Corrected version
For a time Friday night, it looked as if Leflore County quarterback Quenten Jones was going to turn the Tigers' first-round Class 3A playoff game into a personal showcase.
Instead, Ruleville Central turned the game into a clinic on how costly special teams mistakes can be.
Ruleville (7-5) rallied from a 24-8 deficit in the second half to defeat Leflore County 30-24 at Itta Bena. The Tigers from Sunflower County will play Water Valley this week in the second round.
Leflore (9-2), which lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year, was left to wonder, "What if?"
"It's a heckuva way to end the season," Leflore coach Cedric McSwine said. "Needless to say, very, very, very disappointing."
"I had high hopes for this season. I thought this was the year we'd go a little farther in the playoffs ... I think we had a fine season, 9-2. But we left some out there. That wasn't what I envisioned."
It was easy to envision a Leflore victory after Jones' third touchdown run of the night put the Tigers ahead 24-8 with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
Jones finished with eight carries for 37 yards, including touchdown runs of 6, 18 and 15 yards. He also completed 7-of-17 passes for 113 yards with two interceptions.
Leflore, which opened the second half with two quick touchdowns, couldn't hold its lead because of mistakes. On Ruleville's first play after the ensuing kickoff, Gentle Calhoun connected with Antonio Townsend on a 33-yard pass. Leflore was penalized on the play for a personal foul, giving Ruleville the ball on the Leflore 21-yard line. Three plays later, following a sack, Calhoun threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Flower. That cut Leflore's lead to 24-16 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.
Calhoun would finish 13-of-19 passing for 178 yards and a touchdown and one interception. Flower had six catches for 84 yards.
A Leflore fumble gave the ball back to Ruleville three plays later. The Leflore defense stopped Ruleville, forcing it to punt on fourth-and-9 from its own 44. But Leflore was called for roughing the kicker, giving Ruleville a first down on the Leflore 41.
Given new life, Ruleville drove for a touchdown with Calhoun scoring on a 1-yard keeper that cut Leflore's lead to 24-22 with 9:12 to go in the fourth quarter.
McSwine called the roughing penalty "the turning point in the game." The Leflore coach said the officials made the wrong call.
"I still feel like we got a raw deal on that because the guy was bobbling the ball," McSwine said. "And when you don't have control of the ball, a punter or anybody else, it's just like a running back. You can hit them. I think they dropped the ball on that call.
"... That changed the momentum of the game and definitely took the edge away from us and gave it to them."
Another kicking game mistake on Leflore's ensuing possession cost the Tigers the game. Ruleville blocked Leflore's punt and got the ball at Leflore's 37.
Cedonius Harris ended Ruleville's game-winning drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining. Harris led Ruleville in rushing with 62 yards on 11 carries.
Roderick Wade was Leflore's top rusher with 15 carries for 79 yards.
Leflore linebacker Terrence Howard intercepted a Calhoun pass on the third play of the game. Leflore had to drive just 22 yards to a touchdown, with Jones' run putting the Tigers ahead 8-0 with 10:24 to go in the first quarter.
An interception also set up Ruleville's first touchdown. Calhoun led Ruleville on a 3-minute, 73-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-10, he threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dalvin Minton, tying the game at 8-8 with 53 seconds left in the first half.
Leflore would get the ball back and drive to the Ruleville 1-yard line. But the Tigers couldn't get off another play before time expired in the first half. It was another missed opportunity in a night full of them for Leflore.
There was much emotion on the Leflore sideline after the Tigers' final comeback attempt failed and the clock ticked down on the Tigers' season. In the final seconds of the game, a fan came to the Leflore bench, prompting the stadium's public address announcer to call for security.
Leflore County sheriff's deputies pulled the unidentified man away from Leflore players and coaches and escorted him out of the stadium.
McSwine dismissed the incident, saying, "We don't even need to talk about that."
• Contact Charles Corder at ccorder@gwcommonwealth.com.
