With Salmen quarterback Julien Troullier injured, Spartan fans were treated to a glimpse of the future with sophomore signal caller Daniel Sams’ solid performance. He threw for one touchdown and ran for two to lead the Spartans to an 18-13 victory over previously unbeaten Pearl River on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.

Salmen clinched at least a share of the District 9-4A title, its first district crown since Hurricane Katrina.

“No, no I wasn’t nervous,” an exuberant Sams said after he accounted for 273 of the Spartans 299 total yards. “I want to put a team on my shoulders, and I tried to make it happen.”

Salmen'€™s Isiah Tate essentially puts the game away with an interception late in the fourth quarter during Friday'€™s contest. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

Sams completed 6-of-14 passes for 165 yards and ran for 108 yards on 26 carries. He tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Tate and scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards for the Spartans (6-2, 4-0).

“(Sams) works hard during practice and gets us motivated,” said Tate, who had five receptions for 122 yards and added a pair of interceptions.

“(Sams) played great, but this win was a team effort,” Salmen coach Jerry Leonard said. “Our offensive line played great, our defensive played great. (Tate) played the way we expect him to. We ask a lot out of him.”

Salmen’s stifling defense forced Pearl River coach Joe Harris to reach deep into his bag of tricks, but the Rebels found no treats on a chilly Halloween night. The Spartans, led by mammoth sophomore defensive end Malcolm Pichon, shackled the Rebels’ running attack, holding running back James Gillum to 60 yards on 23 bruising carries.

The run-orientated Rebels (7-1, 3-1) were forced into the uncomfortable position of relying on its air attack, but that proved futile as quarterback Matt Smith completed just three-of-11 passes for 32 yards, including an 0-for-3 performance in the first half.

“Experience in big games was not a factor,” Pearl River coach Joe Harris said. “That doesn’t matter. You have to block and make plays. We did not play well.”

Tate’s second interception came with 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, helping the Spartans add another district championship to their mantle.

“We watched film, and the coaches had us prepared,” Tate said. “We knew they would be passing in third-and-long. We were ready for it.”

Salmen, which led 12-7 at the half, took what appeared to be a commanding 18-7 lead with 1:18 left in the third quarter when Sams scored from 2 yards out on a fourth-and-goal. Pearl River’s Seth Craddock met Sams at the line of scrimmage but was dragged into the end zone by the Spartans’ quarterback.

The Rebels, however, answered with their most impressive drive of the game, a 14-play, 68-yard march that ended in Gillum’s 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 7:11 remaining.

Pearl River had one final opportunity, taking over at its 24-yard line with 1:46 remaining. The Rebels picked up one first down before Tate’s interception.

“From the middle of the second quarter we felt like we dominated,” said Pichon, who is 6-feet-3, 330 pounds, adding that their goal was to shut down the Rebels’ signature rushing attack.

“You can’t put all of your concentration on one guy,” Leonard said. “We wanted to try to contain him and try to slow him down.

“(Pichon) played a great game. It was his time to step up, and he did.”

The Spartans spotted Pearl River a 7-0 lead before rallying with three consecutive touchdowns.

The Rebels took a 7-0 lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter on Jeremiah Levy’s 25-yard run. Levy’s run capped an eight-play, 65-yard drive.

On the play, Smith faked a pass before handing off to Levy, who found open field up the middle.

Sams brought the Spartans back with a 55-yard scoring drive, set up with Salmen’s own version of trickery. On the ensuing kickoff, the Spartans Curtis Owens fielded the ball at the 15-yard line, ran a couple of yards, and threw the ball back across the field to Errol Scott, who returned it to the Salmen 45-yard line.

Five plays later, Tate outjumped two Pearl River defenders to haul in Sams’ 18-yard scoring pass.

“We knew our receivers were bigger than their corners and thought we could take advantage of that,” Sams said. “I knew if I put the ball in the right spot, our receivers would go up and get it.”

However, the Spartans missed the extra-point attempt because of a bad snap, forcing Salmen to attempt two unsuccessful two-point attempts following their next two touchdowns.

“If I was disappointed in any one thing it was our special teams,” Leonard said. “We have to work on that.”

Salmen received a break on the Rebels’ ensuing possession when the knee of Pearl River punter Kevin Dancer hit the ground as he fielded a low snap, giving the Spartans a short field. Five plays later, Sams culminated a 42-yard drive with a 1-yard run, giving Salmen a 12-7 lead with 6:49 left in the first half.

But the drive did not come without some controversy. On third-and-14 from the Pearl River 46, Sams threw what appeared to be a touchdown pass to Jamal Robinson, who caught a ball tipped by Tate.

However, the referee trailing the play had his back to Robinson and apparently did not see the wide receiver catch the pass. Rather, he apparently blew the whistle after calling pass interference on the Rebels’ Cory Jenkins, who was defending Tate. After a conference, the ball was spotted at the 3.

In the first half, Sams completed passes of 44, 18, 43 and 45 yards before being intercepted at the Pearl River goal line by Will Reed late in the second quarter.

“This was a big win for our team,” Tate said. “We have our best record since Katrina. Salmen is back.”

“As coaches we’ve been in big games, but these kids have not had that experience,” Leonard said. “We are trying to get over the hump.”

Consider it done.