Wayne Academy head coach Todd Mangum felt his team finally – and completely – brought in.
Friday night on the MHSAA field Mangum once coached on for six years at Wayne County, it manifested itself in the form of a win against previously unbeaten Sylva Bay Academy. The Jaguars (3-2) held on late to defeat the Saints (4-1) 14-12 in Game 1 of the 2018 Timber Bowl.
“You brought in,” Mangum told his team at midfield after the game.
Click on the link to see video highlights and Mangum’s postgame interview: https://youtu.be/nLhdjB_xVUA
Wayne County, who hosted the two-game event for the second year in a row after a 40-year hiatus, defeated Moss Point 37-19 in second and final game.
For Wayne Academy, the Jaguars improved to 3-2. Sylva-Bay Academy falls to 4-1.
First-half stalemate
Neither team put up points in the first half. Promising drives were snuffed out by turnovers and missed opportunities. Sylva Bay missed out on a scoring chance two possessions into the game. Its 40-yard field goal attempt fell incredibly short. After a big pass play from Saints’ quarterback Phillip Anderson to B.J. Magee-Black midway through the second quarter, Colton Coxwell intercepted Anderson at Sylva-Bay’s 22-yard line for Wayne Academy and returned it to the Saints’ 46-yard line.
Coxwell tacked on two big runs on offense before Wayne Academy gave possession back over to Sylva-Bay on a fumble at the Saints 18-yard line.
The first half stalemate featured four turnovers and six punts.
Quick start to the second half
Wayne Academy ended the stalemate with two scores on back to back drives in the second half. Coxwell broke off a 57-yard touchdown run just over a minute into the third quarter. A two-point conversion attempt failed. The next Jaguar drive also produced points. Quarterback Jacob Castle found the end zone from 41-yards out on a keeper to the left side of the Saints’ defense. Coxwell reached the end zone untouched on the two-point conversion to give the Jaguars a 14-0 lead with 7:04 left in the third quarter.
Sylva-Bay did answer with two touchdowns late in the third stanza, a 33-yard TD pass from Phillip to Magee-Black and a 50-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by No. 50 Keagan Tumblin put the Saints within reach. A bad snap on the PAT attempt and a failed two-point conversion kept Wayne Academy out in front, 14-12.
Last quarter defensive stands
Opportunities for Sylva-Bay to take the lead – and eventually win the game – were thawed by Wayne Academy’s defense late in the final quarter. Following a big punt return by Anderson to the Jaguars 17-yard line, Wayne Academy took advantage of a Saints’ holding penalty and a big sack by its defense to force Sylva-Bay out of the red zone to the 28-yard line. The Jaguars broke up two pass attempts on third and fourth down to create a turnover on downs as just over two minutes remained on the clock.
Wayne Academy gave the ball back to Sylva-Bay moments later on a lost fumble – its fourth of the night. Several shots at or near the end zone then, the Jaguars defense forced a long field goal try by the Saints in the final minute. It fell extremely short.
Mangum said the win was huge for his program.
“We played against a good football team,” Mangum said following the win. “Coach [Terry] Underwood has a solid football team and for us to knock off an undefeated football team is big for us.”
