CROWELLS CROSSROADS — The 2009 season has been an improbable story that transcends wins and losses for the football Trojans of Southeast Halifax High School.

Randy Wrenn| The Daily Herald Southeast Halifax tailback Marque Jacobs (24) scored the only touchdown of the night during the Trojans, 6-0, first round win over Midway Friday night at Crowells Crossroads. Advertisement

Reminiscent of sports yarns such as Brian’s Song, Hoosiers, Rudy and Remember the Titans, the Trojans’ season has been filled with high drama. Southeast’s 6 – 0 defeat of Midway High in the 1AA playoffs represented yet another chapter in that real life saga.

Rarely has 3 wins and 8 loses represented a successful season. However, after the Trojans lost their first 6 games by a combined 294 – 22 points, an average score of 49 – 3.6 per game, along came Larry Edwards.

Edwards took over as head coach and with him came hard work, organization, pride, discipline, and perhaps a little love. That simple mix translated into 3 wins, and 2 close losses in the team’s final five games. The payoff thus far, has been a 7 playoff seed and Friday night’s playoff win. More importantly, the 2009 football season will be long remember by the Trojan faithful and may go down in Southeast Halifax football Lore.     

When asked if the Trojans might be a team of destiny, coach Edwards instead recognized his players. “Our guys have bought into what we are trying to get them to do and they deserve all the credit,” he said. “They went out to that sloppy, muddy, field and theycould not have wanted to play, but they showed up, they brought it.”

Kevin Mills opened the Trojan playoff season on a wet, blustery fall evening by returning the opening kickoff to his own thirty-five yard line. Then, for three plus quarters it was defense and ground warfare in the muck of a three day storm. Neither team threw a pass in the first quarter. The Trojans attempted two and the Midway Raiders three in the next two periods – all incomplete.   

Marque Jacobs opened the Trojans fourth quarter by carrying six consecutive times. Helped by a five yard penalty, Jacobs moved the ball from the 27 to the Raider 40.

With the Midway defenders keying on Jacobs, quarterback Kiante Stallings called on Joseph Cooper. Cooper responded with a determined twelve yard run to the twenty-eight. While the overwhelming hometown crowd held its collective breath in fear of another fumble, Jacobs and Cooper alternated six more carries. At the 2:32 mark, Jacobs went over from a yard out. A similar play for the two-point conversion failed.

Jacobs praised his teammates and credited the defense with putting the offense in a position to score. “Overall we played a good game,” he said. “The defense stepped up and kept getting us the ball even though the offense turned the ball over.”

Prepared to defend its 6 – 0 advantage, Southeast kicked to the Raiders and suddenly the Trojan mystique reappeared. Deondre Miller delivered a vicious fumble causing hit on the Midway kick returner and recovered the fumble on the Midway 25-yard line.

Southeast ran seconds off the clock but the Raiders their 3 timeouts and got the ball back with 1:17 left - time enough for a miracle.

Raider quarterback Barrett Sloan, subbing for the injured Ryan Mayes threw an incompletion, completed a pass for a short gain, then was sacked by Desmond Whitaker.

The Raiders chance for a miracle finish vanished when Sloan downed the ball, not realizing it was fourth down.

Head Coach, Paul Hall of the Raiders credited his quarterback’s error to youth. “We gave a pretty good effort, but we’ve been plagued with injuries and playing a lot of young kids,” he said. “It got us tonight. My quarterback got hurt and (when that happens) you start grabbing at straws and when you grab at straws it’s not very good.”   

Next Friday, Southeast will meet the winner of the Goldsboro/South Robeson contest in the second round of the playoffs.