For every step forward, the New Hope High School football team took a step back in its 42-13 loss to Clarksdale on Friday night in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A, Region 1 opener.
The list of miscues and missed opportunities was lengthy: two scoreless possessions that reached the Clarksdale 10-yard line, 13 penalties for 115 yards, and six turnovers.
Still, late in the third quarter, despite three turnovers at that point, the Trojans trailed 20-13 after Thomas Stevens hit Jeremy Tate for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
Then, Clarksdale cornerback Esaias Furdge had three of his four interceptions in the remaining 20 minutes to help seal the win.
“I don’t know if it was so much (a lack of discipline) … we had the one personal foul penalty and everything else was holding and blocks in the back,” New Hope coach Kris Pickle said. “They called a tight game — for both sides — and you have to roll with that. Holding penalties are gonna happen, but it just seems like it caught us tonight at the wrong time. Every time we got the ball and something happened, it seems like we were chasing the chains all night long. Against a good defense like this, against a good football team, you can’t do that.”
The Clarksdale defense has been good and then some. The Wildcats (5-1, 1-0 region) entered the game fresh off consecutive shutouts. They allowed only 12 points in four-straight wins after losing to Tupelo in their season opener.
Pickle, though, lamented the plays his team left on the field, including two drives that could have established momentum or recaptured it. On the opening drive, New Hope mounted went 12 plays after started at its 33, as quarterback Thomas Stevens completed 6 of 8 passes. But TJ Stephens ran 12 yards before fumbling at the Clarksdale 8. In the fourth quarter, buoyed by a 57-yard pitch-and-catch by Stevens and Andre Erby, the Trojans reached the Wildcats’ 8 but squandered an opportunity to pull within a touchdown when Furdge intercepted Stevens.
“The wheels kind of fell off after that,” Pickle said. “You gotta look at every game and learn from every single experience. We kept playing hard. I’m not disappointed in that regard, but we have to keep executing. That’s the thing we have to learn. We’ll watch film to see where we can do better from an execution standpoint.”
The Trojans (3-2, 0-1) developed an early rhythm in the passing game, mainly on short to intermediate passes, but Clarksdale tightened up down the field and forced Stevens to hold the ball longer than expected. The pass rush often forced passes that were off target.
Erby said the Trojans practiced against man coverage for most of the week, but Clarksdale primarily played cover-3, content to let the Trojans work underneath. For much of the game, New Hope exploited it well, as Stevens was 21 of 40 for 324 yards and a score, but Furdge’s presence on the back end spoiled the performance.
Furdge lined on Tate and Terryonte Thomas.
“During film this week, we knew who (Furdge) was from last year,” Stevens said. “We weren’t gonna back down because of him, and we were still going to take our shots. I just made some bad throws, bad decisions. The last one, that was on me. I thought I could throw far and couldn’t get it around.”
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 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.