NEW MARKET — Southmont football was not afraid of the challenge that stood before them Friday night. The Mounties welcomed in the Lafayette Central Catholic Knights for a sectional semi-final showdown. The Knights eventually found rhythm in the second half and pulled away for a 27-0 win to end Southmont’s season.
Early on the Mounties were poised to score the games first touchdown as they stood at the Knights four yard line. However sophomore fullback Wyatt Woodall would fumble and the Knights denied the Mounties the games first score.
Then right before halftime, Southmont once again moved the ball methodically down the field looking for a score with the ball at the Knights eight yard line. Junior signal caller Nick Scott then threw an interception, denying the Mounties points once again.
Despite the outcome, Southmont coach Desson Hannum took away that his team can compete with some of the bigger programs.
“To have the fight and the resolve that we had tonight, with all of the underclassmen we having playing, that’s important,” Hannum said. “There’s a lot of things that we can take from tonight. Our guys weren’t afraid and we took it right at them tonight. You take a few plays away from the first half and it’s a completely different story.”
Central Catholic first score came on a two yard run by Baylor Smith who ended the game with 16 carries for 138 yards. Senior quarterback Clark Barrett then connected with Alex Hardebeck for a 74 yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter. Then in the second half, two long scores by the Knights, the first a 31 yard pass from Barrett to Ty Buche, then a 41 yard run from Smith all but sealed the game for the Knights who are making their Class 2A playoff debut.
“We really needed to make something happen with our first drive of the second half when we got it,” Hannum said. Unfortunately we weren’t able to and they took control of the game from there.”
Sophomore Wyatt Woodall went over 100 yards rushing again for the Mounties with 102 yards on 19 attempts.
The youth movement in the Southmont football program played a key role in their success this season as they end the year with a 6-5 (2-4 SAC) record. The six wins is the most by the Mounties since 2017.
“As you put things into perspective, I don’t a lot of people expected us to win six games,” Hannum said. “Most people probably thought we’d win a couple but to come out and have a winning record this season was really important with all of our young guys that we have. That’s something we can build off heading into next season.”
Southmont will graduate just four total seniors in Brady Boller, Belle Miller, Izaya Powell, and Collin Martin. Boller was the only senior to play in the loss against the Knights.
“They brought a ton of leadership and came in and did great job for us,” Hannum said. “Their attitude and the way they carried themselves within the program, that’s an extremely important thing with all of the young guys we have on the team. We’re going to miss those guys and you wish the best for them moving forward.”
Central Catholic moves on to the sectional championship game next week as they will take on Speedway who defeated Monrovia 12-6
