Yazoo City High School’s playoff run will continue after a 24-23 upset of the higher-seeded Ripley on Friday night.
The win pushed Yazoo City’s record to 7-5 and will allow them to move on to the next round.
Before the Indians could win, however, they had to show resilience.
The Tigers drew first blood in the match, but the Indians struck back. After successful 2-pt conversions for each, it was an 8-8 game.
Ripley came back and scored again to take a 14-8 lead, but Roncedrick Weekly struck back with a touchdown pass and a 2-pt conversion run, putting the Indians back up 16-28.
Ripley got some momentum going and kicked a field goal then scored a touchdown to put them up 23-16.
With a 4th-and-15 and time running out, the Indians selected to go for it, and Roncedrick Weekly connected on a pass to Rorecoss Willis to set up a Jared Waters touchdown run.
And since the conditions were poor, the Indians also selected to go for two for the third time in the contest. They selected to hand the ball off to senior lineman Deshaun Taylor in their heavy set, a good plan that put Yazoo City up 24-23 with little time remaining.
The Indians were then forced to play defense and soon found themselves in a 4th down situation. With the game on the line, Taylor made his presence known again, getting a sack to effectively end the game, giving the Indians a 24-23 win.
In their first playoff game in nearly a decade, the Indians chose to lean on a heavy ground game due to the field conditions.
According to Yazoo City head football coach Timothy Johnson, that plan wasn’t so bad since they have one of the best backs in 4A.
“The field was wet, very wet,” Johnson said. “It was really a mess, a sloppy mess. Because of the conditions, we committed to the run. We have one of the top running backs in 4A in Jared Waters. He started out as a slot receiver, and we wanted to get him the ball out wide. He’s had to transition into a running back. He had to transition from taking pitches outside to running between the tackles. He’s become a huge weapon for us.”
Nearly every senior made at least one big play in the game, refusing to let their high school careers end without a playoff win.
Johnson found some irony and humor in that fact.
“It was so crazy because we had a horrible week of practice,” Johnson said. “It was a terrible week. Our seniors really struggled all week. When the game started, though, the seniors laid it all down. I’m so proud of them and how they played.”
The Indians were led by senior running back Jared Waters, who took 14 carries 201 yards and scored one touchdown.
Senior quarterback Roncedrick Weekly gashed Ripley’s defense, rushing for 101 yards and two scores on 12 carries. Weekly also went 5-for-9 through the air for 76 yards with one interception. He passes for one 2-pt conversion (Tommy Washington) and rushed one in himself.
Wideout Rorecoss Willis hauled in four of Weekly’s passes for 71 yards in the big win. He also chipped in with three tackles.
Deshaun Taylor also scored a 2-pt conversion.
Malik Clark led a strong defensive effort by the Indians with 11 total tackles and an interception.
Torey Haymer constantly clogged up the line for the Indians, accumulating seven total tackles, three of which were for loss.
Javarious Grady had a big game on the defensive end for the Indians, racking up six total tackles, two of which were for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery, and a blocked field goal in the victory.
Roderick Knight had six total tackles, one of which was for a loss, and a fumble recovery.
Parviz King had a sack.
Brannen Jones picked off a pass in the winning effort.
The Indians will host Noxubee County on the Friday night, a number one seed.
Noxubee County is 7-4 on the season, and their losses have come from the likes of Starkville High, Meridian, West Point, and West Monroe.
The Tigers finished their regular season with a 4-game sweep of their conference opponents.
In the first round of the playoffs, Noxubee blew through Amory 48-26.
Johnson respects Noxubee and knows they will be a worthy opponent, but he doesn’t feel like they are his team’s real opponent.
“This is going to be just another game for us,” Johnson said. “Our concern is not on Noxubee County, but I mean no disrespect to them at all. They are a great program. They have D1 talent all over the field, though I think we do, too. Our opponent is us. If we play loose and play to our potential, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Having said that, Johnson believes the game is an important one to everyone and everything surrounding his program.
“We need to win this game,” Johnson said. “We need this game to show that we are an up-and-coming program. We need the game for our kids, coaches, and our city. Noxubee is a premier program in 4A. We want to be mentioned in that same conversation.”
Kickoff at Yazoo City is set for 7 p.m.
