The Mandeville Skippers finally took to the field albeit on Wednesday night, securing a hard-fought, 14-13, victory over the West Jefferson Buccaneers courtesy of their defense.

MHS senior defensive back Austin Storms (no relation to any of the tropical storms or hurricanes) and fellow senior Cody Keowen helped the Skippers’ defense weather the onslaught of the West Jefferson passing attack to secure the one-point victory in Wednesday’s opener.

The long-anticipated season opener proved to be a test of fortitude as the Skippers came up with big defensive plays when they needed to in crucial situations.

Mandeville junior running back Darrell Adams attempts to elude West Jefferson defenders in Wednesday'€™s game at Skipper Stadium. (Photo by Mike McCall)

Trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter, West Jefferson took over possession on their 20-yard line with 6:47 to play. Facing a fourth-and-seven, the Buccaneers lined up in punt formation, but punter Glen Coleman faked the punt, and scurted around left end picking up the crucial first down.

The Bucs were in business with a first-and-10 situation at their 33-yard line. On first down, senior quarterback Terrell McCall, found Kevin Shief for a 32-yard pass, moving the ball down to the Skippers’ 35. Following a three-yard gain on a running play, McCall dropped back in the pocket, and rifled a strike to a streaking Coleman for a 32-yard score to cut the Mandeville lead to 14-13 with just 3:45 remaining.

West Jefferson first-year head coach Marcus Scott said he thought about lining up for a point after touchdown to tie it, but then changed his mind, deciding to go for two and the possible lead.

On the two-point conversion attempt, McCall tried to hit Coleman, who had one-on-one coverage with Keowen on a crossing route to the left pylon. Keowen used every bit of his speed, closing on the ball to deflect it away from Coleman to preserve the one-point lead, and seal the deal for the Skippers. Keowen described the unsuccessful two-point try.

“I made the play of my life right there. It saved the game. I used every bit of energy I had left to get there. On top of that, I just dove for the ball, and got my hand out there to knock it down,” Keowen said.

West Jefferson attempted an onside kick, but was denied when senior linebacker Hayden Harper pounced on the ball at the Skippers’ 43 with 3:43 left.

MHS junior backup quarterback John Wenzel entered the game. He picked up two yards on a keeper. Senior running back Will Bunns burst around right end for a huge 25-yard gain, getting a key block from Elijah Levee to help spring him. The right side of the Skippers’ offensive line did a nice job, sealing off the Buccaneer defenders, creating a nice hole for Bunns to scamper through. After picking up the crucial first down, the Skippers were able to run out the clock for the one-point victory.

Mandeville’s offense struggled most of the night, not looking crisp and failing to execute with numerous dropped passes and mistakes, to the dismay of third-year head coach Guy LeCompte.

“In a nutshell, we didn’t execute on offense. We had too many mental mistakes, and penalties. Nobody is going to give you a game because you won 10 last year (10-3). We need to review the film, and find players that are able to execute on offense,” LeCompte said.

Coach LeCompte praised the West Jefferson players and coaching staff for a superb effort. “Coach Marcus Scott showed a lot of class. I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. He is doing things right with his program,” LeCompte added.

Scott, who served as the Bucs’ defensive backs coach last year, said his club enjoys playing a program like Mandeville. “We knew it would be an early test. They always play hard, and are well coached. We weren’t crazy about the outcome, but it was a tight game,” Scott said.

Scott said initially, he thought about kicking the extra point, when his club cut the lead to 14-13. “Realizing how exhausted my team was, I decided instead to go for two to try and get the victory. If we had tied it up with an extra point, I wasn’t sure we could sustain, if the game went into overtime,” Scott added.

The Skippers managed to take the lead on junior Matt Dombrowski’s 36-yard field goal with 2:37 left in the opening period. The field goal was set up by Storms, picking off his first of two interceptions at the 4:42 mark, giving the Skippers first-and-10 at the West Jeff 39.

The Buccaneers fought their way back to take a 7-3 lead with 6:06 to go in the first half. McCall linked up with Shief on a perfectly executed 54-yard scoring strike. Freshman place kicker Mahdi Aghighi tacked on the point after.

With just 35 seconds left in the first half facing fourth-and-nine West Jeff committed a costly mistake. The Bucs snapped the ball over their punter’s head. MHS took over at the Bucs’ 23 with 28 ticks left. On third-and-seven from the 20 with 11 seconds to go, Bunns was interfered with while running a slant route near the goal line, placing the ball at the 10. Dombrowski entered the game, booting a 27-yard field goal out of Chris Houlemard’s hold to cut the lead to 7-6 at the intermission.

Neither team could do anything with their first possession of the second half. With the Bucs facing third-and-18 from their 38, MHS senior defensive lineman Trayvon Bunns beat his man, hitting McCall as he released a pass. The ball didn’t have much on it as it fluttered through the air. Storms intercepted the ball at midfield, returning it 16 yards up the right side line with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter.

Storms talked about his club’s defensive effort.

“We stepped up and carried the team on our back tonight. The first pick, I was sitting in zone, but the second one goes to our d-line (Trayvon Bunns) that had great pressure on the quarterback,” Storms said.

“Defensively, we have some stuff to work on, especially our blitzes. We played solid defense. Only two plays gave them those 13 points.”

MHS starting senior quarterback Andy Bertoniere found Bunns for a 20-yard completion, setting up shop at the 14. Bunns ripped off a 12-yard gainer on a sweep around right end, placing the ball at the two. Junior running back Darrell Adams, who led the Skippers with 71 yards rushing on 14 carries, then plowed over right guard for the score to make it 12-7. Coach LeCompte decided to go for two. Bertoniere with nice touch lofted a pass to Bunns in the left corner for the successful two-point conversion for a 14-7 margin with 4:33 left in third quarter.

Mandeville returns to action Friday Sept. 19, hosting Walker.