Maplesville tops Linden to advance to Super 7
LINDEN — Maplesville (14-0) is headed to its fourth consecutive Class 1A state championship game after prevailing 36-14 over Linden in the Class 1A semifinals Friday night.
“We talked about before the game that we needed to play with heart. They always talk about Sweet Water, Linden, Brantley, Maplesville being in the Top 4. It’s hard to beat those guys,” Maplesville coach Brent Hubbert said. “Well, you know, we had to play them consecutively. I don’t know if one of those four has ever had to play the other three consecutively. It was going to take some heart to do it and I saw heart.”
Maplesville turned to Nathaniel Watson in key situations Friday night.
“I thought that he was the difference in the game overall,” Linden coach Andro Williams said of Watson.
Watson took snaps out of the wildcat formation to move the chains and torched the Linden secondary through the air when lined up wide. With his team down 7-2, Watson returned a safety punt 68 yards to the Linden 2 to set up a Terence Dunlap 2-yard touchdown with 6:30 to go in the first quarter.
“He’s a good football player. He’s a big difference,” Maplesville coach Brent Hubbert said of Watson.
Maplesville went down the left sideline to Watson in the second quarter for a 46-yard gain that set up a second Dunlap touchdown run from two yards out to move the lead to 16-7.
With the second quarter clock winding down, Linden got itself back in the game with a defensive play. Graderius Brown pressured the Maplesville quarterback into an errant throw that found its way into the waiting arms of Isaiah Scott, who returned the interception 42 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 16-14. Linden would get no closer.
Watson hauled in a pass from Thomas Schoener for a 66-yard touchdown on a play that saw him run over a pair of Linden defenders en route to the end zone. He later scored on a 42-yard touchdown run.
“I saw the end zone. I was trying to get to the end zone. I had the grace of God right behind me. I was trying to make it to the end zone,” Watson said. “I’ve got to give it to the Linden defense. They gave us a run for our money. I thank my quarterback and the O-line for holding them up and everything.”
Dunlap capped the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run with 6:22 to go in the contest.
Linden opened the game by recovering a fumble on a short kickoff. The Patriots quickly moved the ball down field to set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Dequan Charleston to go up 7-0. After Maplesville downed a punt at the Linden 2, the Patriots went backwards. The Linden ball carrier slipped in the end zone on second down, resulting in the safety that turned the tide in favor of the Red Devils.
“I could have probably tried to just punch it up out of there and punt it. We got the penalty and we got the safety down there,” Williams said of the sequence.
Linden also saw early drives stall with untimely penalties, ending the night with eight infractions for 80 yards.
“We stalled a drive down here with a penalty. Two big penalties early stalled some drives that kept us from taking it down and punching it in,” Williams said. “I thought there were a couple of penalties that kind of stopped some drives for us early on. I thought that was a big factor early on that could’ve made the outcome be a bit different. That’s just part of it.”
Linden (13-1) finishes the season with 764 points, breaking the state record for most points in a single season. The previous mark of 761 was held by the 2004 Demopolis High School Tigers.
“I don’t think it’s about the stats or whatever. This team has accomplished a lot outside of the football realm,” Williams said. “I think I’ve seen some guys grow up before my eyes. These guys have been around for a while. They’ve worked. They’ve shown themselves approved by their work ethic. They’re going to be successful in life.”
