From Special Reports
HAMILTON — Hamilton High School finally enjoyed the feeling of winning a football game again Friday night.
Hamilton opened Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 1A, Region play with a 22-16 win over Coffeeville. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak dating back to last season.
“The guys were excited,” Hamilton coach Josh Baty said. “Everybody works so hard each week. It’s good to see that hard work pay off. We have been battling some adversity this season. It was great to win a game and to win a tight game.
“The guys really found a way to dig deep and make some plays.”
Hamilton (1-3, 1-0 region) built a 14-0 lead with a Branson Shields’ 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal. In the second quarter, Gavin Toler hit T.J. Warren on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Bryant Butler kept for the 2-point conversion.
Keontae Baker scored on a 4-yard run for Coffeeville (0-5, 0-2) in the third quarter.
Hamilton then got some breathing room on a 75-yard touchdown run by Timarco Fields. The Lions then saw Gavin Toler hit Brice Lofton for the conversion.
Henry Moore scored on a 6-yard run with 2 minutes, 34 seconds remaining. The Pirates then got one more chance at victory but the Lions’ defense held. Another threat in the second half was stopped on an interception by Hamilton’s T.J. Warren.
“The defense really made some big stops,” Baty said. “I was real proud at how we stuck with it when some things didn’t go our way.”
Hamilton plays at Thrasher (2-3, 0-2) in another region game Friday night.
Starkville Academy 17, Washington School 10: At Greenville, the Volunteers shook off their first loss of the season to get a road win.
“It was good to see the players respond the way they did,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “It wasn’t the best we’ve played this year, but we played hard for four quarters. We had to make some things happen and create some opportunities. We were able to do that.”
Starkville Academy (4-1) erased an early 3-0 deficit on a 44-yard field goal by Sam Cox in the final minute of the first half. Cox had missed a 39-yard try earlier in the half. The score was set up by a fumble recovery from Willie Latham.
In the second half, the Volunteers got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Noah Heflin to Codie Futral and a 1-yard touchdown run by Will Miller.
“We didn’t make any major adjustments at the half, we just told the guys to keep playing hard,” Nicholson said. “We went on the road and beat a good football team. I thought the guys really responded this week in practice and it showed up during the game.”
Starkville Academy begins Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 play Friday night when it plays host to Heritage Academy (4-1).
Central Academy 46, Unity Christian 18: At Leland, the Vikings turned a big offensive night in victory in MAIS Eight-Man play.
“We set the tone early and I thought that was important,” Central Academy coach Michael Dawkins said. “The team got a lot of confidence from last week (a victory over Hebron Christian) and that helped start this game off on the right note.”
Jerry Long was 7-of-13 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Coby Weston had 63 receiving yards and a touchdown; Jack VanDevender had 61 receiving yards and a touchdown; Preston Dawkins had 52 receiving yards and a touchdown.
On the ground, Long ran for 195 yards and two scores. William Dawkins added 71 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Joel Ridell led the way with 12 total tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Dylan Ricks added seven tackles and two sacks.
Marshall 42, Oak Hill Academy 7: At West Point, the Patriots used a size and speed advantage to race past the Raiders.
Eli Pearson threw for a pair of touchdowns for Marshall Academy (3-1). On the ground, the Patriots also got two rushing scores from Canaan Pearson.
Macon McBrayer scored on a 3-yard run for Oak Hill Academy (2-3) in the first quarter. A long pass play from Ken Dill to John Carver Middleton and then run by Dill set up the scoring play.
After the Raiders knotted things at 7-7, the Patriots eased out to a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Oak Hill Academy will play host to Winona Christian (4-1) Friday night in MAIS Class A/AA, District 2 action.
Itawamba AHS 34, Aberdeen 12: At Aberdeen, Caleb Whittle had a season-high 154 receiving yards and two touchdowns to lead the Indians (4-0) in MHSAA play.
Down 10-0 early, Aberdeen (1-4) got on the board when Dajoun Rogers scored on a 68-yard screen pass from Fred Fields. IAHS came right back for a 17-6 halftime lead when Austin King hit Whittle for a 22-yard touchdown.
King finished 15-of-20 passing for 271 yards with two touchdowns. Rogers finished with 167 all-purpose yards and both touchdowns, including a 30-yard run with just over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Also for IAHS, Austin King scored on a 2-yard run and Jamal Shumpert scored on a 2-yard run. Skylar Grissom kicked field goals of 32 and 43 yards.
Aberdeen plays at Shannon (3-1) Friday night.
East Memorial Christian Academy 36, Victory Christian 6: At Columbus, Jordan Payne scored on a 12-yard run, but the Eagles (2-3) fell to 0-2 in the Christian Football Association (CFA).
Garrett Anthony had nine carries for 69 yards and six catches for 117 yards. He also had a team-high 12 tackles.
Gavin Forrester was 9 of 25 for 132 yards and three interceptions. Kody Anthony had three catches for 15 yards. Payne added 11 carries for 32 yards.
Marlon Clay and Tyler Nelson had fumble recoveries.
Victory Christian will travel to Millbrook, Alabama, next week to take on New Life Christian Academy.
In another MAIS contest Friday night, Columbus Christian dropped a 34-16 decision to Winona Christian at home.
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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