SEBASTOPOL — The West Lowndes High School football team couldn’t slow down Sebastopol in a key Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A, Region 3 matchup Friday night.
The Bobcats scored three second-quarter touchdowns and racked up 30 first-half points en route to a 51-26 victory.
With the loss, West Lowndes (4-6, 3-4 region) was eliminated from the postseason. West Lowndes will end the regular season Nov. 7 with a region game at Noxapater (4-5, 3-3).
Sebastopol (5-4, 4-2) rushed the ball 60 times for 435 yards and seven touchdowns. The Bobcats added 48 passing yards for 483 yards of total offense.
Melvin Triplett led the way with 22 rushes for 164 yards and five touchdowns. Markel Jones rushed 21 times for 174 yards. Josh Crutcher ran for 46 yards and a touchdowns, while Colton Tharp added 41 yards and another score.
For West Lowndes, Daniel Davis was 10 of 21 for 150 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tyshon Rogers had four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown (9 yards), while Rontavis Clark had three catches for 43 yards. Joshua King caught a 24-yard touchdown, while Trae Williams and Marcus Farmer had catches for 17 and 16 yards, respectively.
Clark rushed four times for 38 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown. Davis ran eight times for 32 yards. Williams had five rushes for 19 yards. Clark also had a 39-yard punt return touchdown to finish with 177 all-purpose yards.
Harris had 10 tackles, including three assists; Jamarquis Jefferson had nine tackles, including two assists and a 10-yard sack; Lavonte Porter and Krayveon Harris had six solo tackles and three assists; Tyshon Rogers had four solo tackles and four assists; Tyrese Wells had three solo tackles, three assists, and an 8-yard sack; Trae Williams had six tackles; Lamarion Fair and Clark had five tackles, with two assists. Roy Miller had an interception.
n Leake Academy 42, Oak Hill Academy 28: At Madden, the Raiders lost out on their bid for the MAIS Class AA, District 2 championship.
The teams were tied at 14 early in the third quarter but Oak Hill Academy could not get the ground game going.
“They totally stopped the run,” Oak Hill Academy coach Tony Stanford said. “It has something that we have done well all season. In this game, we couldn’t do anything on the ground. Riley had a great night in the air but couldn’t get enough stops.”
Riley Pierce was 18 of 28 for 304 yards with three touchdowns. Blake Thomas caught two of touchdown passes, while Drew Riley had the other. Riley also had a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
“We made too many mistakes to win the game,” Stanford said. “Having to throw most of the night was unusual too. We played hard and had a chance.”
Oak Hill Academy (5-5, 3-2 district) finished in a two-way tie for third in the district standings. However, the Raiders earned a Class AA playoff bid as one of two wild-card participants in the 16-team field.
It is the third-straight playoff appearance for Oak Hill Academy.
“It is good to get in because the kids really deserved to get in,” Stanford said. “It is very hard to beat a team twice in the same season. At least from my experience, I have always found it difficult. It is good to play somebody you are familiar with. But you don’t like having to beat a really good team for the second time in a season.”
Canton Academy (8-2, 4-1) won the district. However, Oak Hill Academy took a 29-14 win two weeks ago in West Point.
Canton Academy will play host to the first-round playoff game at 7 Friday night.
n Coldwater 38, Hamilton 12: At Hamilton, the Lions couldn’t generate enough offense to grab the Class 1A, Region 1 win.
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Hamilton (6-3, 4-2 region) is in a three-way tie for third in the region with Coldwater (4-5, 4-2) and Smithville (6-3, 4-2). The showdown at Smithville will be Friday night.
Coldwater began the scoring in the first quarter, when Fabian Jones hit Ryan Harrison for a 9-yard touchdown. Hamilton responded with five minutes left in the half, as Byron Butler hit Keshon Heard for an 80-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter. The Lions still trailed 8-6 after the conversion failed.
Coldwater expanded the lead on its next possession, as Kendarious Sandridge scored on a 2-yard run and rushed for the conversion. The Cougars closed the half with two monster defensive plays. Jamarcus Callicutt had a 28-yard fumble return for touchdown. Sandridge followed with an interception on the Coldwater 22-yard line to end the half and protect a 22-6 halftime lead.
Early in the third quarter, Butler hit Heard for a 30-yard scoring strike. However, the Lions didn’t score again.
Jones hit Harrison for an 18-yard touchdown and later kept for a 7-yard score to close Coldwater’s scoring.
n Pelahatchie 68, West Oktibbeha 20: At Pelahatchie, the Timberwolves were eliminated from playoff consideration with this Class 1A, Region 3 road loss.
West Oktibbeha (1-7, 1-5 region) received a 12-yard rushing score and 80-yard kickoff return touchdown by Tyshon Spencer. Terry Tate also had a rushing score (20 yards).
Pelahatchie (8-2, 6-1) built a 55-0 halftime lead.
West Oktibbeha will play host to Ethel (0-10, 0-6) in another region game Friday night.
n North River Christian 30, Central Academy 12: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Vikings couldn’t protect a 12-8 lead entering the fourth quarter and dropped their non-district road game.
“We played extremely hard on both sides of the ball,” Central Academy coach Will Walker said. “Our offense put up a lot of yards tonight, but the Charger defense stepped up and stopped us a couple of times on offense and we weren’t able to get in the end zone inside the 20 on a couple of occasions tonight which really hurt us.”
Central Academy (6-2) led 6-0 at halftime after Dalton Outz hit Wyatt Norris for a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
A 40-yard run by Leshon Hill put the Vikings back on top 12-8 at the end of third quarter. A pair of long pass plays from Outz to Hill and Nelson Robbins set up the touchdown.
North River Christian (3-5) closed within 12-10 on a safety. The Chargers then forced a pair of turnovers and scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes of play to rally to the victory.
“The defense held strong all night for us, though, and we had a 12-8 lead and then an 18-12 ballgame until the final few minutes,” Walker said. “We are proud of all our players and our team’s effort and will continue to work to get better.”
Hill had 227 all-purpose yards, including 193 rushing on 12 carries and 34 yards receiving. Outz was 3 of 7 for 34 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 35 yards on five carries. Norris had six completions for 69 yards and one 12-yard touchdown reception. Robbins had three receptions for 38 yards, while Jacob Sellers had a 5-yard reception.
William Dawkins led Central Academy with nine solo tackles, eight assists, and a fumble recovery. Hill had six solo tackles, four assists, and two interceptions. Dylan Manning had five solos, six assists and an assist on a blocked extra point attempt. Preston Dawkins and Trent House each had seven tackles, with two assists.
Jack Van Devender and Joel Riddel each had six tackles, with two assists. Robbins and Wyatt Norris had each had three solo tackles and two assists. Jacob Sellers had two tackles and an assist on the blocked extra point. Outz had three tackles, with two assists. Norris and House each had a fumble recovery, while Robbins had an interception.
Central Academy (2-1 in district) will play host to Kemper Academy (7-1, 3-0) in Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Eight-Man District 1 action Friday night. With a win, the Vikings could have a shot at the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.