SOUTHAVEN — Three second-half turnovers hurt the cause as the Columbus High School football team dropped a 35-7 decision to Southaven in a Class 6A, Region 1 game Friday night.
“It was a 14-7 game early in the fourth quarter,” Columbus coach Tony Stanford said. “The turnovers really hurt our chances to come back there at the end. The score indicated a one-sided game, but we were very much right there at the end.”
For the Falcons (4-2, 1-1 region), Cedric Jackson capped the opening drive of the game with a 1-yard touchdown run. Behind 120 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Chris Wright, the Chargers rallied.
Southaven scoed twice in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead at halftime.
“The defense played really well,” Stanford said. “They were on the field pretty much the whole second half and really got worn down there at the end. As a unit, I thought they responded and gave us a chance.”
Wright scored the final two of his touchdowns in the fourth quarter. An interception return for touchdown in the final minutes created the final margin.
“We didn’t play real well,” Stanford said. “At the same time, we had a chance. We just couldn’t make enough plays to turn the game around there in the second half.”
For the Falcons, Byerson Cockrell and Jimmy Cockrell each had interceptions.
Columbus will remain in region play for a home matchup against South Panola on Friday night.
n Carroll Academy 27, Immanuel Christian 26: At Carrollton, The Rebels (3-4) scored on a 30-yard pass with 4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the game to beat the Rams (1-5).
Carroll Academy used a safety in the first quarter to build a 15-12 lead. It led 21-12 entering the fourth quarter before Norris Harris scored on a 23-yard run. The conversion cut the deficit to 21-20. Jason Davis scored on an 83-yard run with 4:12 to go in the game, but the conversion failed.
Davis scored on an 11-yard run, and Harris had a 4-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Immanuel Christian capitalized on a penalty to earn a first down on its final possession, which ended on an incomplete pass on fourth down with less than 40 seconds to play.
Davis had a team-high 186 rushing yards on 13 carries, while Harris had 96 yards on 13 carries. Michael Tate added 95 yards on 15 carries.
James Wriley led the Rams with 10 tackles, while Josh Davidson had eight. Darius Jones and Will Harmon each had five, and Harris had a fumble recovery.
n West Oktibbeha 48, Sebastopol 22: At Sebastopol, The Timberwolves made it back-to-back victories in Class 1A, Region 3 with a huge win on the road.
The Timberwolves trailed 7-0 after the first quarter. West Oktibbeha then kicked it in gear with four second-quarter touchdowns for a 28-7 halftime lead.
“I was real pleased with the balance we had,” West Oktibbeha coach Adam Lowrey said. “We had 37 rushes and 36 passes. That is the type of balance we have been trying to have all year. Several players played a big facor in the win.”
For West Oktibbeha, quarterback Von Smith continued his recent strong play with a pair of touchdown passes (49, 60 yards) to receiver Dwight Quinn. Quinn had missed the previous game due to disciplinary reasons.
Tiberius Lampkin added a 1-yard touchdown run and a 2-yard touchdown run. Johnathan Love scored twice on runs of 5 and 6 yards. Shun Fair opened West Oktibbeha’s scoring with a 55-yard run.
Smith was 19 of 36 for 250 yards. Quinn had two catches for 109 yards. Lampkin had eight catches for 64 yards, 13 rushes for 51 yards, two touchdowns, and 16 tackles. Love had 13 rushes, 103 yards, two touchdowns, and eight tackles, including two solos and one for loss. Michael Gray had three tackles, including two for loss, two deflections, one pass hurry, one fumble recovery, and two sacks.
“We opened region play with one of the toughest teams in Class 1A, Nanih Waiya,” Lowrey said.”Even though they beat us pretty bad, it was a good measuring stick. It showed us where we are and what we have to do to get to where we want to be.”
West Oktibbeha (4-2, 2-1 region) will play host to Ethel in another region game Friday night.
n Carthage 20, Caledonia 6: At Carthage, Caledonia droppd its third straight with this setback in its Class 4A, Region 4 opener.
The Confederates (3-4, 0-1 region) will play host to Houston on Friday night in another region game.
n Noxapater 49, West Lowndes 0: At Columbus, West Lowndes suffered its second straight shutout in Class 1A, Region 3 play Friday night.
After dropping a 6-0 decision to East Oktibbeha a week ago, the Panthers again couldn’t get their offense going against the region-leading Tigers. Noxapater scored three second-quarter touchdowns to take a 28-0 halftime advantage.
West Lowndes (2-4, 1-2 region) travels to Pelahatchie for another division encounter Friday night.
n Noxubee County 33, Kosciusko 0: At Kosciusko, Noxubee County ran its win streak to five with a victory in its Class 4A, Region 4 opener.
For the Tigers (6-1, 1-0 region), it was their first shutout of the season.
Noxubee County will play host to Carthage in region play Friday night.
n Leake Academy 35, Oak Hill Academy 6: At West Point, Oak Hill Academy stopped its streak of three straight shutouts by scoring in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AA, District 2 contest.
The Raiders (0-7, 0-4 district) scored on a 6-yard run by Jeb Stevens.
Oak Hill Academy will remain home Friday night for a non-region game against Heritage Academy.
n Kemper Academy 28, Hebron Christian 26: At DeKalb, a late goal-line stand helped Kemper Academy (3-4) halt a four-game losing streak in Eight-man action.
Hebron Christian (2-3) led 26-14 at halftime. However, the Eagles only gained 86 of their 300 yards of offense in the second half. On its final two possessions, Hebron Christian drove to the Kemper 31 and later the Kemper 5 — only to be turned away on downs each time.
Hebron Christian will play host to Flint Hills Christian on Friday night.
n Hamilton 54, Williams Sullivan 12: At Hamilton, the homestanding Lions had little difficulty cruising to victory in their Class 2A, Region 2 opener Friday night.
The Lions (6-1, 1-0 region) host Eupora in another region game Friday night.
West Alabama
n Gordo 27, Aliceville 6: At Gordo, Ala., Aliceville found the going rough Friday night as it dropped its first Class 3A, Region 4 contest of the season.
Gordo (4-2, 3-0 region) led 7-0 at halftime. The Greenwave expanded that lead with back-to-back touchdowns early in third quarter. Aliceville (2-4, 2-1 region) answered with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Jeremy McMullen.
Aliceville had only eight first downs and 129 yards of offense. Christopher Crowell was 8 of 18 for 62 yards and no interceptions. McMullen rushed for a team-best 26 yards on nine carries.
Terry Mayhew led the way with 13 tackles.Demario Lanier had an interception, while Kainen Sullivan had a fumble recovery.
Aliceville will remain in region play Friday when it plays host to Hale County.
n Berry 66, South Lamar 8: At Berry, Ala., the homestanding Wildcats scored on their first five possessions and cruised in Class 1A, Region 5 play.
Berry finished with 454 rushing yards.
For South Lamar (0-6, 0-4 region), a 33-yard touchdown run by Hank Parker was the team’s lone score. Parker also kept on the two-point conversion rush.
Tank Hollingsworth ran for 258 yards and five touchdowns in the victory.
South Lamar will play host to Lynn in another region matchup Friday night.
n Evangel Christian 35, Pickens Academy 21: At Carrollton, Ala., The Pirates saw their postseason hopes fade with a loss in Alabama Independent Schools Association Class 2A, Region 1 play Friday night.
The Pirates (1-6, 0-4) received two rushing touchdowns from Josh Lewis (11, 13 yards) and a rushing touchdown from Joel Pratt (21 yards).
Pickens Academy has an open date Friday night. It will play host to Lakeside in its final region game of the year Oct. 14.
n Pickens County 54, Autaugaville 14: At Reform, Ala., The Tornadoes remained undefeated in Class 1A, Region 4 play Friday night.
The Tornadoes (6-0, 4-0 region) received five touchdowns from De’Marko Hall. He scored on pass receptions of 30, 70, and 55 yards. He also scored on a 60-yard run and 70-yard fumble return. For the season, Hall has 24 touchdowns, four shy of a new school record.
“We played really well in spots,” Pickens County coach Patrick Plott said. “The defense played really well. We forced some game-changing turnovers.”
The Tornadoes had three defensive scores. Besides Hall’s fumble return, Nick Stewart had a 40-yard interception return and Lajuan Doss had a 45-yard fumble return. Devonte Simon also scored on a 1-yard rush.
Pickens County will travel to Maplesville for another region contest Friday night.
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