Going into Friday night’s Class AA playoff game with Centreville, Carroll Academy coach Bo Milton said he team would be meeting the epitome of a bully.
He was right as the bully threw the first punch, scoring the games first 14 points as the Tigers beat Tigers 40-14 in the first round of the Class AA playoffs on Friday night.
Carroll finishes the season with a 7-4 record and plenty of things to hold their heads high about.
“I knew it would be a tough game,” Milton said. “They are very physical on both sides of the football. I thought our kids played hard and kept playing hard the entire game. It just didn’t end the way that we wanted to. But the future is bright. We have a good group of ninth graders coming up. We have built on something and have some kids who are playing hard and holding each other accountable. Our kids play hard and they get the most out of their talent.”
Carroll got the ball to open the game and went three and out on offense. Centreville fielded the punt and raced 71 yards for a touchdown to take an early 8-0 lead.
Carroll then lost a fumble on the ensuing possession to give the Tigers the ball at the Rebels’ 36-yard line. Seven plays later, the Tigers scored on a 1-yard run and led 14-0.
“That was a tough way to start and took us out of our game plan,” Milton said. “But I thought we answered to make it 14-7 and had our chances to make it closer. They are really good and their record is misleading.”
After swapping punts, the Rebels finally got something going on offense as they put together a 12-play, 51-yard drive. Morgan Mims finished off the drive as he hit Logan Taylor on a 6-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the second quarter. Gavin Wiltshire’s PAT was good and Carroll cut the Centerville lead to 14-7.
Centreville’s last score of the half was set up by their kicking game as the Tigers pinned the Rebels at their own 2. After a short punt set up Centreville at the Carroll 28, the Tigers needed seven plays to find the end zone, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. The try for two failed and Centreville led 20-7.
Carroll had one other scoring opportunity in the first half as it put together a nine-play drive but eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Centreville 18.
Centreville got the ball to start the second half and scored in four plays with a 28-yard run. The two-point conversion gave the Tigers a 28-7 lead.
Carroll responded with an eight-play drive but turned the ball over on an interception. The Tigers scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to take a 34-7 lead.
Carroll had to abandon its running game and went to the air and scored its last touchdown on a 5-yard pass from Mims to Reese Fulton. Wiltshire’s PAT made the score 34-14.
“We threw the ball a lot,” Milton said. “That’s not what we want to do and is generally not a good sign. We completed a lot of them but that’s not what we want to do. But I give our kids credit. There was no quit in them and I was pleased with our effort.”
The Rebels had 207 yards of total offense with 106 passing and 101 yards rushing. Mims led the rushing attack with 43 yards rushing on six carries while Beck had 41 yards on 12 carries. Mims was 11-of-23 passing for 106 yards and two TDs and two interceptions. Reese Fulton had four catches for 46 yards while Logan Taylor had five catches for 42 yards.
Crawford Holley and Hogan Costilow each had six tackles apiece while Fulton had four tackles. Gavin Wiltshire had two interceptions.."
