PURVIS – Purvis and Seminary struggled through a defensive battle, a lightning delay and a pouring rain, but the Tornadoes topped the weather and the visiting Bulldogs 12-7 with stellar plays on defense Friday night to capture their homecoming victory.
A 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Steven Jaciuk and a pickoff that Jesse Johnson tipped to himself to preserve the victory sparked the Purvis defense. Johnson also accounted for the only Tornado offensive points when he outjumped the Seminary defense in the end zone for a 12-yard fourth-quarter touchdown.
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After a scoreless first half, Seminary (3-3) drove for its only score to open the third quarter, going 64 yards in 11 plays with 7:04 to go in the third stanza. Then the Tornadoes (2-3) limited Seminary to only one first down the rest of the way, as the defense drew praise from Purvis coach Perry Wheat.
“I thought our defense played pretty well,” he said. “In the first drive, they got a couple of drops on us and after that we kind of settled in. I thought our kids played well and played hard on defense, getting pressure on their quarterback. I thought our kicking team was pretty good and I thought our punting game was excellent.”
Wheat praised Seminary’s opening drive in the second half that got the Bulldogs’ points for the game.
“They had a good drive and that’s what they do,” he said. “They’re a wing-T team and depend on ball control. But we got tough and stopped them down there.”
The Tornadoes offense lacked a spark Friday night, but Wheat gave a lot of credit for that to the Bulldogs’ defensive line.
“I was disappointed in our offense tonight,” he said. “But their defensive line is pretty good. We just didn’t do a good job of shooting out of the backfield. You can’t do a lot sometimes.”
Wheat said he was glad to come away with a victory, despite the low score.
“Especially during homecoming,” he said.
John Bolton led the Tornadoes in rushing, carrying 22 times for 73 yards. Trailing far behind was quarterback Ty Howell with 12 yards on eight carries.
Seminary had the offensive star of the game with Jordan Barrett’s 21 carries for 112 yards, while Dalvin Martin added 60 yards on eight carries and Marquis Crosby had 37 yards on 13 carries.
The Tornadoes’ punting game was stellar as Johnson booted the ball seven times for an average of 45.1 yards. While Purvis only committed four penalties for 30 yards, Seminary was flagged 10 times for 90 yards.
Purvis 12,
Seminary 7
Score by Quarter
Seminary 0 0 7 0— 7
Purvis 0 0 6 6—12
SCORING SUMMARY
Third Quarter
S—Mobley, 1 run, (kick successful), 7:04.
P—Jaciuk, 40 interception return (kick unsuccessful), 1:00.
Fourth Quarter
P—Johnson, 12 pass from Howell, (2-point unsuccessful), 8:55.
TEAM STATISTICS
S P
First Downs 12 7
Rushes-Yards 48-227 34-76
Att-Comp-Int. 15-2-2 11-3-0
Passing Yards 8 52
Total Plays-Yards 63-235 45-131
Punts-Avg. 6-34.2 7-45.1
Fumbles-Lost 3-0 1-1
Penalties 10-90 4-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Seminary: Barrett 21-112, TD; Martin 8-60, Crosby 13-37, Hargrove 1-11, Husband 1-8, Hatten 1-2, Miller 1-0, Mobley 2-(-3).
Purvis: Bolton22-73, Howell 8-12, Bennett 1-2, Jaciuk 2-(-2), Johnson 1-(-9).
Passing
Seminary: Miller 2-of-15, 8 yds., 2 INTs.
Purvis: Howell 3-of-10, 52 yds., TD. Johnson 0-of-1.
Receiving
Seminary: Moore 1-3, Hargrove 1-5.
Purvis: Johnson 2-45 TD, Bolton 1-7.
