HAMILTON — Junior running back Keshon Heard put on a show Friday night.
Heard rushed for 21 times for 189 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 117 yards and two more scores to lead the Hamilton High School football team to a 25-19 victory against Hatley 25-19 in a Mississippi High School Activities Association game.
“Keshon really put us on his back and carried us,” Hamilton coach Ray Weeks said. “It’s a rivalry game, and we played with a little more of an edge than we did last week (in a loss to Caledonia). We made some big plays on offense and made some big stops on defense.”
Michael Roberts and Austin Bishop led the defense with 12 and 10 tackles, respectively. Bishop also had an interception.
Hamilton will open Class 1A, Region 1 play Friday night at Vardaman (0-3).
n Victory Christian 34, Evangel Christian 32: At
Columbus, the Eagles orchestrated a 42-point turnaround from last season to improve to 3-0.
“I am extremely proud of this win,” Victory Christian coach Chris Hamm said. “It was a total team effort. We showed tremendous heart and the will to win.”
Reed Fulgham hit Cody Anthony with a 6-yard touchdown pass with about 6 minutes, 30 seconds remaining. Victory Christian’s Will Jones recovered a fumble that helped the Eagles eat some time off the clock. But Victory Christian fumbled the ball back to Evangel Christian. But the Eagles held at their 30-yard line to avenge a 48-8 loss last season. The loss was the first for Evangel Christian in three seasons.
Anthony Sharp had 20 carries for 144 yards and four touchdowns. He scored on runs of 3, 6, 40, and 40 yards. He also ran for a two-point conversion and caught a two-point conversion pass. He also completed 4 of 6 passes and had 11 tackles. Bo McCrary had a sack and 11 tackles.
Cody Bolton, who had an interception, had 11 carries for 91 yards. Jones caught three passes for 115 yards.
Victory Christian will open Christian Football Association play Friday night with a home game against Tabernacle (2-2).
n Columbus Christian 45, Carroll Academy 0: At Carrollton, KC Cunningham had eight carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Rams (2-1).
Cunningham scored on runs of 8 and 57 yards. He also added a punt return for a score and had two catches for 23 yards.
“We really had a great game on offense and it started with the offensive line,” Columbus Christian coach Greg Watkins said. “On defense, we played great on third and fourth down, but we have to do a better job on first and second downs. We gave up too many yards on the early downs.”
Dawson Shaw had nine carries for 100 yards to help Columbus Christian pile up 275 rushing yards as part of a 298-174 edge in total yards.
B.J. Shirley and Juvante Burks had 3-yard touchdowns runs, while Kimarri Whitfield had a 1-yard scoring run.
Kameron Mitchell led the way with nine solo tackles. Grant Wyatt had six solo tackles, while Whitfield and Shirley had five and Shaw had four.
“We moved some guys around on defense and the guys played with great focus,” Watkins said. “We did a great job of reading their keys and reacting quicker.”
Columbus Christian will play host to New Site (2-1) on Friday.
n Central Academy 44, The Veritas School 0: At Macon, the Vikings matched their win total of the last two seasons with an easy victory.
Central Academy (2-0) utilized a suffocating defense led by Colby Robbins and another stellar rushing performance from Leshon Hill to dominate.
“We really played great on defense,” Central Academy coach Will Walker said. “Getting the shutout was a big deal. Even when they got into the red zone a couple of times, the defense really held firm and got the stops. It was good to see the kids see all of their hard work pay off in the first two games of the season.”
Dalton Outz started a 24-point first quarter explosion with a 2-yard run. He connected with Nelson Robbins for the two-point conversion. Hill scored on a 5-yard run before Outz hit Nelson Robbins for the conversion. Hill added the third touchdown of the quarter on a 69-yard run. Outz’s conversion run closed the scoring in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Hill’s 25-yard run gave Central Academy a 30-0 halftime lead.
With such a dominating performance from his offense and defense, Walker was able to play all his players throughout the second half. In the third quarter, Outz scored on a 13-yard run. He again connected with Nelson Robbins for the conversion. Colby Robbins caught a 7-yard pass from Outz in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
“On offense, we really did some things well and got a lot of people involved,” Walker said. “We have had 400-plus yards in two games. It is all led by Leshon Hill, who has gone over 200 yards in each win. He is off to a great start to the season, as is the offensive line.”
Colby Robbins led the Vikings with nine tackles and one pass deflection. Dylan Manning and William Dawkins each had six tackles, while Hill and Tequan Shanklin had four tackles apiece.
Leshon Hill had 11 carries for 204 yards and three touchdowns. Colby Robbins gained 68 yards, Outz had 54 yards, and Shanklin rushed for 27 yards.
Central Academy will play host to the Delta Streets on Friday night for Homecoming. The Vikings will look to go to 3-0 for the first time since 2011.
n Tri-County Academy 20, Oak Hill Academy 7: At Flowood, the Raiders dropped their second straight as they couldn’t make a 7-6 second-quarter lead stand up.
Oak Hill Academy will open MAIS Class AA, Region 2 play Friday night at Winston Academy (1-2).
n Sharkey-Issaquena Academy 36, Hebron Christian 0: At Rolling Fork, the homestanding Confederates posted their third-straight shutout victory against the Eagles.
Sharkey-Issaquena (3-0) beat Hebron Christian twice last season — 44-0 in the regular season and 30-0 in postseason play.
Hebron Christian will play host to Calvary Christian (1-2) on Friday night.
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