From Special Reports
WEST POINT — Oak Hill Academy racked up 508 yards during a 48-13 win over Columbus Christian Academy in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class A/AA, District 2 contest Friday night.
Oak Hill Academy (5-2, 1-1 region) won its first region game while bouncing back from a 24-7 loss to Winona Christian a week earlier.
Kimarri Whitfield led Columbus Christian (0-7, 0-2) with 12 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Dawson Shaw had 11 carries for 29 yards and a touchdown. He also was 3 of 9 for 85 yards.
RJ Deloach had three catches for 41 yards.
Whitfield paced the defense with eight solo tackles (11 overall). Andrew Sparks had four solo tackles, while Tony Dantzler and DeKameron Mitchell had three solo stop and five tackles overall. Shaw also had three solo tackles.
n West Point 53, Clarksdale 16: At West Point, the Green Wave celeberated Homecoming by winning their first Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 1 contest of the season.
“The kids really responded after a tough loss to Oxford,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “Offensively, we put up some good numbers against Oxford (in a 50-28 defeat). We will able to continue that here in this game.”
West Point (4-2, 1-1 region) actually erased an early 10-7 deficit to build a 40-16 halftime lead.
Marcus Murphy scored three touchdowns to highlight a 148-yard rushing night. Murphy scored on runs of 9, 28 and 11 yards. Andre Lane also scored three times on runs of 1, 3 and 38 yards. Chris Calvert also had a 22-yard touchdown run. The West Point defense added a safety and Jose Garcia kicked a 39-yard field goal.
“We just have to keep the momentum up,” Chambless said. “We played a difficult non-region schedule and I think that did a great job of getting these kids prepared. After losing the first game, we got to make sure we do our part and keep winning to get home-field advantage in the playoffs.”
West Point resumes region play at Center Hill Friday night.
n Hebron Christian 44, Calvary Christian 0: At Meridian, the Eagles improved to 5-1 with the non-division win.
Hebron Christian built a 30-0 halftime lead and were never threatened. The Eagles posted their second shutout of the season.
“Defensively, we are playing really well right now,” Hebron Christian coach David Foster. “They really didn’t have any serious threats and we were able to turn them over a couple of times, too.
“Offensively, we are continuing to improve. I like to see what some of our younger guys are doing.”
Quarterback Channing Tapley led the offense with a 10 of 14 passing performance for 205 yard and four touchdowns. Tapley rushed four times for seven yards and also threw a pair of 2-point conversions.
Clay Faulkner had six receptions for 69 yards with touchdown catches of 27 and 10 yards. Landon Hill had three catches for 133 yards, with touchdown receptions of 71 and 29 yards.
On the ground, Hill rushed seven times for 126 yards, with an 84-yard score. He also had a 2-point conversion rush. Brian Eaddy had a 30-yard touchdown run and caught a 2-point conversion. Lucas Foster had six rushes for 37 yards, with a 2-point conversion run.
On defense, Tapley had nine tackles, while Eaddy had eight and an interception. Hill and Jessie Moore each had six tackles. Foster and Daniel Coggins each had five tackles. Peyton Griffin had four tackles, while Faulkner had two tackles and an interception.
Hebron Christian will play host to undefeated Marvell (Arkansas) Academy Friday night.
“We are the top scoring offense, while they are the top defense in eight-man,” Foster said. “I think they are allowing around nine points per game. Even though it’s not a district game, it is still a very big game. We get to see how we stack up against one of the elite teams. It will be quite the challenge.”
n Houston 39, Caledonia 7: At Houston, the Confederates could not generate much offense while dropping its Class 4A, Region 4 race.
“This the best our region has been in a long time,” Caledonia coach Andy Crotwell said. “The thing is staying confident and not getting too high or too low. There are no weak teams in the region, so each week you have to be ready to play. You just have to find a way to be competitive and win some games if we are going to get back to the playoffs.”
Houston (6-1, 1-0 region) built a 25-0 halftime lead. The Hilltoppers did that thanks in large part to two touchdowns by Urriah Shepard and a 74-yard kickoff return by Denver McQuary.
Taylor Baskin added two second-half touchdowns. The lone score for Caledonia (4-2, 0-1) was a 5-yard run by Zion Ford.
“We need some more balance on offense and we need to find a few more things we can do well,” Crotwell said. “Defensively, the kids are playing hard. However, we need to force more turnovers and cut down on some of the big plays.”
Caledonia will now focus on back-to-back region games at home against Louisville and Kosciusko.
n Starkville Academy 26, French Camp Academy 13: At French Camp, the Volunteers stepped outside of Mississippi Association of Independent Schools play to record a road win over the Panthers.
The Volunteers built a 26-0 halftime lead and withstood a late rally to improve to 6-1.
“We knew French Camp would come out ready to play,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “We came out and matched that intensit early. Once the lead we got complacement and did not keep that energy level where it needed to be.”
Grant Wolfe led Starkville Academy with 106 rushing yards. He opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Colt Chrestman scored on a 10-yard run; Dalton Dempsey scored on a 4-yard run and Drake Gordman scored on a 10-yard run.
Quarterback Houston Clark threw for 139 yards and rushed for 62 more as Starkville Academy eclipsed the 300-yard mark in total offense.
French Camp (4-3) scored twice in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Aaron Whitt and a 26-yard pass from Luke McKnight to Adonis Clincy.
“Overall, pleased to get the win but not pleased with how we played in the second half,” Nicholson said. “We had some penalties that we should not have and helped them score. We got a little relaxed in the second half and you can’t do that.”
Starkville Academy can lock up a playoff berth by beating MAIS Class AAA, District 2 rival Leake Academy Friday night at home.
n Hamilton 54, Biggersville 12: At Biggersville, the Lions gave new coach Josh Baty his first victory with the team in this MHSAA Class 1A, Region 1 contest.
Hamilton (1-5, 1-2 region) resumes region play by hosting Coldwater.
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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