Missed opportunities doom Callaway in 2A state football semifinals
Brooks County’s strategy was a clear one: Keep Callaway’s high-scoring offense, led by running back and Auburn commit Tank Bigsby, off the field, chew the clock with long, methodical drives, jump out to a sizable lead and try to maintain it the rest of the night.
It worked — for a while. The Trojans took a quick double-digit lead and appeared destined for the 2A championship game. Their offense was cruising and their defense suffocating.
Then, the Cavaliers got a spark from their best player. Bigsby ripped off a 70-yard touchdown and the Cavaliers outscored the Trojans 28-13 over the next quarter and a half. But even that wasn’t enough to win the first state semifinal game at Callaway Stadium in more than a decade.
The Cavaliers, who trailed by 20 and led by nine over the course of the game, fell 39-35 in front of a packed house at Callaway Stadium.
“Right now, the loss hurts,” Cavaliers coach Pete Wiggins said. “These kids are hurting, and they’ve got so much vested in it. ... They’ve got a good football team, and we knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. We just didn’t make some plays.”
Callaway did make a lot of plays, but came up just one or two short.
Bigsby finished with 228 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had five runs of 20-plus yards and looked every bit like the five-star recruit he has been hyped up to be. Had the Cavaliers not taken so long to wake up on offense, the game might have gone a different way.
But a 20-point deficit at this stage of the season is difficult to overcome. Against a team like Brooks County, which had playmakers at nearly every position, it is even harder to pull off such a big comeback.
Callaway attempted a comeback, but the loss will haunt the Cavaliers this offseason.
“We just kept saying ‘let’s do what we do,’” Wiggins said. “And they did. They never altered from our plan, they never put their head down. They were determined, and we got back in the game and gave ourselves an opportunity.”
Brooks County made more plays
It looked fpr some time like the Cavaliers did make enough plays to win. When the opportunity arose, Callaway took advantage, and looked like it was on the cusp of blowing the game wide open. Cavaliers quarterback Demetrius Coleman threw three touchdown passes, all of which came from 35-plus yards out. Bigsby’s first carry of the game was for 23 yards. The Cavaliers were a late fourth-down incompletion from a first down on the goal line.
But in the end, Brooks County made one or two more plays.
Facing third-and-two with the Cavaliers out of timeouts, the Trojans lined up to try and ice the game. The Cavaliers struggled all night to contain the Trojans’ run game, and that wouldn’t change this time: Brooks County ran a dive play right up the middle, plowing ahead for a first down.
Some fans standing behind the fence argued the call. “Get the chains out!” one exclaimed. But there was no real need to; the spot wasn’t even close.
As Wiggins was asked what a coach can say to a team after such a roller coaster game, he paused. The pain showed on his face. If one or two plays went the Cavaliers’ way — if they didn’t fall into a 20-point hole or surrender a nine-point second half lead — they would be the ones celebrating a chance at a state championship.
“To come up short at the end is really hard,” Wiggins said. “These guys, they’ve been on the practice field or in the weight room a long time. I know they’re hurting right now, but I’m really proud of them. They came back, they fought back, they kept believing in one another, and we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. And that’s what it’s about.”
More prep coverage from the L-E:
- Central lost in blowout fashion to Thompson Wednesday night in a game in which Red Devils coach Jamey DuBose said the Warriors “turned the tables.”
- Miss last week’s scores? Click here.
- Marion County blew a 21-7 lead, but fought back to win last week against Lincoln County.
- Wondering which teams L-E reporter Joshua Mixon picked to win this week? Subscribers can find out by clicking here.
Keep up with Chattahoochee Valley prep sports
- Twitter: @JoshDMixon; @lesports
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This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 11:33 PM.
