ETHEL — The West Lowndes High School football team snapped a four-game losing streak Friday night with a 40-8 victory against Ethel in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A, Region 3 game.
West Lowndes (2-4, 1-2 region) won for the first time since opening the season with a 46-12 victory against Montgomery County. The Panthers did it with a balanced attack and a strong defensive effort.
“It was good to get another win,” West Lowndes coach Anthony King said. “We were close last week (in a 28-14 loss to French Camp). This week, were able to finish the game. Offensively, we limited our mistakes and did a lot of things well.”
Trae Williams led the way with 13 carries for 175 rushing yards and a touchdown. Rontavia Clark rushed four times for 16 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Davis had five carries for 42 yards and a two-point conversion. Lamarion Fair had two carries for 13 yards and a two-point conversion.
Davis was 9 of 14 for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Jay Ellis had four receptions for 95 yards, with touchdown catches of 5 and 69 yards. Clark had three receptions for 43 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown catch. Williams had a 32-yard catch, and Josh King had a 16-yard catch.
Ethel (0-6, 0-2 region) finished with 149 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown run in the final 30 seconds.
For West Lowndes, Tyshon Rogers had seven tackles, including five solos, and a fumble recovery. The senior linebacker has 45 tackles, four interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. Williams added six tackles, with a quarterback hurry, a sack, and a fumble recovery. Fair had seven tackles, while Clark had six stops and an interceptions. Krayveon Harris had six tackles and a sack. Tyrese Wells had three tackles, including one for loss, and a sack. Lavonta Porter had six tackles, including one for loss.
West Lowndes has 24 takeaways on defense, including 10 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries. The interception total leads the state, based on schools reporting to MaxPreps.
West Lowndes will play host to region rival West Oktibbeha (0-5, 0-3 region) on Friday night.
n Aberdeen 42, Corinth 7: At Corinth, the Class 3A Bulldogs had the better end of a showdown against one of Class 4A’s favorites.
Aberdeen (4-2) managed one touchdown in losses to Class 5A New Hope and Class 4A Noxubee County. The Bulldogs have bounced back strong with 99 points in their final two tuneup games before entering Class 3A, Region 4 play Friday at home against Nettleton.
“We have a played a lot different in the last two weeks,” Aberdeen coach Mark Bray said. “We were at a point where we had to do some things a lot better to win games. The kids have really responded. Everybody has worked hard and taken their game to a higher level.”
Aberdeen quarterback Josh Williams was 12 of 18 for 240 yards and a touchdown. He rushed 13 times for 73 yards and scored four touchdowns.
“We don’t have a lot of seniors,” Bray said. “Josh has really taken this team on his shoulders. He carries everybody in one direction and really leads the way.”
Aberdeen scored on its first possession, when C.J. Williams scored on a 1-yard run. From there, the Bulldogs exploded for 20 points in the second quarter thanks in part to two turnovers. Josh Williams scored on a 1-yard and on a 27-yard run after a C.J. Williams interception. A 3-yard run by Josh Williams ran the advantage to 28-7 at halftime.
In the second half, Aberdeen used a 4-yard touchdown run by Josh Williams to extend its lead. Josh Williams then found Jerrick Orr on a 33-yard touchdown pass to complete the scoring. Tyreke Gates, B.J. Williams and Orr had two-point conversions for Aberdeen.
n Victory Christian 55, East Memorial 14: At Columbus, Anthony Sharp had three touchdowns and played a strong game on defense, and Cody Anthony had two touchdown catches to help the Eagles (5-0, 2-0 Christian Football Association) win on Homecoming.
“I was very pleased with our defensive play,” Victory Christian coach Chris Hamm said. “The most athletic team we have played all year. They ran spread all night a very good quarterback and tall, fast receivers.”
Sharp, who had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery, had 10 carries for 84 yards. He also was 2 of 3 for 26 yards. He caught six passes for 116 yards. Sharp had touchdown catches of 13 and 20 yards. He added an 85-yard kick return and two two-point conversions to Will Jones.
Cody Bolton had 11 carries for 74 yards. He caught four passes for 85 yards. He had a 17-yard touchdown catch and a 14-yard touchdown run.
Anthony had touchdown catches of 5 and 35 yards. Reed Fulgham was 9 of 12 for 263 yards and five touchdowns. He added a conversion pass to Anthony.
Jones and Bo McCray had nine tackles. Jones also had an 80-yard kick return for a score.
“We only gave up two touchdowns, and one was on a busted assignment,” Hamm said. “Reed, Cody and Anthony played very well on both sides of the ball. Very solid team win.
Victory Christian will play next week against New Life in Prattville, Alabama.
“I am proud of the team,” Hamm said. “We have shown great mental and physical toughness and great heart to this point in the season.”
n Central Academy 46, Calvary Christian 6: At Macon, the Vikings kept rolling Friday night against the Cougars (1-5) of Meridian.
The win improved the Vikings’ record to 5-0 under first-year head coach Will Walker. It is the team’s best start since 2011.
With the win, the Vikings also assured themselves of their first winning season in three years.
“We played good solid team football tonight on both sides of the ball,” Walker said. “The defense continued to shut down the opposing offense and a very good Calvary team, and the offense continued to perform well both with the run and the pass tonight. I can’t say enough about our senior leaders, our solid team play from all our players, and our coaches, who continue to work hard to get our team ready each week to play. We’ll continue to work hard as we start back district play the next two weeks against upcoming quality district opponents.”
The Vikings shut down the Cougars all night, while the offense continued to look impressive on all cylinders.
An interception by Nelson Robbins ended the Cougars’ first series. Robbins returned the football to the Cougars’ 35. From there, senior fullback Colby Robbins delivered the first score to give the Vikings a 6-0 lead after the failed two-point attempt.
William Dawkins led Central Academy with 12 tackles. He also had a fumble recovery. Robbins added nine tackles, while Leshon Hill had nine and Jack Van Devender had eight.
Following the first score, the Vikings held the Cougars on downs before Hill scampered 40 yards for a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion run by Colby Robbins to give the Vikings a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
Hill then followed with a 69-yard touchdown run. A two-point attempt by Nelson Robbins made it 20-0.
The Central Academy defense continued to stymie Calvary Christian in the first half. After a fumble recovery by Nelson Robbins, senior quarterback Dalton Outz completed a 20-yard pass to Wyatt Norris, which set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Outz and a two-point conversion pass to Nelson Robbins to make it 28-0.
The Vikings then held the Cougars short near the goal line, and after taking over on downs, Outz completed a pass to Nelson Robbins, who outran the defense 64 yards for the touchdown. A two-point conversion pass from Outz to Norris made it 38-0.
The Cougars scored just before the half on a short touchdown run but failed on the two point attempt to make it 38-6 at halftime.
The only scoring in the second half came on a 22-yard run by Outz and a two-point conversion run by Hill.
Hill led the Vikings with 206 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns. Outz had three carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns, Colby Robbins had four carries for 43 yards and a touchdown, and Nelson Robbins had three carries for 25 yards.
Outz also had 114 yards passing with a touchdown to Nelson Robbins, who caught two passes for 94 yards.
Central Academy, which is 1-0 in Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Eight-Man District 1, will have next week off. It will take to the road for three-straight weeks as it looks to keep momentum going. Central Academy will travel to Calhoun Academy on Oct. 10, followed by a trip to Pheba to take on district rival Hebron Christian on Oct. 17.
n Choctaw County 38, Caledonia 36: At Caledonia, the Confederates lost their third-straight game on a 34-yard field goal by David Ramirez as time expired.
In a game which featured no punts, Caledonia (3-3) rallied from a 35-21 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Henry scored on a 5-yard run with less than five minutes remaining. Caledonia then went back on offense after recovering an onside kick. Henry again did the scoring honors as he scored from 7 yards with 46 seconds left in regulation. Henry also kept on the two-point conversion for a 36-35 lead.
Choctaw County (4-2) answered as D.J. Riley caught a 45-yard “Hail Mary” pass to place the Chargers on the Confederates 25-yard line with 12 seconds left. An 8-yard quarterback keep moved the ball to the Caledonia 17 and set up the game-winning field goal.
Henry scored all five touchdowns for Caledonia.
Caledonia will play host to Houston (3-3) on Friday in its Class 4A, Region 4 opener.
n French Camp 47, West Oktibbeha 20: At Maben, the defending Class 1A state champion Panthers have quietly started 3-0 in Class 3A, Region 1 play.
“We didn’t play a complete game,” West Oktibbeha coach Danny Crawford said. “We have some talented players, but we just can’t put everything together for four quarters. We have a stretch where we play well. Then we have a stretch where we have some turnovers and really struggle to know what we want to do.
“It’s all about consistency and being able to stay true to our identity. We can’t keep making the same mistakes because that is what really hurts our chances.”
French Camp (3-3, 3-0 region) scored on its first two possessions, as Aaron Witt scored on a 3-yard run and Luke McKnight followed with a 43-yard touchdown run. Grovonte Stewart returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown that made it 19-0.
French Camp extended the lead to 40-6 at halftime. Witt scored on a 4-yard run before the Panthers chipped in with two more defensive scores — a Noah Davenport fumble recovery in the end zone and an Isaiah Miller 45-yard interception return.
West Oktibbeha (0-5, 0-3 region) broke up the shutout when Lysanius Ford caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tyshon Spencer in the final minute of the half.
In the second half, the Timberwolves used a 55-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Hughes to Quntae Bell. Hughes then found Spencer on a 77-yard scoring play.
French Camp’s final touchdown saw McKnight hit Emmanuel Nawi from 60 yards out.
West Oktibbeha will remain in region play Friday night at West Lowndes (2-4, 1-2 region).
n Noxapater 42, East Oktibbeha 8: At Crawford, the Titans remained winless in region play.
For East Oktibbeha (0-5, 0-3 region), the lone touchdown was a 4-yard run by John Kincaid.
East Oktibbeha will play Friday at French Camp (3-3, 3-0 region).
n Hebron Christian 38, Delta Academy 14: At Pheba, the Eagles scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away in MAIS Eight-Man action.
“We played really well,” Hebron Christian coach David Foster said. “We really hit well all night long. We were able to run and throw. We had some time to pass. We talked to the linemen (Emerson Shinn, Jessie Moore, and Josiah Parrish) and told them it was up to them whether we ran the ball or passed it. We just had to have them block to be able to throw the ball.
“I thought they really responded to the challenge. They did a good job of blocking.”
For Hebron Christian (3-2), Landon Hill had six rushes for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Hill had 207 all-purpose yards, including seven receptions for 53 yards and a 17-yard kick return. Channing Tapley had eight rushes for 50 yards and two two-point conversion runs. Collin Moore had four carries for 50 yards and a touchdown, with five catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Peyton Griffin had three catches for 57 yards. Lucas Foster had two rushes for 10 yards.
Tapley was 15 of 22 for 138 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for two two-point conversions. Moore caught one conversion, while Griffin caught the other.
Hill started the scoring with touchdown runs of 59 and 45 yards as Hebron Christian quickly built a 14-0 lead. An 8-yard scoring play from Tapley to Moore and two-point run by Tapley put the hosts up 22-6 at halftime.
In the fourth quarter, Hebron Christian expanded its lead with a 30-yard run by Hill (conversion from Tapley to Griffin) and 36-yard run by Moore (conversion run by Tapley).
Hill led the way with 21 tackles and an interception. Tapley had 15 tackles and a sack. Collin Moore had 14 tackles and two sacks. Brian Eaddy had 14 tackles, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. Jessie Moore had 11 tackles, a sack, and fumble recovery. Foster had 14 tackles and Griffin had 12. Daniel Coggins also had eight tackles.
Hebron Christian will begin district play Friday night at winless Strider Academy.
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