By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
St. Paul’s was determined not to get Popped by Evangel’s uber-talented junior quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston Friday night in a second-round Select Division I playoff game.
The Wolves’ 3-3 defense and blitz packages contributed to an uncharacteristic slow start by the Eagles, who had four motion penalties on their first drive along with inconsistencies in the passing game. As a haze settled over the playing field at Rodney Duron Stadium, the ECA passing attack sputtered.
But St. Paul’s discovered Evangel’s offense is not one-dimensional. This time, the Eagles ran the ball on 44 plays, and Houston tossed a modest-for-ECA 26 passes.
That was productive enough, combined with a stout defense, to produce a 34-14 victory that lifted Evangel into the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. That milestone was pointed out powerfully in a postgame speech at midfield from coach Denny Duron to his team, with his senior class gathered tightly around him after the last home appearance of their careers.
“We went through a drought,” said senior fullback/linebacker Damari “Dae-Dae” Drake, “and now it feels like we finally get some water.”
Evangel’s defense – combined with injuries that knocked St. Paul’s two most productive running backs out of the game – limited the visitors to 171 total yards and one offensive touchdown.
“Hindsight’s 20-20, but if we have those two, maybe our plan works,” said Wolves’ veteran coach Kenny Sears Sr., “because we surely wanted to eat the clock and keep it away from Number 1 (Houston). We felt we could pound ‘em a bit and wear them down. Our defense played well enough to win but we were reaching for straws on offense.”
The Eagles’ willingness and ability to switch gears was pivotal. That shift originated with Houston, who still threw for three TDs (23 and 21 yards to Charley Abraham, and a 19-yarder with a gorgeous contested catch by DeMarkus Evans) and ran for a 16-yard score. His 14 of 26 completion rate and 194 passing yards came with two interceptions, one on a screen pass returned 10 yards for a stunning TD that lifted St. Paul’s up 14-13 midway through the second quarter.
“Everything’s not going to pan out smooth all the time,” said Drake. “We went through a rough little patch, but we shook it back and we got right.”
With the clock winding toward a halftime deficit, Evangel – actually, one Eagle, Kionte’ Mims II — ran the ball on five of six snaps on a 55-yard drive to the go-ahead score, his 6-yard bolt up the middle with 28 seconds to go.
After a scoreless third period, Drake pounded away between the tackles and Houston threw just once – the 21-yard strike on a quick fly route to Abraham – as Evangel salted it away with a pair of touchdowns, the last Houston’s 16-yard option keeper that left a St. Paul’s defender in perfect position reaching for the quarterback and whiffing as he danced by.
“He’s about winning. He ain’t about stats, and he’ll do anything to win the game,” said Duron. “When it was obvious we needed to run the ball, he was the one coming to the sideline saying, ‘we need to run the rock.’ That’s exactly what Dae-Dae and K2 (Mims) were able to do, and it was a lot of fun to watch.”
Houston said the Wolves forced his hand.
“They were doing a great job of dropping into the zones we prepared for all week. We thought those zones were going to be open, but they were not today,” he said. “The thing we had going for us was the run game.
“As the quarterback, it’s all about winning, so sometimes you’ve gotta let go of the stats. That’s how it was today. Kudos to the offensive line, and Dae-Dae and K2.”
The elusive Mims got the ball 16 times and ran for 104 yards. Drake piled up 174 yards on 15 carries, including several when he bulled through tackle after tackle, and another in a season-long series of leaps over defenders.
“Ever since we played Neville (in Week 1) and I got that first hurdle, everything’s been jumpy, jumpy, jumpy. I try to stop myself, but it just happens,” Drake said.
As for his other jaunts, he noted “I’m an aggressive runner.”
“He’s a heck of a player,” said St. Paul’s Sears. “He ran through some fits that were amazing to me.”
It led to half of Evangel’s 339 rushing yards – and a trip to New Orleans for a quarterfinal date with destiny, the undefeated defending state champion Edna Karr Cougars, who have outscored 11 opponents 480-119.
“It’s a title shot,” Duron told his team.
“It’s a blessing,” said Drake. “You gotta play with heart – no fear.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com