Here is the game article from the Paris Post-Intelligencer. Their coach was very complimentary of our Trojans! PARIS TN: Patriots shut down Trojans in playoff victory For the third time in four years, the Henry County High School football team has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs. The Patriots scored a 26-16 victory over Millington Friday night at a cold Patriot Stadium to earn a trip to Memphis to face Ridgeway at 7 p.m. Friday. Ridgeway played well in the second half to knock off Hardin County 47-21 this week. The Roadrunners paid a visit to Patriot Stadium in the season’s fourth week and beat the Patriots 21-15 by scoring a touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. “I don’t know if our fans realize how good a football team we beat in Millington,” Patriot head coach James Counce said. “They have a very good quarterback that they do a good job of protecting and they have several receivers that can make plays. We did a good job against a really good football team for the second straight week and now, we go to Memphis to play Ridgeway again.” Millington gave Henry County a challenge at time with passing game that had big play potential. The Trojans had to rely on the air game because the Patriots were unyielding against the run. Millington managed just 10 yards rushing in the contest. It was the fourth straight game the Patriots had held opponents under 100 yards rushing and in three of those contests, opponents have gained 10 yards or less on the ground. Counce was satisfied with winning to advance in the playoffs but didn’t like the way the Patriots stumbled through the fourth quarter, failing to pick up first downs that would have helped put the Trojans away. “We won and we are going to the third round of the playoffs. We played pretty well most of the game but that wasn’t us in the fourth quarter. We don’t play that way. We’ve got some stuff we have to clean up next week in practice before we play Ridgeway,” Counce said. He was pleased with the way the defense held the Trojans explosive attack in check most of the night. “I didn’t know if we could cover their guys or if we could get pressure on their quarterback. But we were able to get pressure to make him throw it quicker than he wanted to. We showed them three or four different coverage packages that I think kept them from getting their offense in rhythm. They made some big plays. With their speed, they are going to make some big plays but they wouldn’t do it consistently because of our pressure and good coverage,” he said. Millington got on the scoreboard first on an 18-yard pass from Eldon Tyms to Kip Fleming. The Trojans kicked failed to keep the score at 6-0. Henry County answered in big way on the ensuing drive. Jeremiah Godbott got the offensive moving with some heavy duty runs along with a first down pass from Jacob Croasmun to Bransen Singleton to get the Patriots into position to score. Chase Henderson ran in from the 5-yard line on a play where he ran into his blockers but cut to his left to race into the end zone. The Patriots’ kick also failed on the cold night and the game was tied 6-6. Millington’s next drive fizzled at midfield but the Trojans elected to try a fake punt and threw a deep pass that was narrowly incomplete on fourth down. Henry County took advantage of the good field position by driving 51 yards to another touchdown. Tag-team runs by Godbott and Henderson advanced the ball with Croasmun sneaking in from a yard out to score the Patriots’ second touchdown. The kick was blocked but Henry County was up 12-6. The Patriots added two more points right before the halftime break. Millington twice snapped the ball over Tyms head in the shotgun formation with Tyms stepping on the back end line of the end zone while recovering the ball the second time for a safety that gave Henry County a 14-6 halftime advantage. The Patriots returned a pooch kickoff to the Henry County 46-yard line to start the second half and set up another scoring drive. Godbott ended the drive with a one-yard scoring run and Gage Hainley kicked the extra point for a 21-6 lead. Henry County’s offensive production became frustrating after that. Henry County was set up to put Millington away after Evan Harrison intercepted a pass and returned it to the Trojans’s 38-yard line. The Patriots couldn’t gain a first down and turned the ball over on downs at the Millington 36-yard line. Henry County got it right back when Cody Hunter intercepted the Trojans’ next pass and returned it 49 yards to the Millington 5-yard line. Again Henry County was frustrated because the Patriots couldn’t get the ball in the end zone and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Hainley that made the score 24-6. Early in the fourth quarter, Millington moved the ball close enough for Luke Bell to kick a 30-yard field goal to trim the Patriots’ advantage to 24-9. Henry County started a promising drive but had a injury and fumble bring it to a halt. The Patriots got inside Millington’s 30-yard line but Croasmun was shaken up on a run and had to leave the game for a play. On that play, the Patriots fumbled on a handoff attempt, recovered the ball but lost yardage. The Patriots couldn’t gain a first down and punted. The punt pinned Munford at its own 6-yard line. After a run lost yardage, the Trojans attempted a screen pass which had been successful several times in the game but Henry County covered it this time and tackled the receiver in the end zone for the team’s second safety of the game to push the Patriots’ lead to 26-9. Henry County started at its own 45-yard line after Millington’s free kick and Henderson broke a long run only to have it called back by a penalty flag. The Patriots would punt he ball away. Millington lost its quarterback, Tyms, for a play after a Patriot sack but Trojans’ back up Sam Stanifer threw a screen to Artavious Thomas with Thomas racing 80 yards for a touchdown. Bell’s kick made the score 26-16 but that was a close as the Trojans could get. Counce said even though the Patriots’ offense didn’t finish some drives at the end of the game, he was satisfied with the offensive units ability to run and throw the football in the win over Millington. “Millington was big up front on defense and two stud linebackers in the middle. Our offense did what it had to do. We ran well enough to have two guys go over a hundred yards and threw it well enough to help us score enough points to win. Our offense continues to get better and that is a good thing at this point of the season,” Counce said.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:59:10 +0000
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