From Staff Reports
SALTILLO — Clayton Knight threw three touchdown passes to Jason Brownlee to help the West Point High School football team beat Saltillo 48-6 in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A, Region 1 game Friday night on the road.
The Green Wave (8-1, 5-0 region) have now won seven in a row. With the win, West Point clinched a first-round playoff game at home Nov. 11.
Knight, who transferred in from Saltillo in the spring, was 7 of 13 for 130 yards. Brownlee had three catches for 87 yards.
Knight hit Brownlee for a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give West Point a 7-0 lead. Knight hit Bownlee for a 63-yard touchdown and a 14-yard touchdown in the second as the Green Wave led 35-0 at halftime.
“It seems to be working right now,” said Chambless of the connection between Knight and Brownlee. “Clayton’s going to have a high completion rate, be smart with the football and not make crazy decisions that are going to put us in jeopardy. He knows that we have the height of Brownlee. He can throw it up to him and give him a shot to get it.”
Andre Lane scored an 8-yard touchdown in the first and a 1-yard touchdown in the third. He had 48 yards on five carries.
Marcus Murphy scored a 50-yard touchdown in the second and finished with 105 yards on 10 carries. Jake Chambless scored a 19-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.
Saltillo (2-8, 1-4) scored a 47-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to cut the lead to 35-6.
West Point plays host to New Hope Friday.
“We just need to keep winning,” coach Chambless said. “If we don’t already have it sewn up, if we beat New Hope, I know we will. We need to win the next one for sure.”
n West Lowndes 42, Hamilton 0: Casey Smith threw threw touchdowns and rushed for another as the Panthers shut out the Lions in a MHSAA Class 1A, Region 1 game.
Smith hit Marcus Farmer for two touchdowns and Quinshawn Lucious for the other.
Farmar also had two rushing touchdowns and 204 all-purose yards.
“We tried to pretty much work on our running game, but we had to end up passing because they had such a big defensive line,” West Lowndes coach Anthony King said. “We’re just trying to get primed for the playoffs and it was a big win.”
West Lowndes (6-2, 4-1 region) plays at Coffeeville Friday, while Hamilton (2-6, 2-3) plays host to Smithville this Friday.
n North Pontotoc 49, Aberdeen 12: At Aberdeen, The Bulldogs couldn’t overcome a strong showing from Viking senior running back Zay Cullens in a MHSAA Class 3A, Region 4 game.
Cullens had 306 yards and six touchdowns.
For Aberdeen, Malik Holliday scored on a 1-yard run, while Terrance Rowe caught a 20-yard pass from Fred Fields for the other score.
Aberdeen (2-8, 1-3 region) plays at Nettleton Friday to finish the regular season. The Bulldogs make the playoffs with a win.
n Wayne Academy 45, Columbus Christian Academy 22: At Waynesboro, Kimarri Whitfield scored two touchdowns in his final game as a Ram in Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) action.
He scored on an 80-yard kickoff return and on a 70-yard run.
Dakameron Mitchell scored a 4-yard touchdown for Columbus Christian (2-8).
“It was a tough season with all the injuries, but I’m proud of the way this group of guys stuck together and played hard every game,” Columbus Christian coach Greg Watkins said. “I’m really going to miss this group of seniors and their leadership. I’m also glad they got to be a part of winning the schools first district title two years ago. They will truly be missed.”
n Unity Christian 38, Central Academy 34: At Macon, William Dawkins had 252 yards rushing and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Vikings in MAIS Eight-Man play.
Dawkins scored touchdowns from 5 and 1 yards out.
“William Dawkins stepped up as a leader big time,” Central Academy coach Michael Dawkins said. “He probably had another 50 yards called back for penalties. It was just inexperienced players holding.”
Fullback Jack VanDevender had 15 yards receiving, but left early with a high ankle sprain after his lone catch. That forced Dawkins to rely on some of his young players.
Quarterback Jerry Long had 15 yards and 67 yards rushing with two touchdowns. He recorded three tackles on defense. Colby Cox had a 25-yard touchdown.
On defense, Joel Riddell had five tackles, Preston Dawkins had three and Dylan Ricks had two.
“We stayed in the game the whole time and they could have given up about six or seven times,” Dawkins said. “The kids we have left, they just have good hearts. I wouldn’t trade these 10.”
Central Academy (2-7) plays at Strider Academy Friday.
n Park Place Christian 62, Hebron Christian 0: At Pheba, The Eagles couldn’t overcome the Crusaders on Homecoming.
Hebron Christian coach David Foster’s roster is full of eighth graders and he said it showed in the loss.
“We got beat up on pretty good,” Foster said. “We had a few stretches where we were executing. We had some streaks there in the game where we played pretty well, but we had way too many big plays and we were just outmanned.”
Hebron Christian (0-8) plays host to Kemper Academy Friday.
n Deer Creek School 21, Oak Hill Academy 7: At West Point, the Raiders (2-8) dropped the regular-season finale in MAIS Class A/AA, District 2 play.
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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