In a battle of hungry felines, the Clarksdale High School Wildcats defeated the Charleston High School Tigers 30-20 Friday night.
The Wildcats improved to 2-1 while the home loss handed the Tigers, also 2-1, their first defeat of the season.
CHS head coach Rasheed DeBerry, however, said he was “really proud” of his Class 2A team, who played “a really tough game” against the bigger Class 5A opponent.
“We played up, played a bigger school, and I think we answered the call,” said DeBerry. “I think we matched the intensity and I think we played a really good game. We’ve got a couple of things to clean up, of course, but that was one to grow on.”
The Tigers scored first, the Wildcats scored but failed on the conversion and Clarksdale scored again and converted in the second to take a 14-8 lead into the half.
Charles-ton scored in the third quarter to tie the game at 14 going into the final period.
The visitors outscored the Tigers 16-6 in the fourth quarter to seal their victory.
“We were right there for four quarters,” DeBerry said. “We’ve just got to clean up some things on special teams and continue to improve.”
The Charleston coach said it is “a test of wills to see what we’re made of mentally and physically when you go against an opponent who not only has you outnumbered in numbers of players but has you outsized a lot, too. It’s pretty good when you can hold up and fare well against them. It’s a good test.”
DeBerry lauded backup quarterback Santonio Bradley, making his first start for the injured Laryce Bradley, who is out at the signal-caller position due to a broken thumb on his passing hand, but the injured QB/free safety was able to play some on defense.
“For his first start against such a school, it’s a real good first game,” the coach noted of Santonio Bradley, who received Charleston’s “Player of the Week” honor for his 8-of-10 passing for 74 yards, two touchdowns and one interception performance. Bradley also ran eight times for 64 yards and scored on a conversion play.
Quay Kimble caught four balls for 33 yards and one TD, and Michael Hill snared one reception for a 27-yard TD. Jayden Browley caught a pass for 10 yards and Coreyun Spearman had one grab for 10.
On the ground, Spearman had 11 carries for 50 yards and one TD.
This week, Charleston visits 1-2 West Tallahatchie in Webb for the annual “Battle of the Golden Egg."
“It’s a big rivalry game. No matter what the record is, no matter what you look like on paper, that’s always a game where both sides are hyped up for it,” said DeBerry. “We’ve got to match the intensity again and stay focused.”
