McKenzie pounces on Providence miscues

Congratulations, Providence Christian, on making the playoffs.

Your reward? A trip to Class 1A powerhouse Sweet Water, which has won the last three state titles and four of the last five.

The Eagles fell to McKenzie 27-6 in their home finale, as McKenzie forced five turnovers and quarterback Emmanuel Johnson accounted for all four Tiger touchdowns.

McKenzie intercepted four passes — three of which set up touchdowns — and recovered a fumble.

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“That’s happened to us a lot this year,” Providence Christian coach Emory Latta said. “When that happens, we’re not going to beat a good football team.”

With the loss, the Eagles (5-4, 4-3) are the No. 4 seed in the region. Brantley is No. 1, followed by McKenzie and Geneva County.

McKenzie’s Melvin Owens intercepted PCS quarterback Alex Plagenhoef on the first play of the game, setting up a 32-yard score on a fourth-and-2 quarterback draw from Johnson. Kendrick Ball’s extra point gave McKenzie a 7-0 lead.

Another interception set up McKenzie’s second score, a 7-yard run by Johnson early in the second quarter. The extra point failed, and the Tigers led 13-0.

McKenzie took over at its own 19 after a punt but needed just two plays to score. Johnson hit Owens for a gain of 48 before throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Charles Thompson. The 2-point play gave McKenzie a 21-0 lead at halftime.

Providence came out of halftime and kicked an onside kick that was recovered by Garrett Nix. It set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from running back Austin Gilchrist to Banks Smith, but the point-after missed.

“We’ve done that before this year,” Latta said. “Banks does a good job with (kicking the onside kick). We were down, and we felt like we needed a spark. You saw what it did; it gave us a spark that got us back in the football game.”

The Eagles’ Sterling Gatlin intercepted a fourth-quarter pass, but Providence couldn’t capitalize. Johnson’s last highlight-reel play was a 74-yard touchdown run that gave McKenzie its final score.

“(Johnson) is as good of a football player as I’ve ever seen,” Latta said.

Providence was held to 172 yards on the ground. Gilchrist ran 19 times for 82 yards, and Smith ran 19 times for 76. McKenzie coach Miles Brown was proud of how his defense countered Providence’s old-school double-wing offense.

“You’ve got to play great assignment football and know your keys and do them well,” Brown said. “You’ve got to believe in the person to the right and left of you.
“You can’t over do it because if you do, you get beat. I think our defense did a superb job tonight. They did a great job.”

Providence closes the regular season next Thursday at Wicksburg.