MONTICELLO – Senior quarterback Alex Woodall passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score, as the McComb Tigers defeated the Lawrence County Cougars 40-13 in Region 7-4A high school football action Friday night at LCHS.

Aquindus Henson rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Trivillian Williams and Larker Walker both had big receiving nights, as Malcolm Jones’ Tigers improved to 2-0 in region play. McComb is 5-2 overall.

Lawrence County, under first-year coach Herbert Davis, fell to 3-5 overall, and 0-2 in Region 7-4A play. The loss was the Cougars’ fourth straight. A thin underdog team to start the season, the Cougars have been decimated by injuries to key personnel.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys,” Davis said. “Obviously, we’d love to have won the game, but that might not have been in the cards tonight. Our team left everything it had out there on the field. The execution wasn’t perfect, but the effort was tremendous.”

Davis’ Cougars were actually much more competitive than the final score might indicate. LCHS trailed just 28-13 midway through the fourth quarter. McComb tacked on two touchdowns after that, both via touchdown passes, the last one coming on the final play of the game.

“We had a chance,” Davis said. “It was a pretty tall order, but we were in the game until late. The final score doesn’t indicate how well my kids competed with a very good McComb team.”

Both teams moved the football in the first quarter, but both had drives foiled by lost fumbles. Late in the period, Woodall’s 26-yard pass to Trivillian Williams set up Woodall’s four-yard touchdown run. McComb led 6-0.

Early in the second quarter, after a Lawrence County punt, Larkin Walker scored on an 11-yard run that was set up by the passing of Woodall and the running of Aquindus Henson. Woodall then ran for two points to make it a 14-0 game.

Lawrence County responded with its own ground attack, driving 70 yards in 10 plays, all on the ground. Gabraun Smith and T-Tez Cole shared the load, with Smith scoring on an eight-yard run.

Gabraun Smith had a big night for the Cougars, a team forced by injuries, to totally revamp its offensive approach. Smith rushed for 97 yards on 21 carries and caught four passes for 73 yards.

The Cougars’ momentum was short-lived, as McComb’s Daquan Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Lawrence County drove deep into McComb territory late in the half, largely on the passing of quarterback Will Jackson. Jackson ended up fumbling the football away on a sack, however, and it was recovered by McComb’s Jamadd Harrell. The Tigers led 20-6 at the half.

Early in the second half, an interception by LCHS linebacker Cedric Rhodes set Lawrence County up in great field position, but the McComb defense stopped the Cougars on downs. McComb put together an impressive drive, going 75 yards in 9 plays, scoring on Henson’s eight-yard run, and the Tigers led 28-6.

On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Will Jackson hit Gabraun Smith for 30 yards and a touchdown. Josh Stephens’ extra point cut the Tiger lead to 28-13.

LCHS did get the football back while down by two scores, but a Trivillian Williams pass interception ended the Cougars’ final hope.

Three plays after the interception, Woodall and Williams took advantage of a busted coverage in the Lawrence County secondary, connecting on a 47-yard touchdown pass to make it 34-13.

In the waning moments of the game, following a Lawrence County punt, the Tigers drove the length of the field, twice converting on fourth down. On the final play of the game, after completing a fourth-down pass to Williams for 21 yards, Woodall hit Larkin Walker for 17 yards and a touchdown, giving the Tigers their final margin of victory.

McComb will travel to Purvis this Friday. Lawrence County will play at South Pike.