D’Iberville and its Big Ten-bound senior ‘raise eyebrows’ with a thrashing of Biloxi
Justin Walley has been a dynamic piece of the D’Iberville football team ever since he stepped on the field for the varsity squad as freshman, complementing his older brother, Jaden, with good speed and football savvy well beyond his years.
As a senior, Walley has taken his game to another level with his brother graduated and set to open his freshman season at Mississippi State.
So far, the Warriors are following his lead.
The 5-10, 185-pound cornerback/running back/receiver proved to be the ultimate game breaker as D’Iberville (3-0, 1-0) rolled over Biloxi 34-0 Friday night in the Region 4-6A opener for both squads.
Walley, a Minnesota commit, ran seven times for 91 yards and three touchdowns and caught four passes for 43 yards. On defense, he had another solid night at cornerback as the Warriors shut down previously undefeated Biloxi (2-1, 0-1).
“He is a great player,” D’Iberville coach Larry Dolan said. “We try to get the ball in his hands in crucial situations. He came through and his teammates blocked well for him well, too.
“He’s a special athlete and he made big plays tonight.”
Even though the final score was lopsided in D’Iberville’s favor, yards on the ground weren’t that easy to come by for the Warriors. Outside of Walley, the rest of the Warriors’ backs averaged just 2.8 yards a carry on 41 rushes for 115 yards.
With senior quarterback Dwight Williams pitching in 122 yards on 7-of-11 passing, the Warriors gradually worked their way down the field and Walley delivered each time they got near the Indians’ 20 with three touchdowns — all just off the right tackle.
“We tried to run inside the tight end, but their big ole ends were squeezing us out,” Dolan said. “We had a little toss sweep. We hadn’t worked on the play this week, but that’s how we played it. We just had to kind of adjust on the fly. The kids did well.
“When we run the ball like that, we’ve got a chance against anybody.”
The Warriors controlled the game from the outset, putting an exclamation point on the game in the fourth quarter when junior linebacker Kevawn Edwards had a strip sack and senior defensive end Gabe Bosarge rumbled 75 yards for a touchdown.
“Everything kind of went our way,” Dolan said. “We had some fourth down conversions on the deep routes and Dwight Williams threw some great balls. It all just lined up. We may flop next week, but this week all the stars lined up right and we had a good night.”
D’Iberville next travels to Ocean Springs (4-0, 1-0) in a battle of unbeatens at Greyhound Stadium.
Justin Walley ready for Minnesota challenge
Walley’s future is likely playing cornerback in the Big Ten, but he’s been the Warriors’ most productive player on offense through three games with 26 carries for 297 yards and seven touchdowns. At receiver, he has 13 catches for 163 yards.
While he has been asked to play a larger role on offense this season, he’s still seeing time in the defensive secondary and had 12 tackles entering Friday night’s contest.
Walley is well on his way to topping his offensive production from a year ago when he ran for 348 yards and had another 230 at receiver.
Prior to this season, he relied mostly on his speed and some shifty moves in the open field.
As a senior, he’s running through more arm tackles and breaking big gainers on the ground.
“He’s such a strong athlete,” Dolan said. “He power lifted last year and he got so much stronger. He works so hard. He’s a special kid to coach. He stays late every day at practice. We have to make him leave the field house. He’s one of those ones that come around every now and then that you like to have. They make you a better coach for sure.”
D’Iberville star follows his own path with the Gophers
Jaden Walley, who was a star no matter the position he played for D’Iberville, appears on his way to seeing time as a freshman receiver at Mississippi State under new head coach Mike Leach.
Justin Walley was a recruiting target for the Bulldogs as well, but he chose to head north and commit to Minnesota in August.
For Justin, the decision came down his affinity for the Gophers’ head coach.
“It’s P.J. Fleck and the way he conducts his program,” he said. “I knew he was a great head coach. I couldn’t miss out playing for a guy like him.”
Dolan wasn’t surprised to see his senior choose his own path.
“His family is so great,” he said. “Jaden is more a homebody, hunting and fishing. Justin is different. He’s is own person and he likes the idea of going away. I’m excited because I’ve never been to Minnesota, but I’m going to go when he plays up there.”
If the pieces come together for Walley and the rest of the Warriors, D’Iberville has a shot at its first region title since 2016.
Friday night’s beat down of Biloxi, a team loaded with Division I prospects, will put the target on D’Iberville’s back.
“(The score) is going to raise a couple of eyebrows,” Walley said. “I know we’re a hard working team and we’re going to play like this every night.
“We’re not the biggest team, but we have a lot of dogs over there.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 11:25 PM.
