Oak Forest Academy (La.) wins first MAIS football title since 2014
Oak Forest Academy (La.) could have lost hope early in the season. The Yellow Jackets were 0-3, with blowout losses to Parklane Academy and Adams County Christian, but coach Drew Misita was convinced his team was special.
The fifth-year coach was right.
Oak Forest Academy finished the season on a 10-game winning streak, including a 24-14 victory over Simpson Academy in the MAIS Class 5A championship Friday at Jackson Academy. It's the program's first title since 2014.
The Yellow Jackets won each game by nearly 17 points per game.
"It's been so long," Misita said. "It's the third in the school's history and it just means so much because these kids wanted it so bad. I just can't talk more about the kids. Our coaches believe in our guys. We said we were the best 0-3 team we had seen. We knew we could bounce back and were able to rattle off ten straight."
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Oak Forest Academy opened the game with a 5-yard touchdown run from Stiles Guidry. The junior had 110 yards of total offense and two TDs.
Guidry had his second TD of the game on the following drive with a 11-yard scoring pass to Tanner Spears to give Oak Forest Academy a 14-0 lead with 9:54 remaining in the first half.
"Stiles did such a great job executing and Tanner had the perfect route," Misita said. "We practice it all week. The guys just stepped up. It's all about those kids.
"They're the ones that have to go out there every day, execute, do what we asked them to practice, push the sled and be in shape. I'm speechless."
The Yellow Jacket defense did a great job keeping Simpson Academy's Carter Cockrell under wraps in the first half. Oak Forest Academy focused on forcing him sideways instead of being a downhill runner, according to Misita.
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Simpson ran for 2,137 yards and 27 TDs in 11 games, but didn't come alive until a 62-yard TD run with 8:35 left in the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets responded immediately with a 9-yard TD run from Lawson Hendry to extend the Oak Forest Academy lead to 24-7.
The senior had 17 carries for 115 yards and a TD.
Hendrey remembers the coaching staff reminding the team how talented and connected they were after the 0-3 start. That had to hold them together to bounce back.
"(Coach Misita) said we got a lot of heart," Hendrey said. "We love each other. We get better every week and that's what makes us a family. That's what makes us special."
"I knew from the very start, from when we started in the spring, I knew we were something special. At first it was kind of hard to see. I knew everybody was doubting us and I knew that we had to stick through it and we would win."
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Oak Forest Academy (La.) wins first MAIS football title since 2014
