The greatest high school football game of the 2014 season has already been played in the Miss-Lou.

Bold declaration to make in September, but one week after Ferriday’s 28-26 double overtime victory against Block, the goosebumps remain.

As simple as I can put it, the double overtime thriller made me feel like a kid again. Similarly to the way I connect with my childhood love for college football every time I watch “Rudy,” I remembered childhood heroes and infinite memories at Melz Field when Block and Ferriday slugged it out over four quarters and two overtime periods.

The manner Ferriday’s Dontrell Domino ran the ball — breaking a tackle before he cut and evaded the next defender — took me back to the days of watching my all-time favorite Trojan Corey Gordon rip long runs down the sideline. In 2000, Gordon became the first Ferriday player to ever rush for 2,000 yards, finishing with 2,040. Barely 9 years old at the time, I begged my father to take me to see Corey play every Friday night, and though I was young at the time, I knew I was watching something special.

Domino is as electric as I remember Gordon, playing Houdini in a pile of Block defenders last Saturday and sneakily escaping to gain an extra five yards before the third quarter ended.

Those type of plays were common place last weekend. Block’s Raymond Plummer made the play of regulation when he stuffed Domino on the goal line on a 4th-and-1 midway through the second half, keeping the game tied at 14.

I made eye contact with Ferriday coach Cleothis Cummings a series after that play, and we gave each other a “Can you believe how good this game is?” wide-eyed look.

Of course, no play topped the miraculous catch Shannon Morales made on 3rd-and-17 in second overtime. Down 26-20, Ferriday had two downs to gain 17 yards, but Ferriday quarterback Ronald Williams went for it all on third down, launching toward a triple-covered Morales at the goal line. Morales tipped the ball in the air and caught in on a second effort in the back of the end zone.

The only moment that contends with that play for me is the band’s attempt to recreate the magic that Ferriday High School bands of the past made on a weekly basis. Just like a decade ago, the band played with Ferriday on offense, marching down the field and trying to score with two minutes left in regulation. Cummings motioned toward the band to stop playing, as no coach welcomes the band to play while his team is on offense. But in the midst of all of that, I had flashbacks of past Ferriday players racing down the field for a last-minute drive with the band willing them on.

You try standing on the sidelines and maintaining a level of professionalism when chills run up and down your arms.

The effort both teams gave Saturday night reminded me of why I wanted to return to the Miss-Lou and helped me connect with my childhood again.

That type of effort makes it a privilege to cover games around the area every Friday night, and it’s a privilege that, thanks to Trojan and Bears’ players, I don’t take for granted.

I applaud those prideful young men for pouring their hearts out on the field Saturday night. The jaw-dropping plays exhibited by both teams will live on forever in Melz Field lore, and nobody can ever take that away from any participant.

As the 9-year-old kid in me can attest, memories last a lifetime.

 

JAKE MARTIN is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3633 or jake.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.