Carroll Academy head coach Bo Milton saw some things in his team in last week’s come-from-behind win over Magnolia Heights School that has him believing they are about to turn the corner.
“It was a complete opposite of the way we played the previous week against Kirk,” said Milton, whose Rebels improved to 2-1 with the 18-7 triumph over the Chiefs. “We got down early, but our kids never hung their heads. We also got better, especially on the offensive line. It was our best game blocking so far this season. I think our conditioning paid off. We could tell Magnolia Heights was wearing down in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve never played Clinton Christian in an actual game, just in a scrimmage. They didn’t win a game last year, and they have a new head coach this season. They are trying to build a program after being in the 8-man league for a number of years.”
The Warriors are off to a 2-2 start. Last week, Clinton lost 54-18 to Adams County Christian School, and the week before beat Amite School Center 45-26. They lost 49-7 to Hartfield on Aug. 20 and topped Hillcrest 43-0 on Aug. 13.
The Rebels got a 108-yard interception return in the second period against the Chiefs to turn the contest around. They took an 8-7 lead on Maddox Carpenter’s 2-point run.
“That interception changed the entire game,” Milton added. “They really didn’t do anything on offense after that. Our defense dominated the game. It was our best showing so far this season.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday in Carrollton at Gordon Field.
- J.Z. George at Winona — The Jaguars head over to Montgomery County to face the Tigers in their annual contest for bragging rights between the two schools.
J.Z. George (1-1) is coming off a 36-6 win over Coffeeville last week. Senior quarterback Jordun Normal threw for 200 yards and four touchdowns. Two of his TD passes went to senior receiver D’Anthony McGlothan, while the other two went to junior Keiyhaun Wilks. Senior running back Kendarius Head ran for 70 yards and had two 2-point conversions.
“It was a tough week last week because of all the distractions,” said head coach Rusty Smith. “We didn’t practice Monday with the weather turning bad, and the field was soaked Tuesday. Then we find out Thursday that four of our senior starters were in quarantine, and one other kid we held out for disciplinary reasons. We were glad to make it through the week.
“We need to be at full strength to take on Winona. They have a solid football team. They do about the same things on offense they did last year. It’s no secret they are going to give the ball to No. 7 (Deriaun Townsend).”
Winona (2-0) won a thrilling 50-47 double overtime contest against Newton County last week. Townsend, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons at J.Z. George, ran for 238 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries. He also caught four passes for 47 yards and a pair of scores.
- Delta Streets vs. Sylva-Bay — After two grueling weeks on the road, the Lions will play their first home game of the season against the Saints at Mississippi Valley State’s Rice-Totten Stadium.
Kickoff is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
DSA opened the season with a forfeit win over Hillcrest Christian School and then dropped back-to-back games to Washington School (28-15) and Indianola (48-7).
“It will be good to play at home,” said head coach Travis Upshaw. “We are very thankful Mississippi Valley is allowing us to use their facilities.
“Sylva-Bay has a good team, but they will be much smaller than the first two teams we faced. We put in a full day Monday working. We got behind last week because of the weather, so we needed to get back to work.”
Sylva-Bay is 0-2 as it has lost to Centreville 36-15 and had to forfeit a game to Stringer.
- Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
