The New Hope High School football team built on perfection in impressive fashion Friday night.
Junior running back Brenton Spann rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Stone Sisson threw for two more scores to lead New Hope to a 33-17 victory against Clarksdale in the Class 5A, Region 1 opener for both teams.
The victory helped push New Hope to 5-0, which is its best start dating back through the 1994 season. It comes one year after New Hope lost to Clarksdale 56-14. But first-year coach Kris Pickle has energized a program that is building confidence every week.
New Hope added to its ledger in an important matchup that figures to get it off on the right foot in what should be a very competitive region behind favorite Oxford.
Spann and Sisson wasted no time getting things started. On the second play from scrimmage, Sisson lobbed a halfback screen to Spann, who caught it and went 61 yards for a touchdown. Spann said the score was so meaningful because he and his teammates wanted to draw first blood to gain momentum.
“We knew it was going to be a fight and be a fourth-quarter game,” he said. “We tried to stay humble, keep up the intensity, and, most importantly, stay together throughout the game.”
But Spann’s big plays didn’t stop there. With New Hope leading 7-3 in the third quarter, all of the momentum had shifted to Clarksdale’s side. But Spann delivered two big scoring plays when his team needed it most. The first was a spectacular 20-yard run in which Spann trucked over two defenders to get into the end zone.
“Brenton is a good football player. He runs hard, tough, and he just doesn’t want to go down,” Pickle said. “He is an instinctive runner, and he’s always looking to score.”
On New Hope’s next possession, Spann took the ball up the middle, juked right to make one defender miss, and turned on his jets for a 67-yard touchdown run down the sideline.
“I really have to give all my credit to my offensive line,” Spann said. “The defense just made a huge stop for us on our side of the 50 yard line, so we knew what we had to do, and on the very next play we got it done.”
Spann’s touchdowns were the only points in the quarter. Spann also had 87 receiving yards and another score.
Not to be outdone, Sisson joined in on the fun, going 6 of 9 for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Sisson managed the game by playing within himself because he knew how important it was for the Trojans to open region play with a victory.
“I didn’t want to force anything,” Sisson said. “My receivers were getting open against their DBs, so I was just throwing it out there to them so they could catch it and make plays.”
Spann and Sisson combined for more than 300 yards and accounted for four of the Trojans’ five touchdowns.
When asked about his play and the play of Spann, Sisson said they have been doing so well because they feed off one another.
“We have each other’s back,” he said. “He picks me up when I’m down and I pick him up when he’s down. That makes it great.”
Sisson and Spann will look to continue their strong play as they head deeper into Class 5A, Region 1 play. As team leaders, they know how important they are to the team. They also know it is going to take a full team effort to finish the season strong and to compete for a state title.
“It feels good to still be undefeated, but we just have to continue to give the glory to God,” Spann said. “I’m thankful for this team. I’m glad we are able to come together as a brotherhood, and we’re all looking at the bigger picture, winning the state championship.”
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