Christopher Anderson/The Gazette
Wise running back Anthony Wright scores a touchdown in the second overtime of Saturday's game against Roosevelt.
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The Charles H. Flowers High School football team struck first in its duel against Henry A. Wise on Oct. 1.
Jaguars' senior Dwayne Powell took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, which helped his team take an immediate 7-0 lead.
Powell's kickoff return turned out to be the Jaguars' only points of the day, but that would prove enough to edge the Pumas, 7-6.
The two squads will meet again at 1 p.m. Saturday at Flowers High, this time with the stakes much higher as the winner will take the 4A South Region title and move on to the state semifinals.
The Jaguars (10-1) clinched their fifth regional final berth in the last six seasons on Monday night, upending Suitland, 29-6. Flowers had faced Suitland only two games prior to Monday's showdown, edging the Rams, 20-14, in overtime. On the other hand, the Pumas (8-3), advanced to the 4A South final after earning an improbable, 14-6, overtime victory over previously undefeated Eleanor Roosevelt, the region's top seed.
The Pumas drove down field on its final possession of regulation and scored to tie the game at 6-6, forcing overtime. They then prevented the Raiders from scoring on eight plays spanning two overtime possessions that began at the Pumas' 10-yard line.
Jaguars' coach Mike Mayo is expecting anything but an easy game Saturday afternoon.
"I couldn't get to the game [at Eleanor Roosevelt] the other day, but my assistant coaches were there," Mayo said. "They're a completely different football team than when we played them [Oct. 30]. They have a new quarterback [sophomore DeAndre Smith] and their defense is pretty good. It's going to be a tough football game. It's going to be a tough challenge against Wise. It will be a hard-fought contest, just like they all are."
While the Jaguars are no stranger to playing in the 4A South title game, they've never won it. They lost to Roosevelt in 2003, Suitland in 2004, Frederick Douglass in 2005 and dropped a
14-13 decision to Suitland in 2006. Flowers missed the playoffs last season after forfeiting three victories for using an ineligible player.
Now the Jaguars face a Wise team that was not expected to make much noise in the playoffs after clinching the No. 4 seed in the region on the final day of the regular season. It's the Pumas' first postseason appearance in the school's three-year history, but coach DaLawn Parrish and his team are ready for the challenge.
"The first time we played them they were physical like ourselves," Parrish said of the Jaguars. "They have a lot of speed, so you can't pinpoint one back, and they're always rested. I'd like to see us play a complete game. The atmosphere has been great. If it were a situation this year where we were getting overwhelmed [by opponents] it would be a different attitude. The playoffs are new to us though, and we're not favored. Nobody expects much from us, so we have nothing to lose."
4A South Region final
Wise (8-3) at Flowers (10-1)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Players to watch: Wise RB Anthony Wright (215 carries, 1,416 yards, 19 TD); Wise QB DeAndre Smith (28 of 42 for 481 yards, 7 TD); Flowers RB Reggie Woods (503 yards, 6 TD); Flowers RB Jonathan Clark (664 yards, 6 TD); Flowers QB Dwayne Powell (18 TDs, 6 passing, 8 running); Flowers LB Lorne Goree (122 tackles, 8 sacks)
E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.
