Photo: Devontae Dillard carries the football with blockers on his way to a two-touchdown performance at St. George’s on Thursday. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
(THURSDAY) NORTHPOINT CHRISTIAN 42, ST. GEORGE’S 0: Northpoint Christian’s football team entered its fall break with a decisive 42-0 victory at St. George’s of Collierville Thursday. The easy win was buoyed by a 35-point outburst that set the wheels in motion for a continuous clock without stopping, except for timeouts in the second half. The Trojans were able to tack on another score in the fourth quarter for the final result.
Touchdowns by standout running back Devontae Dillard, Cooper Mansell, a pass reception for a score by Miles Colom, and another scoring run by Brady Duff amount to scoring points in the win. Mansell was also perfect in extra point kicks after each touchdown.
Northpoint coach Tyler Gold liked his team’s play for the most part in Thursday’s victory.
“I thought we came out a little sluggish after a good first drive and then we kinda took our foot off the gas once we scored the first touchdown,” Gold said. “That made me upset, but once we figured that out, we were able to get 35 points in the first half, keep the shutout on the (score)board, get a late touchdown with some younger guys in and I was proud of them for finishing the game.”
Dillard opened the scoring with an 11-yard run on the opening drive of the game to culminate a three-play drive that included a 70-yard run to set up the touchdown run.
Mansell scored from midfield in the second quarter with just under nine minutes left in the half for a 14-0 lead, followed by Dillard’s second touchdown with just six minutes left before half. That lead quickly became 28-0 when a fumble recovery put the Trojans in business, followed by a 13-yard pass to Colom for a score just 33 seconds later.
Mansell’s second touchdown run of the night with 1:10 left in the half made the lead at intermission 35-0.
With that cushion, the second half was played without clock stoppages, except for timeouts, for the rest of the game. Duff’s touchdown came as time ran out in the third quarter.
Gold liked the Trojans’ defensive play against the Gryphons.
“Our defense has been fantastic,” he said. “That’s our fourth shutout this year, which is pretty special for our defense.”
Northpoint improved its record to 5-3 with the victory and will set up an important game against Lausanne Collegiate in a couple of weeks at home in Southaven. The Oct. 18 contest will be for the district championship against a team that is typically a nemesis in Northpoint’s desire to reach the TSSAA Division 2-AA playoffs.
That game will come after a bye week for the Trojans, who should be healthier for their battle with the Lynx.
“We get a week off and then we get to focus on Lausanne and hopefully have a good week of practice,” Gold said. “We’re tired, it’s late in the year and we’re a little beat up right now. The extra week will certainly help us at this time.”
(FRIDAY) GRENADA 27, LAKE CORMORANT 21: The Lake Cormorant Gators nearly pulled off a big upset in the Region 1-6A opener, coming up just short against the Grenada Chargers, who came away with a 27-21 victory. The Chargers, ranked first in 6A by Maxpreps, came into the contest on a five-game winning streak. The Gators brought a 3-2 record into the game and had last week off after a convincing victory over Southaven two weeks before.
The Chargers opened the scoring on a pass reception by Eli Palmer with just under eight minutes left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Lake Cormorant would answer halfway through the second quarter on a 70-yard run by running back Joshaun Williams for a 7-7 score.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Grenada quarterback Braden Trusty went in from 15 yards out for a 14-7 Grenada lead. However, the Gators answered again when signal caller Blake Beal found Tylen Matthews on a 30-yard pass play with just under 40 seconds left in the half for a 14-14 halftime score.
In the third quarter, it would be Lake Cormorant taking charge with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Zayden Reed for a 21-14 lead. But it would be Grenada getting a big break on the ensuing kickoff, as kick returner Chance Jenkins found an opening and ran 70 yards into the end zone for a 21-21 tie with under eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The winning points came later in the ball game when running back McCaleb Taylor found paydirt from five yards for a 27-21 lead, but the extra point kick was blocked and that, plus a kickoff return to near midfield gave life to a Gator comeback attempt. However an interception sealed the game for the Chargers in the 27-21 victory.
Grenada, now 6-1 for the season and 1-0 in Region 1-6A play, hosts Olive Branch in their next game on Friday, Oct. 18, while Lake Cormorant (3-3/0-1), next plays at Saltillo.
DESOTO CENTRAL 35, SOUTHAVEN 21: Bragging rights for Southaven football returns to Central Parkway with the Jaguars 35-21 victory over the Chargers Friday night. The Southaven Chargers took an early 13-7 lead before the Jags recovered and claimed the contest. Eric Perry scored three times for DeSoto Central, including twice in the second half comeback.
Perry ran for 128 yards and teammates Lenden Fairley rushed for another 130 yards and a score. The Jaguars won its third straight while Southaven remains winless for the season.
There was a report that fights on the field between the teams with about two minutes remaining forced the game to end early.
OXFORD 48, HORN LAKE 28: In a high-scoring contest, the Eagles and Oxford were tied 28-28 at intermission before Oxford three times in the second half to pull away.
