Photo by Undre Smith/ossports
Arlington, TX – Returning to Texas for the first time since defeating DeSoto 47- 29 in 2015, the top-ranked Ascenders viewed this journey as no none sense.
“I was coaching on the team that came here and played DeSoto several years ago,” IMG Academy’s defensive line coach Ernie Logan explained. This is my second time coming to Texas.”
Michigan recruit J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdowns. IMG Academy’s defense forced four turnovers and recorded three sacks in its 41-14 defeat of Duncanville in a battle of nationally ranked teams at Globe Life Park on Saturday evening.
For IMG Academy (5-0), its offense put up the points. Still, its defense grabbed the national spotlight with a stone wall effort from sophomore defensive linemen Malik Bryant, Dominick James, linebackers Bjoum Mayes, junior Terrell Foster, Xavion Sorey, defensive back Markevious Brown. Bryant used his quickness to record two of the team’s three sacks. Sorey added the third sack. It also came up with several stops for loss yards, no gain, and converted two of the Panthers turnover into ten points.
“They (IMG Academy) knew this was a business trip,” coach Logan admitted. “We didn’t come down here to play. We let them site see a little, but at the end of the day, they understand this is a business trip, and they are mature enough to handle that.”
With protection up front, quarterback McCarthy exposed Duncanville’s secondary to the tune of 256 yards on 19/30 attempts and three touchdowns. Ari Allen had seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
The national matchup regarded as a must-see game watched No 2 Duncanville win the coin toss but deferred, kicking the ball to IMG. The Ascenders drove 62 yards in seven plays under the guidance of McCarthy. The accurate throwing quarterback covered the slip running back Lovasea Carroll loss yards on the next play by finding receiver Malik McClain, who broke free from several defenders down the left sideline to the Panther’s 11-yard line. Two incompletions later, kicker Gavin Marshall booted a 31-yard field goal to give the Ascenders a 3-0 lead with 9:52 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers (1-1) answered with a five-play, 80-yard possession. Receiver Chris Hicks picked up 20 yards on his first carry. Running back, Da’Myrion Coleman ripped off 15 yards to the IMG 45. Two plays later, Baylor recruit Roderick Daniels, Jr. raced 36 yards to the end zone, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead following Eduardo Galvan’s extra point kick, 7-3.
“We came out and stopped them,” said Panthers defensive end Omari Abor. “Our offense was a little sluggish. But our offense came out and scored on the first series. But as a team, we got to get better.”
“We played against a great Duncanville team,” Logan mentioned. “My hats off to them. They have some great players and coaches.”
On its ensuing drive, IMG orchestrated a 75-yard frame. Junior tailback Kaytron Allen bounced up the middle of the Panthers defense for 14 yards to the 39. McCarthy covered the remaining 61 yards, spotting Shawn Miller all alone down the field’s right side. Marshall’s bonus kick pushed its lead back to three, 10-7.
“When you play good people, you can’t give them anything they’re already good,” Duncanville coach Reginald Samples said. “So you don’t need to help them. We helped them too much.”
Once again, Duncanville moved down the field behind quarterback Grayson James, whose short toss to receiver Suav Persley accumulated 21 yards. Following, receiver Lontrell Turner grabbed a pass from James at the Ascenders 36. James miss-handled the snap from center on the next play, falling on the loose ball at the Duncanville 46.
The Panthers forced a turnover after McCarthy delivery to McClain, who got waylaid by causing the ball to come loose at midfield as Duncanville recovered with 2:55 left in the first quarter.
Then James, who finished 17/27 with 215 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, threw a pass to Daniels in IMG’s territory, but Persley’s holding infraction negated progression. That pushed the ball back to the Duncanville 47. Two plays later, Daniels reeled in a pass from James at the Ascenders 43, but the possession would halt later after IMG’s defense stopped Daniels six yards behind the scrimmage line ending the first quarter.
Duncanville watched the second quarter turned into a nightmare. James suffered his second sack of the day, then a delay of game, and finally, punter Galvan couldn’t get a handle on the ball from the long snapper, giving IMG possession at the Panthers 40 yard line.
The loss marks the worst for the Panthers since losing 41-14 to Mansfield in 2015.
The mistakes pile against the Panthers. Facing fourth and seven with the Ascenders field goal unit on the field, a hard count drew Panthers defensive lineman Kaden Saey offsides. That prompted Coach Acosta to send his offense back on to the field, now a manageable fourth and two from the 18, viewed Allen scoot four yards to pick up the first down and McCarthy capped it with a 14-yard touchdown toss to receiver Jacorey Brooks, who ran a textbook post pattern, 17-7.
“We gave them too many short fields,” says coach Samples. “They made one drive all the way down the field and kicked a field goal. All their other touchdowns early in the first half were because of the mistakes that we made.”
The opportunity presented itself, yet Duncanville would come up empty again. With less than four minutes left in the first half, two passes from James landed the Panthers in IMG territory at the 46. A few plays later, 6’4″ junior receiver Jerrale Powers grabbed a pass that looked to be a touchdown. Officials ruled it out of bounds, setting up Galvan’s 33-yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide left.
“There were a few missed calls, we made a few mistakes,” Panthers offensive lineman Savion Byrd admitted. “But those types of things happen, and to be honest, I believe it gave us a wake-up call.”
Duncanville dug a deeper hole, turning the ball over on its first two frames of the third quarter, which the Ascenders turned into ten points and led, 27-7, with 6:48 to go in the quarter.
“We’re not used to playing from behind,” Samples shared. “We lost our composure in a lot of those situations. That’s something, that’s my job. I will take the blame for that, and I make sure we get the composure taken care of.”
The Ascenders had its fair share of mistakes, though it didn’t prove costly.