ABERDEEN — Demaria Robinson wowed the Aberdeen High School Homecoming crowd with a rousing rendition of the National Anthem.
Former Denver Bronco and Ole Miss All-America defensive lineman Andre Townsend also was back in town for the game, but junior quarterback Josh Williams stole the show as he led Aberdeen to a 39-22 victory against Kemper County in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A, Region 4 game here Friday evening.
Thanks to some sterling offensive line play, Williams rushed for 152 yards and threw for 137 to account for 289 of Aberdeen’s 495 total yards. He also had a hand in five of the Bulldogs’ six scoring drives (three touchdown passes, two runs).
“Josh just makes the plays,” Aberdeen coach Mark Bray said. “It’s Josh doing what Josh does best. He makes things happen.”
Although Williams grabbed the spotlight with his game-high rushing totals, four of his running backs rushed for 27 yards or more — Donta Carter (80), Tyler Fields (60), and Jerrick Orr and Tramonte Prather (27).
All told, the Bulldogs rushed for 358 yards (6.6 yards per carry) and threw for 137 yards.
“The offensive line played well,” Bray said. “For the most part, they gave Josh time to throw the ball and they opened holes when we ran the ball.”
Line coach Jeff Coggin calls his charges the “grunts” and echoed Bray’s sentiments.
“I thought as a group they played well,” Coggin said. “They held their blocks and they looked for people to block downfield.”
Coggin’s starters include Jamarcus Tallie, Drake Justin, Jordan Gladney, Tavoris Eckford and Devonta Walker. Jamarkus Irons, Devante Smith, and Jimize Walker rotated in and helped the line remain steady.
“They’re a great group to work with,” Coggin said. “They know they’re not going to be in the spotlight in Saturday’s paper unless the offense has a bad night, but they just keep after it from whistle to whistle.”
Coming off a 1-10 season a year ago, Kemper County came in at 6-1 and was tied with Louisville and Aberdeen for the region lead. The Wildcats were averaging a region-best 32.6 points per game, but Aberdeen held them 10 points under their average
Although the secondary gave up 197 passing yards, Aberdeen’s defensive front, playing without Theo Boyd who elected to serve in the Homecoming court, held the Wildcats to 75 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
“Our defensive front played well,” Bray said. “Terrance Smith, Jordan Gladney, Donta Carter, Devonta Walker, and Tavoris Eckford all played well.”
First-year Kemper County coach Chris Jones, whose team lists only seven seniors on the roster, was equally impressed with Aberdeen.
“Aberdeen has a good football team, and for us to get to the next level where they are, we’re going to have to learn how to win games against quality opponents like Aberdeen,” Jones said. “I’m not happy with the loss, but I realize we are a young team with mostly ninth- and 10th-graders, and eight of our starters are playing football for the first time.”
Jones, who played wide receiver at Jackson State from 2000-04 and professionally with the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, said his team got off to a slow start offensively and defensively and couldn’t make up a 27-6 halftime deficit.
“We started off slowly in the first half and we didn’t play as hard as I thought we should have been playing,” Jones said. “Aberdeen has some great athletes,and they made the plays when they had to and we didn’t.”
It was just the opposite for Aberdeen. The Bulldogs scored on three of their first four possessions to take a 19-0 lead early in the second quarter.
After a three-and-out on its first possession, Aberdeen stopped Kemper County at the Bulldogs’ 5-yard line on a fourth-and-goal. Williams promptly marched his offense 95 yards for a score on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jerrick Orr followed by a Demarea Dobbins kick.
Undaunted, Kemper County marched to the Aberdeen 13, but it fumbled at the 19. Nine plays and 81 yards later, Williams completed his only pass on the drive — a 19-yard strike to B.J. Williams for a 13-0 lead.
On its next possession, Kemper County reached the Aberdeen 42, but a fourth-and-12 play fell short and Aberdeen took over at its 37. After a 2-yard loss on first down, Williams hooked up with Sammie Burroughs on a 65-yard touchdown strike 1 minute, 50 seconds into the second quarter. It was his third-consecutive pass that went for a touchdown.
Neither team scored on its next possession, but a 13-yard Kemper County punt set Aberdeen up at the Wildcats 35. Williams capped the seven-play march with a 15-yard touchdown run. He added the two-point conversion for a 27-0 lead with 1:50 to play in the half.
A minute later, Kemper County avoided the first-half shutout when quarterback Kelvin Bourrage connected with wide receiver Devontae Vickers for 9 yards 34 seconds before halftime. Bourrage’s conversion run fell short.
“Down by three touchdowns at halftime is a bad situation to be in for a young team,” said Jones, who once played Arena Football and in the Canadian Football League (CFL) back-to-back in the same season (2008).
Aberdeen increased its lead to 33-6 with 27 seconds left in the third period on a 31-yard touchdown run by Tyler Fields, his first touchdown of the year.
In the fourth quarter, both teams traded scores on their initial possessions — Kemper County on a 34-yard TD pass by Bourrage to D.J. Clayton followed by a conversion run by Bourrage and Aberdeen on a 12-yard keeper by Williams to make it 39-14.
Kemper County closed the scoring on a 56-yard Bourrage touchdown pass to Dondre Andrews and a conversion run by Otis Cross with 6:54 left to play.
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