As it turns out, this bracket wasn’t quite as clear cut as we thought.
Despite many people doubting them at every step of the way, South Plaquemines proved them all wrong in the Superdome. They showed they were the team to beat all along on their way to a 20-7 victory over previously undefeated Haynesville Golden Tornados, who was the presumptive favorite to win this bracket for the entire season.
The main thing everyone seemed to underestimate was the power of the Hurricane defensive front. They held Haynesville to an astonishing 144 yards of total offense. They stopped the run all game, and the pass rush forced Isaiah Washington to run for his life, leaving him at a miserable 4/20 completions for the day. Everyone looked great, but Deanel McGee Jr was especially impressive, seemingly living in the Golden Tornado backfield all day and finishing the game with 2 sacks..
On offense, South Plaquemines found their production through one man: Ja’heim Williams. He was awesome, as he had: 45 rushing yards, 69 receiving yards, 50 return yards, and all three of their touchdowns on the day. He started through the air, as Roderick Parker found him open in the endzone for the game’s first touchdown on South Plaq’s opening drive.
Despite how the game ended, the first half was more evenly matched and it looked like we would be getting a close game throughout when we got to halftime. Isaiah Washington looked great for Haynesville, showing why they were so respected as the team to beat. going into the playoffs. He willed his team down the field in their one scoring drive of the game, finishing it off with a touchdown pass to Jermarquis Hampton. Haynesville actually went into halftime leading 7-6.
The second half, however, was all South Plaquemines. Jy’heim Williams would not be denied and continued to lead his team down the field, finishing off the 2nd Hurricane TD drive of the day. He did everything including the 2pt conversion, and that put South Plaq up 14-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Early in the 4th quarter, we got our defining sequence of the game. Haynesville seemed to have fumbled the ball, squandering a golden opportunity to tie the game up in South Plaq territory. South Plaq seemed to recover it, but the play was ultimately not ruled a fumble. On the very next play, South Plaquemines knocked the ball out well before anybody was down. Dean Ancalade took it and ran it all the way back to the Haynesville 35 yard line. On this play, just as they did throughout the entire game, South Plaquemines left no doubt.
The rest of the game was the Jy’heim Williams show as he and the entire South Plaquemines team slammed the door shut on what was supposed to be Haynesville’s crowning moment. He scored his 3rd touchdown of the day, and shortly after, he picked off Isaiah Washington for good measure. This was a monster game for Jy’heim Williams, who will not be forgotten for a long time on the tip of the boot.
South Plaquemines won the Division IV (Non Select) State Championship for the first time since 2008. Haynesville came up short yet again, finishing as the runner up in the bracket for the 2nd year in a row.
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