HA eyes title battle

By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
November 15, 2003
HEIDELBERG Going back to some familiar ground.
That's what the Heidelberg Academy Rebels will do next week as they will be making their eighth appearance in an MPSA championship game, thanks to a 34-20 victory over Briarfield Academy of Lake Providence, La., Friday.
The Rebels will take an 11-2 record into the championship. Briarfield finished 9-4.
Heidelberg will face Trinity Episcopal, a 33-19 winner over Tallulah (La.) Academy, Thursday at 1 p.m. at Mississippi College in Clinton.
Briarfield put together a 10-play drive to start the game, but came away empty, thanks to a sack by Matthew Andrews at the HA 32.
Chris Kittrell was the workhorse on an eight-play, 77-yard scoring march by Heidelberg. Kittrell had five carries for 60 yards. He scored on an 18-yard run with 2:03 left in the first quarter. Mason Key added the extra point.
The Rebels went up 13-0 with 9:39 showing in the second quarter on a 16-yard run by Wesley Parker. Key's PAT failed.
Heidelberg carried that 13-point lead into halftime, but matters got interesting quickly in the second half.
Briarfield's E.J. Holden picked up a Kittrell fumble and returned it 30 yards to the 2 on the first play of the third quarter. Two plays later, Drew Manning scored from two yards out. The PAT failed.
Heidelberg answered quickly following a 26-yard kickoff return by Dusty Bass to the HA 41. Brent Welch broke a tackle just beyond the line of scrimmage and raced 59 yards for a touchdown. Key's kick gave the hosts a 20-6 lead.
Briarfield took advantage of another Kittrell fumble to close to within 20-12 on another short scoring journey. Heidelberg made the visitors battle for every yard as it took eight plays to cover the 13 yards. Blake Pierce scored from a yard out on fourth-and-goal with 2:54 left in the third quarter. The extra point was blocked.
Heidelberg again quickly got those points back as Brooks Lewis hit Parker with a short pass and the sophomore broke several tackles down the Briarfield sideline to complete a 37-yard play with 59 seconds left in the third period. Key added the PAT for a 27-12 lead.
Briarfield reached the Heidelberg 29 early in the fourth quarter, but again failed to produce points as the Heidelberg defense stiffened.
The visitors were knocking at the door again only to lose a fumble on second-and-goal at the 9. Briarfield converted a fourth-and-13 from the HA 39 with a 30-yard pass from Manning to Pete Lensing to set up the scoring bid.
Welch turned workhorse on a five-play, 87-yard scoring drive that iced the win. The senior had four carries for 81 yards including runs of 51 and 27 yards with the 27-yarder going for a touchdown and a 34-12 lead with 2:23 left.
Briarfield got a 1-yard touchdown run from Manning with 57 seconds left and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a two-point conversion.
Heidelberg had 345 total yards with 298 coming on 39 rushes. Welch had 194 yards on 10 carries, while Kittrell gained 85 yards on nine rushes.