“Yeah, that’s how you finish, that’s what I’m talking about,” hollered Loyd Star head coach Adam Smith, as he reached out for high-fives from his offensive line as they came to the sideline in the second half on Friday.

The big guys up front had just led the push on a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore Tristan Fortenberry. Fortenberry had knifed in after picking up 10-yard on the previous carry and his score put LS up 35-0.

Loyd Star dominated the line of scrimmage from the opening snap until the final whistle to earn a 42-6 win over the visiting Pelahatchie Chiefs in the MHSAA 2A first round playoff game between the schools.

Smith brought a single-wing offense when he was hired to coach at his alma mater ahead of last season. It was the same scheme he had previously used at his first head coaching job, leading 1A Ethel High.

Smith thought the system would work well with a program that usually has solid size from year to year in the trenches at Loyd Star.

That’s proven to be true, as the Hornets are a combined 18-4 over these last two years.

“I want any team that I coach to be the more physical team,” said Smith. “It really felt like last year in our regular season finale against Franklin County that the team embraced playing with a chip on their shoulder and that’s something we’ve been able to build on more and more as this season has progressed. Very proud of how focused we were tonight.”

Brandon Jenkins, Parker Satterfield, Brantley Pickett, Micah Townsend, Joe Taylor, and Jake Smith make up the line for the Hornets while Zack Cotton and LaJavian Nelson work as fullbacks.

On Friday, the Hornet offensive front looked like a D-9 Caterpillar Dozer with an experienced operator in the seat and the defense from Pelahatchie, no matter how much they crowded the box, was shoved out of their way like piles of tilled soil.

Fortenberry was especially fired up to score that touchdown after he’d just had his towel snatched off his hip on a previous run. There were times you could hear maniacal laughter coming from the line of Loyd Star, as they appeared to be having great fun on inside run after inside run for large chunks of yards.

Smith has three different ball carriers that he features in his offense as Fortenberry and his fellow sophomores Jordyn Kees and Phillip Ross Spencer all get time with the rock in their hands.

Spencer started the game off with a 2-yard rushing score that came with 8:36 remaining in the opening quarter. Loyd Star got that close after Kees had a run for 30-yards on the previous play.

Pelahatchie got possession to open the game, but Loyd Star took over after three plays when the Chiefs threw an interception to Hornet defensive back Cooper Creel while trying to convert a third-and-long.

The LS defense did not allow the Chiefs room to breathe, as run after run died at the line of scrimmage for the Pelahatchie offense.

Spencer ran in the 2-point conversion on a play similar to the touchdown. The 6-foot-1 Spencer was picking up at least five yards on every snap where he tucked the ball and followed the interior of his line.

Fortenberry has a running style that one might call shifty, as he keeps himself low and bounces around the big guys up front, looking for a crease.

Kees, who ran for over 2,000 yards last season as a freshman, can get it done with power and speed.

His first touchdown had him with a couple Chiefs hanging off his waist as he dragged them into the endzone with 1:44 left in the first quarter to put the Hornets ahead 14-0.

In the second quarter, Kees scored from 10-yards out and bowled over a Chief that tried to tackle him at the goal line.

Later leading 20-0, it looked like Loyd Star would not get the ball again in the second quarter when they turned it over on downs inside the Pelahatchie 10-yard line.

The Chiefs tried to throw the ball a couple times though and ended up punting just outside their own endzone, giving Loyd Star the ball back with great field position and about 40 seconds of clock left.

They made it count, as Spener hit Fortenberry on a 10-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left before halftime to put LS up 26-0 at the break.

The second half was much the same, as Pelahatchie did not score until the final play of the game.

The win was the ninth straight for Smith and his team as Loyd Star now sits 9-2 on the season and will host a 2A playoff second round game for a second straight season.

The opponent in the next round will be the Mize Bulldogs (8-3), who cruised to a 48-6 win over Lake on Friday.

Mize lost to Heidelberg (52-0) but no one else in their region this season. They also lost to Raleigh (21-14) and Wesson (20-7) in 2024.

Former Loyd Star head coach Sid Wheatley, who was in charge of the program when Smith and his assistants John Smith and Dustin Sisco were in school, is the offensive coordinator for the Mize Bulldogs.

The two teams will mirror each other in physicality and offensive desire.

“Coach Wheatley is going to keep it on the ground too and they are going to be a hard-nosed group up front and my guys know that,” said Smith. “There aren’t any bad teams left when you get to the second round of 2A and we’ve got to prepare to come out and give a great effort for our home fans next week.”

“That one next week might even end up being quicker than this game tonight with the way Mize likes to run it,” laughed Smith as the matchup with Pelahatchie was over in one hour and 45 minutes, mainly due to a running clock after Loyd Star went up 42-0.

The winner of the LS and Mize matchup will play either Scott Central (7-4) or Raleigh (10-1) in the 2A quarterfinals.