Victory Christian advances to championship game

The Victory Christian football field was marshy Friday night, so coach Chris Hamm didn’t expect the passing game to have much of an impact.

Yet every time the rain increased, Parker Eaves connected with Tyler Jones for another long touchdown pass.

Eaves hooked up with Jones for three of his four touchdown passes on the night to lead Victory Christian to a 46-6 victory against Victory Millbrook in the semifinals of the Christian Football Association playoffs.

East Webster doesn’t allow a yard in beating West Lowndes

The East Webster High School football team shut out West Lowndes on Friday night in more ways than one.

Not only did the Wolverines blank the Panthers 24-0, but they also held them without a yard on offense.

The Wolverines (5-6, 1-4 Class 2A, Region 2, District 4) allowed negative-21 yards total offense in a dominating victory that put them in position to earn a playoff victory.

Amory rallies in second half to beat Louisville

AMORY –– The Amory High School football team scored all of its points in the second half Friday night and rallied to beat Louisville 19-14 in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A, Region 4 game on Friday.

Amory (3-8, 3-2 region) rallied in the second half after trailing 14-0 at halftime.

Joreel Freeman scored the winning touchdown on a 5-yard run with 2 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

EMCC football team advances to title game

SCOOBA — The No. 7 East Mississippi Community College football team secured its first trip to the MACJC state football championship game with a 26-16 semifinal-round victory against No. 19 Jones County on Saturday afternoon at Sullivan-Windham Field.

EMCC (9-1) will try to avenge its only loss of the season when it plays host to No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast at 2 p.m. next week in Scooba.

MGCCC defeated Coahoma 58-21 in the other semifinal. The Bulldogs beat the Lions 43-26 on Sept. 17.

Johnson keys exhibition win for MSU basketball team

STARKVILLE –– Ravern Johnson’s 23 points sparked a convincing 82-54 win by the 18th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs against the Oklahoma City Stars on Saturday afternoon in the exhibition opener for both teams at Humphrey Coliseum.

Johnson, a junior, drained 6-of-10 three-pointers, shot 8 of 15 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds.

“I started out slow, but I knew eventually if I kept shooting they would fall,” Johnson said. “Most of our shots today were wide-open shots, and we were very fortunate to not rush any.”

Nobel Laureate in Economics to speak at MSU Nov. 12

The 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics who also was lead author of a report on climate change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize will speak Nov. 12 at Mississippi State University.

Saturday walk at Propst Park benefits Life Choices Center

The Life Choices Pregnancy Care Center will host its annual Walk for Life fundraiser Nov. 7 at Propst Park in Columbus. This year’s event features a walk/run option.

Author Neil White to speak at Bryan’s Luncheon with Books

Bryan Public Library in West Point will host author Neil White Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Luncheon With Books. The noon luncheon is $6 at the library located at 338 Commerce St.

CHS-Olive Branch game postponed

The Columbus High School football team’s game at Olive Branch High School has been moved to 2 p.m. Saturday due to expected inclement weather in the state.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at 7 tonight.

Gordo upsets No. 1 Pickens County

GORDO, Ala. — Thursday night was proof that when county rivals get together you can disregard records.

The Pickens County High School football team entered its game Thursday night against Gordon 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, while Gordo came in at 5-4.

Led by a stellar night of punt returns by Demario Lanier, the Green Wave snapped the Tornadoes’ winning streak with a 28-7 victory.

The victory was the fourth in a row for Gordo, which will enter the Class 3A state playoffs next week at Montgomery Academy.

Pupil gets best of teacher in Aberdeen victory

ABERDEEN — The regular-season finale Thursday night between the Aberdeen and Nettleton High School football teams for the Class 3A, Region 2, District 1 championship featured a classic teacher-pupil matchup that pitted a pair of coordinators — Mike Hathcock of the Tigers and the Bulldogs’ Kris Pickle — against each other.

As often happens, the pupil emerged victorious, as Aberdeen topped Nettleton 30-6.

The game was moved to Thursday night in anticipation of tonight’s predicted inclement weather.

Halloween weekend events scare up plenty to do

A quick look around the Golden Triangle reveals no shortage of ways for goblins large and small to get into the festive spirit. Check out this sampling of events ranging from costume contests to fall carnivals taking place during the next three days. Keep in mind, inclement weather could affect some outdoor events.

Columbus blanks Horn Lake

Apprehension and shock were the common denominators that linked coaches Bubba Davis and John Cooley before and after the Columbus High School football team’s 28-0 win against Horn Lake here Friday evening.

New Hope beats Clarksdale to clinch playoff spot

CLARKSDALE –– The New Hope High School football team registered its second consecutive shutout Friday to clinch a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North Half State playoff berth.

Washington School hands Heritage another loss

The Heritage Academy football team’s bid for an upset against No. 9 Washington School ended quickly after the Generals used an 18-point second quarter to earn a 26-7 victory.

Olive Branch keeps Starkville playoff bid on hold

STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School football team needed a victory Friday night to clinch a berth in the Class 6A North Half playoffs.

But Olive Branch turned four Starkville High turnovers into 13 points that proved to be the difference in a 23-13 win in their Class 6A, Region 1, District 2 game.

Noxubee County shuts out Louisville

MACON — The Noxubee County High School football team’s defense might not have eye-popping size, but the results it is producing are larger than life.

Mark those calendars for downtown holiday events

Knowing it’s not too early to flag dates for the busy holiday season ahead, Main Street Columbus has announced the schedule of special community events taking place downtown during November and December.

EMCC extends North Division winning streak

SCOOBA — The No. 7 East Mississippi Community College football team extended its MACJC North Division winning streak to 15 on Thursday by beating Mississippi Delta 28-10 at Sullivan-Windham Field.

With its top-rated offense not clicking on all cylinders in the regular-season finale, EMCC (8-1) got a huge special teams boost from freshman wide receiver British Footman, who had 215 return yards on two kickoff returns and a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Entering the contest ranked first nationally with an average of 513.9 yards of total offense per game, EMCC failed to score in the first quarter for the first time this season.

Ackerman blanks West Lowndes

The West Lowndes High School football team made several mistakes in the first half Friday night errors that allowed Ackerman to leave Panther Field undefeated.

Ackerman (9-0) capitalized on poor execution by West Lowndes to gain the momentum early and keep it in a dominating 27-0 victory.