McLaurin 30, West Lincoln 14

Both the McLaurin Tigers and the West Lincoln Bears came into their matchup on Perry Miller Field Friday night hungry for a victory.

Each school had started the season with identical 0-3 records and the game looked to be an even pairing from the outset. Unfortunately for the faithful wearing green and white in the home bleachers, it was the visiting Tigers from Rankin County who made the most plays Friday in a 30-14 win for McLaurin.

The victory was the first in the career of rookie McLaurin head coach Will Hedgepath. The Tigers had started the season off with losses to Puckett (62-0), Loyd Star (61-0) and Richland (41-6).

It was West Lincoln (0-4) that had momentum early as the Bears went ahead on the first play of the second quarter. That’s when sophomore running back Chance Stewart powered in from 9-yards out to give his team a 7-0 lead following a Josh Thornhill PAT kick.

It was a punt from Thornhill that had set up the score.

The senior kicker/soccer player had a punt downed inside the McLaurin 10-yard line and that eventually led to McLaurin punting from their own endzone.

The McLaurin kick went out of bounds at their own 22-yard line and set WL coach Brad Bland’s team up in prime field position.

The Tigers answered back on the following drive when senior offensive lineman/fullback Gage Brock rumbled in from the 3-yard line. West Lincoln blocked the PAT kick and still led 7-6 with 8:34 left in the first half.

That first McLaurin scoring drive was aided by a questionable 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty that turned a 4th-and-very long for the Tigers in to a 4th-and-2 that they then converted.

The penalty was called after the McLaurin quarterback recovered his own fumble and the umpire threw the flag when he said a West Lincoln player jumped on the QB after he was down. It wasn’t a play with any malice, but it hurt the Bears badly and gave McLaurin new life on a drive that looked dead.

The visitors then converted on another 4th-down play on their next scoring drive, this on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Anderson Walker to Elijah Haynes that came on a 4th-and-7 yards to go.

The conversion attempt was stopped, and McLaurin led 12-7, which is where the score stood at halftime.

The third quarter started with another McLaurin passing touchdown and then the Tigers recovered a botched kickoff return for West Lincoln as things went from bad to worse for the Bears.

The Bears broke through for a second half touchdown when quarterback Caden Seay hit freshman Layton Sullivan for a 5-yard touchdown pass with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.

West Lincoln will be on the road next week in Pelahatchie to meet the East Rankin Academy Patriots.

 

Mize 21, Bogue Chitto 14

In a battle of two strong 2A programs, Mize (3-1) clipped Bogue Chitto (3-1) by a 21-14 final score in Smith County on Friday.

A pair of Andrew Merrell field goals rounded out the first half scoring for BC as Mize led 7-6 at the halftime break.

Mize then led 14-6, before the Bobcats came back to get a touchdown and two-point conversion pass in the third quarter to tie the game at 14-14.

A rushing touchdown by Mize in the fourth quarter ended up being the difference in the win for the Bulldogs.

Bogue Chitto and coach Gareth Sartin will be back on the friendly confines of Troy Smith Field next week when they host the Puckett Wolves (4-0).

 

Loyd Star 30, North Forrest 0

The formula of a strong running game and a stout defense again proved to be a winning combination Friday for Loyd Star at North Forrest on Friday. Coach Brian Ford’s Hornets beat NFHS 30-0 in Eatonville after leading 10-0 at halftime.

A Cooper Reid field goal and a Bryce Ford 7-yard rushing touchdown were the only first half points for the Hornets in the opening half of action.

Loyd Star opened the third quarter with an efficient drive that was capped by a Carter Holcomb quarterback sneak that made the score 16-0.

The LS offense got another big game from senior running back Julius Smith in the win as he scored twice in the second half to help lead the Hornets to the win. The game was the third straight shutout for the Loyd Star defense.

It’s back to the road for Loyd Star next week as they’ll travel to Jasper County to tangle with the Stringer Red Devils (1-3).

 

Amite School Center 48, Enterprise 24

The visiting Amite School Center Rebels steadily pulled away Friday in the second half to take a 48-24 win over Enterprise on Harry Cole Field.

The homecoming crowd at EAC was treated to some back-and-forth action early as the score was tied at 8-8 early in the first quarter.

It was a second straight win for ASC (3-2) after the Rebels defeated Sacred Heart 14-0 last week. The Rebels beat Enterprise 36-14 last season in Liberty.

Enterprise (0-3) and coach Trey Woodard step into Region 4-1A play next week with a trip to face Taylorsville High in Smith County.

 

Wesson 40, Lumberton 6

The 3A Wesson Cobras (3-1) went on the road and overwhelmed the 1A Lumberton Panthers (0-4) on the road Friday by a 40-6 final score.

A 2-yard rushing touchdown by Cotton Westbrook got Wesson on the board early and was followed by a scoring pass from Will Loy to O’Mari Johnson that put the Cobras up 13-0 after the first quarter.

Johnson added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter and Loy hooked up with Deshawn Smith on a 60-yard touchdown pass that put Wesson ahead 27-0 following the Patrick Coleman PAT kick.

Loy capped the scoring in the third quarter for Wesson with touchdown throws to Justin Hailey and Johnson.

Next up for Wesson and coach Jeremy Loy is a home matchup on Friday against the Mize Bulldogs (3-1).

 

Lawrence County 47, Taylorsville 25

Coach Jesse Anderson and his Lawrence County Cougars (4-0) unbeaten Friday by running past the 1A Taylorsville Tartars (1-3) 47-25 in Monticello.

The Cougars scored first when quarterback Kannon Cato hit Anthony Owens for a touchdown pass in the first quarter. Taylorsville answered back to tie the game at 7-7.

Reigning Daily Leader Offensive Player of the Week Ahmad Hardy hit back with a 65-yard touchdown run to put Lawrence County ahead again.

LC led 14-13 after one quarter. A rushing touchdown by Cato helped stake the Cougars to a 20-13 halftime lead.

After THS had pulled to within 20-19, Lawrence County answered back with another Hardy score on the ground and then converted the 2-point try to make it 26-19.

Hardy later added another third quarter rushing touchdown as Lawrence County led 35-19 after three complete quarters.

Cato and Markavion Owens scored via the ground in the final 12 minutes to help push the LC lead out to its final score.

The Cougars wrap up non-region play next week with a trip to Walthall County to face the Tylertown Chiefs (2-2).

 

Copiah Acad. 48, Brookhaven Academy 6

The MAIS 5A Copiah Academy Colonels moved to 5-0 on the season Friday with a 48-6 win over Brookhaven Academy in Gallman.

It was a similar scene as the 45-7-win CA picked up at Brookhaven last season.

The rest of the regular season schedule for 4A Brookhaven Academy (3-2) will be favorable matchups with schools their size or smaller.

Next up for coach Anthony Hart’s BA team is a home matchup on Friday against District 4-4A rival Columbia Academy (1-4).

Against Copiah, Cougar quarterback Elijah Helton thew for 128 yards on 7-of-13 passing. Helton hooked up with senior receiver Trevor Fortenberry for a touchdown pass. Fortenberry hauled in six passes for 119 yards. Helton also rushed for 49 yards on six carries.

Copiah Academy and coach Billy Wayne Hankins went 11-3 last season and lost to Heritage Academy in the 5A state championship game.

The Colonels will travel to play at Jackson Prep next week.

 

Brookhaven High at McComb canceled

The Brookhaven High at McComb game scheduled for Friday was canceled earlier in the day due to issues surrounding a threat to one of the schools in the Brookhaven School District.

The Panthers are back on King Field this week when they open region play by hosting the West Jones Mustangs.