Here’s how Northwest Rankin-D’Iberville was decided in the final moments
Only one point separated D’Iberville and Northwest Rankin Friday night, but the contrast in reactions couldn’t have been farther apart at the conclusion of the Class 6A semifinal contest.
Northwest Rankin topped D’Iberville 29-28 to advance to the Class 6A South State title game at Oak Grove next week, ending a special season for the Warriors with a successful 2-point conversion with 1:13 remaining.
Northwest Rankin running back Cam Marion punched it in the end zone from 2 yards out to cut the Warriors’ lead to 28-27.
On the two-point conversion, senior quarterback Caleb Parten scrambled to his right and hit senior receiver Jordan Cavitt in the end zone with a perfect toss for the 2-point conversion to put the Cougars in the lead at 29-28.
“The pass wasn’t supposed to come to me at first, but I just saw him scramble so I just kept moving with him,” Cavitt said. “He threw it and I made sure I caught it before I fell down.”
D’Iberville never quite got into field goal position on the game’s final possession and senior quarterback Dwight Williams’ pass fell incomplete near the Northwest Rankin 10 as time expired.
That set off a wild celebration for Northwest Rankin as the players and coaches rushed the field en masse.
On the D’Iberville sideline, the players were despondent — some sobbing as they realized they had played their final game of high school football.
What once appeared to be a season of destiny for D’Iberville ended with a record of 10-1.
“They’re a bunch of overachievers,” D’Iberville coach Larry Dolan said of his team. “I thought we could have been good this year, but I had no idea we could win 10 games and make it this far. We proved a lot of people wrong. It took a long time for people to say, ‘Well, these guys might be able to play.’ I think we can compete with most 6A teams in the state.”
Northwest Rankin (9-3) will travel to Oak Grove (11-0) for the Class 6A South State title game. The winner will advance to the state championship game to play the victor of Oxford-Clinton.
“We worked so hard for this,” Cavitt said. “(No Northwest Rankin) team has ever been past the second round. We’re the first team to do it. It’s real special.”
Parten threw the ball accurately all night, completing 18 of 27 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.
On the ground for the Cougars, Martin rushed 28 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
D’Iberville senior running back/defensive back Justin Walley, who earned Mississippi’s Mr. Football for Class 6A, did everything he could to put the Warriors in position to win the game.
He ran 17 times for 133 yards and scored all four of D’Iberville’s touchdowns.
Walley also blocked the extra point following Northwest Rankin’s first touchdown of the night.
“He’s a warrior. He played his butt off,” Dolan said.
It was the little mistake here and there that will stick with D’Iberville after Friday night’s loss.
“They made some plays in the third and fourth quarter and we didn’t,” Dolan said. “I thought they played extremely well. I thought we played well except for a few downs. That’s the way it goes — two good football teams. That’s the way the playoffs are supposed to be.”
Even with the disappointing finish, senior defensive back Raymond Lias realizes that he and his teammates have something to be proud of.
“It was a very special season,” Lias said. “It was a big family. We bonded really amazingly. We weren’t as big as other teams, but we had big heart and stuck together.
“It’s just D’Iberville football. We have a good culture here, good people. The crowd is amazing. I’m just lucky to come to D’Iberville.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 11:52 PM.
