CLINTON — The Columbus High School football team lost to Clinton 41-17 on Friday night in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 game.
The loss was the second-consecutive defeat in the region for Columbus (1-5, 0-2 region) and first-year head coach Randal Montgomery.
“We played hard and fought hard for all four quarters,” Montgomery said. “We had a few breaks go against us, but we’re motivated to go into practice Monday so we can turn things around and try to get a win next week.”
Clinton rushed for touchdowns on its first two offensive possessions. After falling behind, Columbus’ Kylin Hill scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter to cut the deficit in half. But Clinton’s Darius Maberry received the ensuing kickoff and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.
In the second half, Columbus tacked on a 44 yard field goal by Anthony Maleta, and Hill added a 14-yard rushing touchdown.
Columbus will play host to Northwest Rankin (2-5, 0-2) next week.
n Columbus Christian 47, Park Place Christian 0: At Pearl, KC Cunningham had three touchdowns to lead a balanced offensive effort for the Rams in their non-district victory.
Cunningham had 13 carries for 103 yards. He scored on runs of 3, 45, and 8 yards. He also had an interception.
Columbus Christian (4-3) built a 40-0 halftime lead. It outgained Park Place Christian 259-44 and limited its opponent to four first downs. The Rams had 253 yards rushing.
Columbus Christian’s defense dominated, racking up six turnovers, including four interceptions and two forced fumbles.
“Forcing those turnovers really helped us a lot tonight especially with the way our offense was clicking,” Columbus Christian coach Greg Watkins said. “Everyone was focused defensively, and the guys are now doing a better job of reading their reads.”
Kimarri Whitfield had six carries for 92 yards and a 31-yard touchdown. He also had an interception.
B.J Shirley and Dawson Shaw also had interceptions.
Shaw had six carries for 45 yards, while Shirley had eight carries for 46 yards. Shaw had a 5-yard touchdown, and Shirley had a 10-yard score. Shirley added five solo tackles.
Alex Vasquez and Grant Wyatt had three solo tackles.
Columbus Christian will play host to West Memphis Christian (1-6) on Friday.
n Madison-Ridgeland Academy 17 Starkville Academy 10: At Madison, the Volunteers saw their six-game winning streak end Friday night.
The Volunteers (6-1, 3-1 Division II) took a 3-0 lead in the second quarter on a 37-yard field goal from Sam Cox.
MRA scored a late second-quarter touchdown on a pass from Hayden Davis to Nathan Barr with 33 seconds to give it a lead 7-3.
The Volunteers weren’t able to recapture the lead, and were plagued by turnovers all night. Starkville Academy, which entered the game as the top-ranked team in MAIS in this week’s The Associated Press poll, had three turnovers.
In the third quarter, MRA laid a huge hit on quarterback Houston Clark to jar the ball lose. On the first play of the ensuing possession, the Patriots’ Brayden Davis found Nathan Barr for an 18-yard touchdown.
Starkville Academy then brought in Colt Chrestman in a quarterback, and on his very first play, Chrestman had a 64 yard rushing touchdown to make it 14-10. The Volunteers gave up a field goal at the beginning for the fourth quarter, but had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. With 1 minute, 38 seconds left, the Volunteers needed to go 61 yards to score, but Trace Kindred intercepted Houston Clark to end the game.
Starkville Academy will play host to French Camp (3-3) on Friday.
n New Hope 53, Center Hill 35: At Center Hill, the Trojans stayed perfect by scoring 14 points on two plays and three times in nine plays Friday night.
On the opening kickoff, the Trojans (6-0, 2-0 Class 5A, Region 1) forced a three-and-out and handed the ball over to Stone Sisson and the offense. On the Trojans’ first play, Sisson connected with Brenton Spann on a wheel route for a 65-yard touchdown.
Sisson was 9 of 12 for 266 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Bryson Ellis had six catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
New Hope coach Kris Pickle praised his team’s offensive efficiency.
“We watched film and saw some areas where we could exploit them,” he said. “Anytime you can have big explosive plays it always takes the momentum away from your opponent.”
New Hope will look to stay perfect Friday when it plays host to Lake Cormorant (0-6).
n Victory Christian 34, New Life Christian Academy 0: At Millbrook,
Alabama, Anthony Sharp had seven carries for 236 yards and two touchdowns Friday night to help the Eagles improve to 7-0 and 4-0 in the Christian Football Association.
Sharp scored on runs of 3 and 67 yards. He also had one catch for 22 yards,
Reed Fulgham was 3 of 5 for 35 yards. Garrett Anthony had eight carries for 52 yards. Fulgham had a 1-yard touchdown run, Will Jones had a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown, and Cody Bolton had a 25-yard touchdown run.
Bo McCrary had nine tackles to lead the defense. Kody Anthony added eight tackles and a safety. Jones added an interception.
n West Point 35, Clarksdale 0: At Clarksdale, the Green Wave picked up their first win in Class 5A, Region 1 with a statement effort that was dominating on both sides of the ball.
After the opening kickoff, West Point forced a quick three-and-out. On fourth down, West Point blocked a punt and Omar Lemus picked up the ball and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
“We started the game out being really aggressive,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “When things go your way, it brings over momentum and you start to put a little pep in your step, and that’s what happened with us tonight once we got that blocked punt.”
In the second quarter, Dason Thomas connected with Thomas Williams on a 45-yard passing score to give the Green Wave a 14-0 halftime lead.
West Point built its lead in the third quarter, as Kadarius Forside rushed for two touchdowns, one from 20 yards and another from 5 yards.
Kaelon Collins hauled in a 17-yard touchdown reception from Thomas in the beginning of the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
West Point will play host to Center Hill (4-3, 1-1 region) on Friday.
n Hebron Christian 36, Strider Academy 0: At Charleston, the Eagles posted their second shutout game of the season and extended their winning streak to three games.
Channing Tapley was 7 of 13 for 118 yards and two touchdowns, while Landon Hill rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Peyton Griffin had two catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
Tapley hit Griffin on a 50-yard touchdown in the second quarter, which gave his team a 14-0 lead. The score also provided a spark Hebron Christian needed to re-gain the momentum.
“I was very pleased with my offense,” Hebron Christian coach David Foster said. “We had a few hiccups, but we were able to over come them. By halftime, we had set the tone of the game by being up 22-0, and we just continued to execute and build on our lead.”
n Hamilton 46, Houlka 8: At Houlka, the Lions rebounded with their second win in Class 1A, Region 1 on Friday night.
Hamilton (4-2, 2-1) almost pitched a shutout, but it allowed a late fourth-quarter score.
Senior tailback Keshon Heard had nine carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Despite Heard’s big night, junior Bricowski Bankhead had the play of the night. In the second quarter, Houlka punted the ball to Bankhead, who returned it 57 yards for the touchdown. Not only did the return put his team up by three touchdowns, it also put the game away.
“That was the play for us,” Hamilton coach Ray Weeks said. “They had just stopped us earlier on a drive and we were able to stop them right back and capitalize off of the punt return.”
Hamilton will have its Homecoming on Friday night and will play host to Thrasher.
Hebron Christian will travel Friday to DeKalb to take on Kemper Academy (4-1).
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