A team that won one game and couldn’t even finish its season because it didn’t have enough players, makes a big turnaround and reaches the state championship game. Along the way, it endures a surprise midseason coaching change, masters a new style of football and for good measure gets a miracle touchdown to beat its archrival in a playoff game.

It sounds like the pitch for the latest Disney football movie, but it isn’t. It’s a quick summary of the past year of Tallulah Academy football, and on Saturday the Trojans will try to tack on the happy ending by beating Sharkey-Issaquena for the MAIS eight-man championship.

“To come from where we were to now is a big surprise. In spring, if you’d have told me we’d be here I’d have said you’re nuts,” said senior running back Zach Boney. “To come here, it’s just a miracle.”

Tallulah Academy was once a football powerhouse. It won the Class A championship in 1992 and reached the semifinals as recently as 2003. The past decade was forgettable, though. Plagued by constant coaching changes and low turnout, Tallulah had just two winning seasons between 2004 and 2013. It finished 1-8 last season and forfeited the season finale against Trinity because it didn’t have enough healthy players to compete.

In the spring, the school’s administration made the decision to switch from the MAIS’ 11-man division to eight-man and got a waiver to compete in one of the classification’s four districts.

Normally, it would’ve had to play as an independent until the next reclassification cycle — scheduled to begin in 2015 — came around.

“We didn’t even know if we were going to be in a district, let alone play for a championship,” Tallulah headmaster Don Pennington said. “From there, it’s been a magical year.”

Tallulah’s players, who had had little success in the 11-man ranks, said they welcomed the opportunity for a fresh start.

“When we played 11-man, we had enough less talent and had lost for so long that we were beaten before we got there,” senior lineman Parks Watson said. “This year, we were on the same playing field as everybody else. Once that set in, we felt pretty much unstoppable.”

As they sat around the table at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame for Monday’s championship press conference, Watson’s teammates tried to cut off his last comment. There is some truth to it, though.

Utilizing a small but speedy lineup, the Trojans took to the eight-man game like a fish to water. They’ve averaged 52.4 points per game and won eight in a row after an early-season loss to Briarfield.

The success hasn’t come without some drama, though. In October, head coach Greg Bigham left the program to move to Florida with his wife, who had taken a teaching job there. Bigham’s son Justin, who was playing tight end for Ole Miss this time last year, stepped into the void.

The younger Bigham, who was an assistant before his father’s resignation, has guided the Trojans to five straight wins.

“Knowing we had an Ole Miss football player coming in motivated us,” quarterback Mason Todd said.

On the field, there have also been plenty of twists and turns. The Trojans gutted out a 16-14 win over Clinton Christian in their regular-season finale to secure  a playoff spot, won on the road at Christian Collegiate in the first round, and then faced off with Briarfield in a semifinal that provided the highest of drama for their Cinderella script.

The semifinal matchup was a renewal of an old regional rivalry, as well as a chance for the Trojans to avenge their only loss.

“Losing to Briarfield was the best thing that could have happened. It made a lot of guys focus and realize we could compete in this league,” Watson said. “It was nice when it came full circle and we got a chance to redeem ourselves.”

Briarfield, which was undefeated coming into the game, took a 58-36 lead with 8 ½ minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was a perfect opportunity for Tallulah to pack it in and be happy with its season, but it didn’t.

The Trojans scored three straight touchdowns to tie the game. After swapping touchdowns again to bring the score to 66-66, they got a defensive stop and the ball back with 11 seconds left — just enough time for a play that will live forever.

Boney, lined up as a slot receiver, ran a wheel route down the sideline.

“We ran that play once this season and it was a touchdown, so we tried it again,” Todd said.

Todd threw deep to Boney, who caught the ball around the 25-yard line and outran his defender to the end zone. The final horn sounded as he covered the last 10 yards that gave Tallulah the 72-66 win and its spot in this weekend’s state championship game at Mississippi College.

“I turned around and saw the Briarfield player right behind me. My first thought was, ‘Don’t fall,’” Boney said. “I still can’t believe that it happened. Me being a senior and to have that moment, I was in shock. It felt like everything just stopped. Just to have that moment was a miracle.”

It would have been the perfect ending to Tallulah’s worst-to-first feel-good story if not for one thing — there’s still another game to play, and another chapter to write.

On Saturday, Tallulah will play defending state champion Sharkey-Issaquena Academy (13-0), winners of 27 consecutive games and the type of seemingly invincible foe teams of destiny always seem to have to face at the end.

Even if the storybook season has a nightmarish ending, though, the Trojans are proud of what they’ve accomplished. Watson said the team’s success has brought a sense of pride back to a school and community where tradition runs deep. Most of this year’s players have parents and relatives who were part of the great teams of the 1990s.

“It’s not only changed football for me, it’s made going to school fun. People are coming back to games. We probably had 300 fans at our last game,” Watson said. “It’s a good feeling, because some of the dads of our players were part of that. They’re still around and it brings support from them.”

All that’s left for this group of Trojans is to finish the script and really give their supporters something to cheer about.

“It would be a dream come true,” Boney said of winning a state title. “My biggest thing is, I hope the heart and determination we gained this year rubs off on them next year.”