PREP FOOTBALL: Beauregard bows out in first round

MOBILE — Beauregard coach Smitty Grider devised a defensive plan that hinged on the ability to pressure LeFlore quarterbacks Carl Davis and Joseph Pugh.

That never happened, as Davis routinely caught the shotgun snap and immediately fired a pass to an open receiver. Davis hooked up with Danny Woodson for a 26-yard gain on the game’s first play and added a 33-yarder to Jevon Dixon on the Rattlers’ seventh offensive snap, as LeFlore earned a 36-17 victory over Beauregard in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Friday.

“They had a distinct advantage with their wideouts against our DBs,” Grider said. “They have some great athletes and they made some plays, even when we were in position. We wanted to get pressure, but that never really happened.”

Woodson accounted for 159 all-purpose yards — scoring on a kickoff return, a 5-yard run and energizing the crowd with a two one-handed catches — to lead the Rattlers (8-3).

Dixon caught four passes for 79 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown, and running back Chris Polk added five catches for 85 yards. Quarterback Carl Davis finished 15-of-27 passing for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

“This is a testament to the kids, not to me,” LeFlore coach Chris Raymond said. “This a group of kids that made a commitment to work and to play football this year like they’re capable of playing.”

Beauregard has now lost eight straight playoff games dating back to 1995.

LeFlore jumped on top, 24-7, at halftime and reeled off two straight touchdowns after the Hornets cut the deficit to 24-17 late in the third quarter.

With the victory, LeFlore earned its first playoff victory since beating Opelika in the first round in 2004.

After LeFlore jumped on top 6-0 on Dixon’s touchdown reception, the Hornets drove 58 yards in three plays. Quarterback Charles Floyd threw a 44-yard touchdown to Christian Collis, and Andrew Flournoy’s extra point made it 7-6.

LeFlore scored on the ensuing kickoff when Christopher Brown broke several tackles and sprinted toward midfield, where he was overtaken by several Beauregard defenders. As he was falling to the ground, he pitched the ball to Woodson, who sprinted the final 45 yards for the touchdown and a 12-7 lead.

“Every time we got close, they countered,” Grider said.

Woodson added a 5-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, and Joseph Pugh had a 1-yard touchdown run to build a 24-7 halftime lead.

Beauregard fought back in the second half, as Von Gibson intercepted Davis and returned it 42 yards. Nine plays later, Flournoy kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 24-10.

Then, LeFlore suddenly looked in trouble. The Rattlers fumbled on the kickoff, but recovered, and then threw an incompletion. On the next play, Beauregard’s Candreyas Williams took the ball from a LeFlore runner and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown.

Suddenly, LeFlore’s lead had dwindled to 24-17.

Davis calmly replied with a methodical scoring drive — completing five straight passes along the way — and capped the march with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Simmons.

La’Dre Stephenson added a 10-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to push the lead to 36-17.

Now, LeFlore turns its attention to becoming the first team in school history to win eight straight games.

“We’ve just got to keep on going and keep on pushing,” Davis said.