Mt. Pleasant set the tone early on defense on Friday night against Scotts Hill. The Tigers drove the visitors back seven yards, forced a punt and scored a touchdown three plays later and the rout was on, as Mt. Pleasant scored early and often to earn a 43-0 win in the home opener.
Gaining just 171 yards of total offense in the first half, despite putting up 43 points, is not typical, but coach Kit Hartsfield didn’t mind.
“We had a short field almost all night, and the offense did a good job capitalizing on that. We played well in all three phases,” he said. “It was good to see us go an entire quarter and run the ball and take control of the game. We were balanced last game, and it was good to not be a one-trick pony through the air.”
His Tigers scored four times on the ground – including all three first-quarter scores – once through the air and on the return of a another free kick return after a safety when the Tigers blocked a punt through the end zone.
As near-perfect as his team was on the offensive side of the ball, it was the defense that stole the show. Mt. Pleasant’s athletic starting front seven, led by Euriah Archibald, blew up the Lions’ attack the entire first half.
Archibald was seemingly in on every play, no matter to which side the ball went. He, along with fellow outside ‘backer Jayden McClure, led Mt. Pleasant in holding the visitors to a measly 31 yards of offense in the first half.
“Everyone on the team did their part. We knew the game plan was to pitch the ball and we found a way to stop it and put them in uncomfortable situations,” Archibald said.
“When you have a guy like (Archibald) on one side and (McClure) on the other, it gives you great athleticism and length – they’re hard to block. We’ve got a lot of speed pursuing from the inside, so it’s just good team defense,” Hartsfield added.
McClure’s brother, Jakyri, was the shining light on the other side of the ball, as the sophomore running back carried the ball into the end zone three times in the game. He finished with a game-high 63 yards rushing on just six carries.
Scotts Hill (1-1) ran just one play in positive territory, but a holding penalty forced the Lions backwards and then Mt. Pleasant sacked Scotts Hill quarterback Kyle Carter for a 14-yard loss on the next play. That drive ended in the aforementioned safety and subsequent 75-yard kick return for a touchdown from Darien Meza.
“They did what we thought they would do, so our kids executed what we practiced. We have experienced players, and the game has slowed down for them,” Hartsfield said. “They’re reacting instead of thinking.”
Meza also caught a touchdown pass from Nick Brown in the second quarter to add a cherry on top of his night.
Hartsfield said he hopes this win gives his team confidence going into Thursday’s Region 5-2A opener at Cascade, as they’ve outscored their opponents 73-2 on the season and the defense has yet to surrender a point. A short week, however, looms for the Tigers and Champions.
“It was a battle last year, we expect it to be no different,” Hartsfield said of his team’s 16-14 loss in 2021. “We have to get in here on Sunday to watch film and start getting prepared.”
Mt. Pleasant 43, Scotts Hill 0
SH 0 0 0 0 – 0
MP 21 22 0 0 – 43
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
MP — Zavier Davidson 7 run (8:30), Jackson Collier kick
MP — Jakyri McClure 7 run (4:55), Collier kick
MP — McClure 5 run (0:42), Collier kick
Second Quarter
MP — Team Safety (9:44)
MP — Darien Meza 75 kick return (9:44), kick failed
MP — Meza 27 pass from Nick Brown (5:02), Collier kick
MP — McClure 7 run (1:57), Collier kick
Team Statistics
S M
First Downs 5 14
Rushes-yards 32-16 19-78
Passing yards 21 115
Com-Att-Int 2-3-0 6-7-0
Penalties-yards 13-95 8-75
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Scotts Hill – Kyle Carter 7-11, Noah Clayton 7-10, Bryant Pedraza 2-10Jayden Johnson 3-1, Maddox Derryberry 3-1, Patrick Lewis 2-(-1), Konnor Goff 3-(-3), Corban Messick 3-(-4), Avion Johnson 2-(-9)
Mt. Pleasant – Jakyri McClure 6-63, Zavier Davidson 3-21, Carter Dunn 8-2, Jon Michael Wright 2-(-8)
Passing
Scotts Hill – Kyle Carter 2-3-0-0 21
Mt. Pleasant – Nick Brown 3-4-1-0 94, Jon Michael Wright 3-3-0-0 21
Receiving
Scotts Hill – Jayden Johnson 1-15, Maddox Derryberry 1-6
Mt. Pleasant – Demarkus Brown 1-43, Darien Meza 1-27, Jeremiah Roan 1-24, Avery Johnson 3-21
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