Friday night it was a battle with seeding ramifications and even a lead in to a possible district championship game for Little Cypress-Mauriceville next week. The playoffs are still a good possibility, but the district championship took wings and flew away at Falcon Stadium. The Bears lost to the Huffman Hargrave Falcons 26-12.
Huffman (4-5, 2-2) used its passing game to score early and then a solid running game late to secure the victory. Little Cypress-Mauriceville (3-6, 2-2) had chances, but were denied in the red zone twice.
The Falcons were soaring in the first quarter scoring on their first three possessions. Quarterback Justin Shively completed 8 of 10 passes for 213 yards in the quarter and had two touchdowns to Aaron Johnson. Huffman led 20-6 after one period.
LC-M was able to answer after the first Falcon score and it looked to be a repeat of the game with Splendora two weeks ago. The Bears needed only three plays to go 56 yards for a tying touchdown. Adam Pope ran for 16 yards before passing 28 yards to Brendon Pollack. Landon Bearden took a draw straight ahead for the six points from the sixteen. The kick was blocked and the score was tied 6-6 with only about two and a half minutes played in the game.
Late in the second quarter Huffman scored again using a short pass from Shively to Luke Thomas who picked his way through some Bears before sprinting down the sideline and fighting his way into the end zone. The Falcons went for two, but the pass failed keeping the score 26-6 with 2:33 before half.
The Bears had a great opportunity to narrow the score driving from their own 21 to a first down at the Falcons 14. Pope had a huge gain on a quarterback draw for 63 yards. He carried again to the six. On fourth down Pope passed in the left corner of the end zone, but James Williams had position and his hands on the ball, but could not hold it with seconds remaining before halftime.
Taking the second half kickoff the Bears drove from their 47 to a first down at the Huffman 18. Pope completed first down passes to Seth Carpenter and twice to Pollack. The Falcons’ defense deserve credit for back-to-back tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Pope and Pollack hooked up again to move the ball back to the 15. On fourth down Pope’s pass to Carpenter just failed to connect and LC-M turned the ball over on downs. On the night Pope was 9 of 21 passing for 98 yards with one interception.
Next possession the Bears started another drive. Pope carried three times for 18 yards to the Huffman 39. On fourth-and-six LC-M used a flea flicker with Carpenter taking a pitch and then passing to Pollack good for 24 yards and a first down at the Falcons’ 20.
Pope passed 12 yards to James Williams for a first-and-goal. Two runs by Pope netted six points. Pope finished the game with 104 yards rushing on 15 carries and was the leading ball carrier for LC-M. The Bears went for two, but James Williams was tackled in the backfield keeping the score 26-12 with 52 seconds left in the third.
In the fourth quarter Little Cypress-Mauriceville changed quarterbacks using Ethan McCollum for its last possession. The Bears got a first down, but McCollum was sacked and fumbled the ball which was recovered by Huffman which iced the game for the Falcons.
The second half was completed in less than 90 minutes with Huffman emphasizing its running game in the second half. A. J. San Miquel carried the ball 26 times in the game totaling 177 yards. He scored the Falcons’ second touchdown.
Next Friday night Little Cypress-Mauriceville plays at home against the Lumberton Raiders. The Bears need a victory for seeding purposes with the playoffs to start in two weeks. Huffman plays winless Livingston to end its regular season next week.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
LCM 6 0 6 0- 12
HH 20 6 0 0- 26
Social Media