By Henry Goolsby
Clarion Ledger Staff Writer

TAYLORSVILLE -- Mize found itself deadlocked Friday night in what turned out to be a thriller against Smith County rival Taylorsville.
     The Bulldogs, defending Class 1A champs and ranked No. 1 in the 1A poll, came in as heavy underdogs against the Tartars. Taylorsville, ranked No. 2 in the 2A poll, won last year's game 35-0.
     But after a hard-hitting battle that lasted two overtimes, Mize surprisingly upset the Tartars 15-14 before an overflow crowd of 3,500 at Tartar Field.
     Mize coach Kenny Robinson entered the game with his starting running back, Junior Curtis Keyes, suffering from dehydration.
     "We talked about last year," Robinson said. "I challenged the boys not to give up tonight, no matter what happened.
     "I said, 'I don't care what happens. Give me a full ballgame.'
     "They did that, and I'm proud of every one of them."
     Robinson was especially proud of keyes, who didn't rack up big statistics but made several key plays, offensively and defensively.
     "He had strep throat so bad he could even hardly breathe," Robinson said. "We took him to the hsoptial (prior to the game), and they gave him three bags of fluid.
     "He got out of the hospital at 5 o'clock, and he said there was no way he wasn't going to play. I never thought he could do it, but he played the whole game."
     Keyes finished with six carries for 40 yeards.
     Junior Jason Ducksworth was the main offensive weapon on the night. He paced the Bulldogs, 2-0, with 96 yeard on 23 carries.
     Last week, Duksworth ran over Raleigh for 198 yards on 23 carries.
     On Friday, Ducksworth gave the Bulldogs their first touchdown in the first overtime. He scored on nice zig-zag run from a yard out.
     Ducksworth also ran in a 2-point conversion, tying the game 8-8 and forcing a second overtime.
     Mize quarterback Jay Johnson, a junior, gave the Bulldogs the go-ahead touchdown in the second extra period on a 3-yard keeper.
     Taylorsville's Elbert Brown scored his second rushing touchdown, giving the Tartars a chance to force a third overtime.
    But Tartars quarterback Ricky Brown was dropped for a loss in an attempt to force a third overtime.
    "We knew Mize was good," Taylorsville coach Shannon White said. "They've always been good. I wasn't surprised at the way they played."
     The first half was pretty much a defensive battle. Neither team was able to penetrate the red zone on offense. Ducksworth was held to 17 rushing yards after the first two quarters.
 © 2001Clarion Ledger