NORTH CARROLLTON - The Leflore County Tigers used a strong running attack Friday night to wear down J.Z. George and take a 22-6 win and ruin the Jaguars homecoming at North Carrollton.
Running back Terrance Williams proved to be the difference against J.Z. George, said Leflore County coach Marcellus Singleton.
"Williams is tough. He's a big, strong kid. He won the football game for us," Singleton said. "Without him tonight, we would have lost."
Williams had 322 all-purpose yards. He racked up 183 yards on the ground on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns. He had 122 yards on kickoff returns, including an 88-yard return for a touchdown.
He also pulled in one pass from quarterback Seneca Carter for 17 yards.
"This is a good football team," Singleton said of J.Z. George. "They are young, and they played us harder tonight than any team we've played so far. We are lucky to win this ball game."
Leflore County took advantage of a J.Z. George turnover to set up its first score in the contest.
Leflore's RoShaun Bailey picked off a Toris Beck pass at the 28 and returned it 10 yards to the 38. George was hit with a personal foul for a late hit out-of-bounds on the return, which put the Tigers in great field position at the Jaguar 47-yard line. Three plays later, Williams ran in from the 21 for the score with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter. Williams added the two-point conversion to give Leflore an 8-0 lead.
With tensions high following the personal foul, J.Z. George coach Claude Elam said he talked to his team during intermission.
Elam said both teams know each other so well, and there had been a lot of talk before the game.
Singleton said the kids just played hard, and the emotions run high in a game that is as big a rivalry as Leflore County and J.Z. George.
Leflore County added its second score late in the second quarter.
After taking over on downs, the Tigers almost gave the ball back to
J.Z. George when Williams fumbled the handoff. The Tigers also were hit with a holding penalty on the play, backing them up to their own 36-yard line.
But Williams made made a quick recovery. He gained 5 yards on his first carry and 9 on his second before breaking loose for a 50-yard touchdown run with 1:25 remaining in the half. Williams also added the two-point conversion to give Leflore County a 16-0 lead at the break.
J.Z. George opened the second half with its only scoring drive of the night. The Jaguars called on running backs Joseph Wright and Shuntyrus Whirl to make something happen, and it worked.
They marched 57 yards before Whirl punched the ball in from the 3 with 8:16 remaining in the third quarter.
The two-point conversion run failed, and Leflore County led 16-6.
Whirl had 82 yards on 13 carries with one touchdown, and Wright had 85 yards on 18 carries to lead J.Z. George offensively.
But the Tigers stole the Jaguars thunder on the ensuing kick as Williams returned the ball 88 yards for the score. The two-point conversion run was short.
Leflore County rolled up 322 yards in total offense. J.Z. George had 201 yards.
The Jaguars were inside the Leflore County 20-yard line three times in the fourth quarter, only to fumble the ball away or have the
Tigers take over on downs.
One of the most heart-wrenching fumbles came on a first-and-goal from the 3, when Wright fumbled the ball at the 2-yard line.
"We fumbled on the 2-yard line down that close," Elam said. "We should have scored two or three times and couldn't get it in.
"Turnovers are hurting us. I don't know what we've got to do to correct it," he said. "One fumble led to a first-half touchdown.
"But it was mistakes on our part. You can't take anything away from Leflore County," he said.
