A two-hour drive into the cold, muddy, visitor parking area at Greenville’s football stadium rang of deja vu as the home team’s massive air horn in the endzone sounded. Last year, Greenville’s Tigers took Bibb out of the playoffs with a 43-16 final score in Round 2. 2019 brought redemption for the Choctaws, as they fought through the biting cold and wet, slippery field to put the Tigers down 12-6.
Deshun Murrell scored first blood for the Choctaws with a short run to end a hard drive in the first quarter. Despite missing the extra point kick, the game momentum belonged to the Bibb, and they refused to let it go.
A second quarter touchdown with an unsuccessful two-point conversion put the score at 12-0 as the teams headed to the locker room at the half. The visitors’ side of the stadium – packed with noticeably more fans than the home stands – stayed warm with electrified enthusiasm.
A Greenville touchdown in the third quarter came after a standing “pile” – which seemed to last forever without being blown dead by the whistle – allowed a ball runner to squirt loose like soap and barely beat defenders to the end zone. With a two-point conversion shut down by the Choctaw defense, Bibb continued to control the momentum despite the Tiger’s touchdown.
The Princes of Picks, Mikal Moton and Brody Seales, continued their streak of interceptions as they frustrated the opposing quarterback. Moton pulled down a potentially scoring pass by the Tigers with 1:30 left in the game, effectively sealing the win for the Bibb.
Bibb’s boys face Briarwood Christian Academy this Friday for the 5A State Quarterfinals, at Briarwood. Briarwood took down Marbury in Round 1 of the Playoffs with a score of 42-26, a margin similar to Bibb’s 35-16 defeat of Marbury in October. If Bibb beats the Briarwood Lions, they will move on to face the winner of Ramsay versus Pleasant Grove in the 5A Semifinal.
No doubt the Choctaws can expect a large fan turnout to Highway 119 in Shelby County on Friday.
