From Staff Reports
FLORENCE, Ala. – After a week off, Starkville High School returned to its usual form Friday night.
Mississippi’s top-ranked team traveled across the state line and took out one of Alabama’s elite programs as Starkville beat Florence 37-7 in a prep football game played at Braly Municipal Stadium on the campus of the University of North Alabama.
For Starkville (4-0), quarterback Brady Davis threw five touchdown passes, giving him 18 for the season. In the first half, Davis hit A.J. Brown (2-yard touchdown), Quenton Evans (19-yard touchdown) and Raphael Leonard (27-yard touchdown). Davis then found Parker Lemm (3-yard touchdown) and Jacquez Horsley (10-yard touchdown) in the second half.
Starkville led 23-0 at halftime and held the shutout until Florence (2-2), ranked sixth in the Alabama High School Activities Association Class 6A rankings, scored in the fourth quarter.
Davis completed 25-of-35 passes for 344 yards. Brown had 10 receptions for 143 yards, while Leonard had seven receptions for 113 yards. Starkville finished with 492 yards of total offense. Horsley rushed 19 times for 97 yards.
Starkville opens Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 play by playing host to Columbus Friday night.
Falkner 33, Hamilton 26: At Hamilton, the Lions fell in MHSAA Class 1A, Region 1 play for the first time.
For Hamilton (3-2, 1-1 region), quarterback Byron Butler completed 14-of-22 passes for 229 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Running back Keshon Heard had 16 rushes for 111 yards.
Falkner (2-2, 1-0 region) scored touchdowns on two of Hamilton’s three second-half turnovers to secure the victory.
“You can’t make the mistakes we made and beat a good team,” Hamilton coach Ray Weeks said. “We did some things well but made way too many mistakes. We gave Falkner too many chances and they took advantage of them.”
Falkner led 14-8 at halftime, thanks to 29-yard pass from Jesse Stroupe to Demarcus Blackwell and a 15-yard run by Stroupe.
Hamilton’s lone first-half score was a 6-yard run by Heard. Heard also caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Butler and Michael Roberts added a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Falkner built a 21-8 lead early in the third quarter on a 4-yard run by Stroupe and later extended a 21-20 lead when Adam Hearn scored from 8 yards out and Stroupe went in again from 8 yards out in the third quarter.
Hamilton’s final score was a 51-yard pass from Butler to Heard in the fourth quarter.
Stroupe passed for 154 yards and rushed for 127 yards to lead the Eagles.
Hamilton is open Friday night.
East Webster 33, Caledonia 23: At Maben, the Confederates dropped their second straight.
East Webster (4-1) took advantage of two early Caledonia turnovers to build a 13-0 halftime lead. A 71-yard drive to start the second half saw the Wolverines push the advantage to 19-7.
Caledonia (3-2) then got things in gear and made a game of it. The Confederates got on the scoreboard with a 17-yard touchdown run by Brandon Henry.
East Webster then moved back out of danger with a 38-yard interception return by Miller Hancock being the big blow. That pick-six placed the Wolverines on top 33-7.
Caledonia got another touchdown from Henry (14 yards) and one from Cole Gullette (16-yard reception from Spencer Unruh) in the fourth quarter.
Caledonia will play host to Choctaw County (3-2) Friday night.
Sebastopol 54, East Oktibbeha 28: At Sebastopol, the Titans had a strong night offensively but struggled defensively in MHSAA Class 1A, Region 3 play.
Sebastopol (3-2, 2-0 region) rushed for 483 yards and eight touchdowns. The Bobcats got three rushing scores from Markel Jones and Marvin Triplett. Jones ran 18 times for 212 yards, while Triplett ran 18 times for 173 yards. Gerrand Bobbitt and Colton Tharp had the other touchdowns for Sebastopol. The Bobcats scored on all five first-half possessions and led 34-14 at halftime.
East Oktibbeha (0-4, 0-2 region) received two touchdowns from John Kincaid and two touchdowns from Destin Covington.
East Oktibbeha plays host to Noxapater (2-3, 1-1 region) Friday night.
Noxapater 55, West Oktibbeha 6: At Noxapater, the Timberwolves remained winless in MHSAA Class 1A, Region 3 play after this defeat on the road.
Lysanius Ford scored the lone touchdown for West Oktibbeha (0-4, 0-2 region).
West Oktibbeha will play host to French Camp Academy (2-3, 2-0 region) in another region game Friday night.
Heidelberg Academy 47, Columbus Christian 20: At Steens, the Rams dropped their second straight
Heidelberg Academy (5-0) quickly built a 33-0 lead at halftime
Columbus Christian (2-3) battled back with three scores in the game’s final half.
For the Rams, Dawson Shaw scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, Kimarri Whitfield scored on a 21-yard run and KC Cunningham scored on a 4-yard run.
Heidelberg Academy finished with nine first downs and 233 total yards, while Columbus Christian finished with 16 first downs and 228 total yards.
Cunningham rushed 17 times for 82 yards and had three receptions for 56 yards to lead the Rams, while B.J. Shirley had eight rushes for 45 yads and Whitfield had seven rushes for 34 yards. Shaw completed 6-of-12 passes for 98 yards with two interceptions.
Columbus Christian (1-0 district) returns to Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class A, District 2 play Friday night when it plays host to Greenville Christian (3-2, 0-0 district).
Oak Hill Academy 29, Newton County Academy 27: At West Point, the Raiders won their second straight and celebrated Homecoming in style with a dramatic MAIS victory.
Newton County Academy missed a 24-yard field goal as time expired.
Oak Hill Academy (3-2) actually built a 21-7 lead after one quarter of play. The Homecoming crowd was treated to early offensive highlights, including touchdown runs of 3 and 9 yards by Drew Riley.
Riley Pierce hit Chance Wilson for a big 60-yard pass play, setting up Pierce scoring on a 2-yard quarterback keeper.
Newton County Academy (3-2) closed within 21-14 at halftime. The Generals hung tough, thanks in part to forcing four fumbles by the Raiders.
Pierce hit Blake Thomas for the eventual game-winning points on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. However, victory was not secure until the late field goal miss.
Oak Hill Academy will play host to Heritage Academy (3-2) in a non-district matchup Friday night.
Central Academy 48, Rebul Academy 8: At Macon, the Vikings improved to 4-0 with the non-district win at home.
“We had a great team effort on both sides of the ball,” Central Academy coach Will Walker said. “Our defense held strong all night after Rebul scored once. The defense adjusted well to their pass attack and stopped it.”
For Central Academy, Colby Robbins started the scoring on a 2-yard run and 2-point conversion catch from Dalton Outz. Leshon Hill followed with the first of his three touchdowns, as he scored on a 21-yard run for an early 14-8 lead.
Hill then scored from 69 yards out, with Colby Robbins scoring a 2-point conversion run. Outz followed with a 54-yard interception return for score and a 10-yard touchdown run. A 2-point pass from Outz to Nelson Robbins placed Central Academy on top 36-8 at halftime.
In the second half, the Vikings got a 58-yard touchdown run from Hill, before Wyatt Norris hit Nelson Robbins on an 83-yard touchdown pass.
Hill finished with 11 rushes for 169 yards. Colby Robbins had four receptions for 55 yards.
Jack Vandevender and Williams Dawkins helped lead a Central Academy defensive attack, while held Rebul Academy (2-2) to five first downs.
Vandevender had 13 total tackles and a sack. Dawkins had 12 total tackles and a blocked kick. Colby Robbins had six total tackles, while Preston Dawkins had four total tackles and a sack. Outz and Hill each had interceptions.
Central Academy plays host to Calvary Christian (1-4) Friday night.
Victory Christian 56, Meadowview 22: At Selma, Ala., the Eagles moved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Christian Football Association with the easy win.
For Victory Christian, Anthony Sharp rushed 16 times for 207 yards with five touchdowns. Sharp scored on runs of 20, 5 41, 19 and 14 yards. Cody Bolton rushed 15 times for 142 yards, with a 2-yard touchdown run. Will Jones caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Reed Fulgham, while Bailey Harper also scored on a 7-yard run. Jones had a 2-point conversion run, while Bolton had two 2-point conversion runs and also kicked a pair of PATs.
Sharp had three receptions for 43 yards, while Bolton had two catches for 17 yards. Fulgham was 5-of-6 passing for 60 yards, while Sharp was 1-of-2 passing for 44 yards.
On defense, Shane Bradford had eight total tackles and four sacks, while Jordan Payne had seven total tackles and three sacks.
Victory Christian will play host to East Memorial Christian Academy (2-1, 1-0 CFA) in another conference game Friday night.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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