FAYETTE — The Lawrence County Cougars outgunned the JeffersonCounty Tigers 66-26 in a wild high school football shootout Fridaynight. Lawrence County’s vaunted rushing attack amassed 475 rushingyards, keeping the football away from the Tigers and explosivequarterback Percy Turner.

Four different Cougars each rushed for at least 78 yards, andquarterback Adam Watson made the most of his limited pass attempts,twice connecting with tight end Blake Stalans for touchdowns. Indefeat, the dynamic Turner managed to pass for 233 yards and 3touchdowns, but he was intercepted twice.

With the win, Coach Mike Davis’ Cougars improved to 7-1 on theseason. The 3A Tigers, coached by James Herrington, fell to 6-2.Jefferson County established itself as one of the top 3A programsin south Mississippi by beating powerhouses Franklin County andTylertown in its two previous games. On Friday, however, the Tigersproved unable to keep up with the 4A Cougars.

“We had a good night,” Davis said. “Offensively, aside fromfumbling away a scoring opportunity, that’s about as good as we cando right now. And defensively, our guys competed well. We gave upsome yards and big plays, but that’s a credit to Jefferson County.I don’t know if our folks realize just how good they are onoffense.”

Other than 1 lost fumble and 1 illegal procedure penalty, theLCHS offense was virtually flawless. With Jefferson County stackedto stop the Cougars’ Kendrick Hardy, senior wingback IsaiahFerdinand took advantage, rushing for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns.Despite being the center of attention, Hardy managed to carve out103 yards, in addition to an 80-yard kickoff return.

Sophomore Josh Cameron was also solid, rushing for 87 yards, atouchdown, and two 2-point conversions. On his only rushing attemptof the night, fellow 10th-grader Mathew Wells dashed 78 yards for atouchdown. Senior fullback/linebacker Julius Magee also plowedahead for 2 touchdowns.

Turner, one of Mississippi’s leading passers this season,completed 9 of 20 passing, including touchdown tosses of 37, 38,and 68 yards.

On Lawrence County’s first offensive play, after safety MilesHill intercepted a Turner pass, Ferdinand bolted 49 yards for atouchdown. LCHS led 7-0.

Midway through the first quarter, Dontray Collins broke throughto block a Jefferson County punt. Five plays after that, Ferdinandscored on a 9-yard run to make it a 13-0 game. The extra-pointattempt failed.

After the LCHS defense forced another Tiger punt, Wellsimmediately dashed 78 yards around the left end. Cameron’s 2-pointrun made it a 21-0 game with 4:03 remaining in the firstquarter.

No doubt stunned to be down 21-0, Jefferson County answeredback, when tailback Jermaine Clark raced 68 yards for a touchdown.It was 21-6.

With 7:45 to go in the first half, Watson threw a perfect striketo the sure-handed Stalans, who hauled it in for a 27-6 Cougarlead. Four minutes later, after a Dontray Collins fumble recovery,Julius Magee capped an 8-play drive with a 2-yard plunge. TheCougars led 33-6 late in the half.

Again, Jefferson County struck back quickly. First, Turnerpassed to Dorian Gray for 33 yards. On the next play, CorneliusSmith got behind the Cougar secondary and hauled in a 37-yardtouchdown pass. LCHS led 33-12 with 3:09 left in the half.

In the final 3 minutes of the half, Lawrence County put togethera 7-play, 65-yard march that culminated in Magee’s 1-yard run.Ferdinand had runs of 28 and 16 yards on the drive, and Hardy addeda 12-yarder. The Cougars carried a 40-12 lead into theintermission.

While no lead is comfortable against Jefferson County’squick-strike attack, the Cougars went a long way toward sealing thewin on the opening drive of the second half. Hardy’s 20-yard runset up Watson’s second scoring toss to Stalans, a 13-yarder. It was46-12.

Again, Turner and the Tigers tried to make a game of it He hitCalvin Lewis for 38 yards and a touchdown, cutting the lead to46-18. Late in the third quarter, as LCHS fumbled the football awaydeep in Jefferson County territory, Turner threw a 68-yardtouchdown pass to Dorian Gray, who made a spectacular run after thecatch. Suddenly, it was 46-26 and the Cougar lead didn’t appearquite so safe.

Kendrick Hardy remedied that. He returned the ensuing kickoff 80yards for a touchdown, and Lawrence County’s seventh victory wassecure. Moments later, Wells intercepted a Turner pass and returnedit for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Josh Cameron tacked on afinal touchdown for the Cougars.

“This game really wasn’t secure until Mathew’s interceptionreturn,” Coach Davis said. “I know that sounds funny, consideringthe final score, but Jefferson County showed the ability to scoreso quickly, were weren’t comfortable with a 3 touchdown lead.Kendrick’s kick return and Mathew’s big play gave us a safelead.”

The road trip was Lawrence County’s fifth in six weeks. TheCougars will return home for their final two regular-season games,against Region 6-4A foes Forest Hill and Port Gibson.

“We appreciate the way our supporters have followed us,” Davissaid. “Nowadays, it’s very expensive to drive to all of those roadgames, but our fans have been right there with us. We’re happy tobe headed back home.”