

A bad snap on the extra-point attempt left the game at 6-0, but the first chess move belonged to the Eagles as Reid McBride would finish the game with a game-high 100 yards on eight carries.

“He’s always got a read attached to most of the runs, so for him it’s just a matter of ‘if I see it, I pull it,’” Ethan McBride said. “We have full faith in him. He’s a freshman but we have full faith that he’s going to see it and he’s going to adjust. Some of the best throws he made tonight was when he scrambled.”

The second chess move belonged to the Eagles as well. Kingston Nelson’s fumble recovery set up the Eagles for an 11-play drive that featured eight McBride passes, the final one connecting with Vinson, who spun around two would-be tacklers to complete an 18-yard play for a 12-0 lead.

McBride completed 13 of 20 passes for 197 yards despite a steady, constant rain that fell throughout the game. Vinson had seven receptions for 143 yards, Braden Gordon had four catches for 32 yards and Jarrett Friendly had two receptions for 22 yards.

“I’ve just got to give a lot of credit to my receivers,” McBride said. “They’re unbelievable. If it’s a 50-50 ball, it’s really 70-30. I’ve just got to put the ball on them and they’ll make the play.”

The next moves belonged to the Raiders, which owned the ball for all but four plays of the second quarter. A sack by Juan Kirkland forced the Raiders to settle for a Nathan Pineda field goal on their first possession of the second quarter and big defensive plays by Graham Martin and Knox Wingate forced a punt in the final seconds of the half.

Whisenhunt, Wingate and Martin all finished with eight tackles to lead the defensive effort.

“Coach McBride told us at the beginning of the week, these guys are smart, they’re going to change it up, it’s like a game of chess,” Whisenhunt said. “We’re going to have to make a move after they make theirs. We executed very well. A great defensive game for us. I’m amazed how well we were able to respond to these big plays that they had.”

The Raiders opened the second half with an impressive drive to the Montgomery Academy 15, but a huge third-down sack by Whisenhunt, followed by a strong rush on Pineda’s 40-yard attempt left the Eagles clinging to a nine-point lead. Montgomery Academy would then drive to a first and goal at the Houston Academy 6, only to have a field goal attempt of their own blocked.

This time, Houston Academy would find the end zone, driving 70 yards in seven plays, with a 5-yard Ervain Reynolds’ run trimming the score to 12-10.

Montgomery Academy would drive into the red zone again, only to have three incomplete passes give the Raiders one more shot. Gabe Glover’s catch near midfield that included two athletic moves that gave him a path to the end zone backfired when Whisenhunt came flying up from behind and punched the ball out, leading to a Vinson recovery.

“I almost had one earlier in the game,” Whisenhunt said. “It was a great job by the corner doing his job, pushing him in, pushing him in to his help in the middle and I was able to get that ball out and punch it.”

Montgomery Academy, which had rushed for 103 yards in the first 43 minutes of the game, ran out the clock with an impressive eight-play drive that chewed up the final 4:19 and reached a first down at the Houston Academy 3-yard line before McBride took a knee to run out the clock.

“Our coach got our line fired up and we were able to move some bodies and get the running game going,” McBride said.

Mac Benefield entered the final drive with seven yards on five carries, but ran the ball eight times for 50 yards.

“It’s hats off to both of our coordinators, adjusting the line and the blocking schemes,” Ethan McBride said. “But it’s also a testament to those offensive linemen and Mac Benefield to go get nasty and get after it.”

Checkmate for the Eagles, who improved to 1-0 in region play heading into next week’s game at Wicksburg. Montgomery Academy won its fifth consecutive region opener, but this one had a different feel to it.

“It feels great,” Whisenhunt said. “That’s a great team that we just played. We both battled and it was a dogfight. I loved it. That’s what football is.”