From Special Reports
OLIVE BRANCH — New Hope senior quarterback Thomas Stevens threw for six touchdowns as the Trojans knocked off Center Hill 55-27 in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A, Region 1 football game Friday night.
The Trojans improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in region play. New Hope returns home Friday night for another region battle with Lake Cormorant (4-3, 2-0).
For Stevens, it was just about equal opportunity.
Terryonte Thomas caught an 11-yard touchdown and Tyran Reed caught a 25-yard touchdown in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Jeremy Tate caught a 15-yard scoring strike, while Andre Erby had a 38-yard touchdown reception and T.J. Stephens had a 3-yard scoring catch.
New Hope led 35-7 at halftime
In the final half, Stevens and Stephens hooked up again from 10 yards out. The Trojans then added a pair of 10-yard rushing scores from Tony Deloach and Tyran Reed.
West Point 20, Clarksdale 17: At Clarksdale, the Green Wave held on to win a thriller on the road, also in MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1 play.
“Anytime you go on the road, it’s a difficult challenge,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “You have to work harder to find the motivation, when you are playing so far from home and there is not a big crowd in there. It doesn’t matter how pretty it is, you just want to survive on the road.”
Fresh off a region win over Oxford, Chambless knew a letdown was possible. West Point had lost five straight to Oxford before last week’s 22-8 victory at Hamblin Stadium.
“Clarksdale has playing very well on defense this season,” Chambless said. “We knew we would have to weather the storm. We did that early. It was a really physical game and I am proud of how we went on the road and took care of business.”
West Point (5-1, 2-0 region) erased an early 7-0 deficit when Clayton Knight scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter. An 8-yard run by Marcus Murphy pushed the advantage to 14-7.
Clarksdale (5-2, 1-1) closed within 14-10 on a field goal as the first half expired.
With slightly better than four minutes left in the game, Andre Lane got the Green Wave critical insurance points on a 17-yard run.
Clarksdale came right back with a touchdown of its own, forced a punt and had one final possession but it ended with a sack to run out the clock.
West Point will play host to Center Hill (2-4, 1-1) in another region game Friday night.
Hamilton 12, Biggersville 6: At Hamilton, the Lions nailed down another thrilling victory in MHSAA Class 1A, Region 1 play.
“We really played hard for four quarters,” Hamilton coach Josh Baty said. “I am really proud of how the kids battled and how they responded against adversity. It’s good to start 2-1 in region play. The kids knew this was a big game and that we had to play well and limit our mistakes.”
Hamilton (2-4, 2-1 region) received a 12-yard touchdown run from Bryant Butler in the first quarter. Thanks to that score, the Lions led 6-0 at halftime.
After Biggersville (1-6, 0-4) battled back to tie on a 10-yard run by Telick Barnett in the third quarter, Hamilton got the game-winner in the fourth quarter on an 8-yard run by Ty Hall.
Hamilton is open next week. Region play resumes at Falkner (0-6, 0-4) on Oct. 14.
Mooreville 38, Aberdeen 24: At Aberdeen, the Bulldogs dropped their MHSAA Class 3A, Region 4 opener at home.
Aberdeen (1-6, 0-1 region) plays at Hatley (4-3, 0-1) in region play Friday night.
Calhoun Academy 26, Central Academy 20: At Calhoun City, the Vikings fell on the road in Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Eight-Man District 2 play Friday night.
Central Academy (2-4, 1-1 region) will play at Delta Academy Friday night.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.