WCCA falls to Briarfield Academy on Senior Night, yet still earns Class 1A playoff bid

Published 10:46 pm Friday, October 20, 2023

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WOODVILLE — Even though it was Senior Night at Wilkinson County Christian Academy, it was a pair of seniors for Briarfield Academy who stole the spotlight last Friday night as the Rebels cruised to a 52-6 win over the Rams.

Briarfield Academy senior quarterback Ben Coullard threw one touchdown pass, ran for two more, and actually caught two touchdown passes from senior wide receiver Miller Holt — the second of which went for 70 yards late in the third quarter.

“We lost to a Briarfield Academy team that is a very experienced team. We have a young team with a lot of injuries, but we’re not making any excuses,” WCCA head coach Randy Holloway said. “We’re taking our bumps and bruises. But, that’ll make us better for the future.”

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Meanwhile, WCCA couldn’t get anything going offensively and the Rebels’ relentless defense. The Rams were held to just two first down and only 32 yards of total offense — all on the ground and on 23 total carries.

Surprisingly, the Rams’ lone touchdown of the game was a 41-yard run by Charles Grezaffi. Other than that, most of their running plays went for negative yardage. Grezaffi was their leading rusher with 28 yards on 10 carries.

The Rebels themselves had only six first downs and finished with 221 yards of total offense. Both teams had trouble holding on to the ball throughout the game. Briarfield Academy (8-2) put the ball on the ground three times and lost two of them while WCCA lost all four of its fumbles.

Defensively, the Rams were led by Napoleon Howard with six tackles. Jack Orgeron had five tackles and one fumble recovery while Grezaffi had four tackles and one fumble recovery. Dax Doyle also had four tackles.

WCCA finished its regular season with an overall record of 3-7. But thanks to its tough schedule, the Rams still earned a berth in the MAIS 8-Man Class 1A Playoffs, which start next week.

“We’ll get in the playoffs because we had the toughest strength of schedule in the state (in MAIS 8-Man Class 1A),” Holloway said. “Everyone we played had eight or more wins.”

Where the Rams will be seeded and their first-round opponent would be determined by the outcome of other games that took place last Friday night, Holloway added.