The Charleston High School Tigers will play host to the Hatley Tigers in a first-round playoff game Friday.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
As the champion of Region 3-2A, Charleston (7-3) drew the fourth seed Hatley (4-5) from Region 1-2A.
“They seem to be a really disciplined team and real sound, and they are going to try to run the ball,” CHS head coach Rasheed DeBerry said of the visiting Tigers. “They play tough and consistent. They don’t throw the ball much, but they make you play a game of gap-sound football defensively. It’s easy to go to sleep on them. They might run the same thing over and over and then, all of a sudden, they might hit it.”
DeBerry said he hopes to see a large crowd of CHS faithful in the stands rooting for the hometown Tigers.
“Hopefully, we can get that support from week to week, starting here Friday night, and not just on the back end as the stakes build,” he added.
The winner of Friday’s first-round tilt will advance to face the victor of 8-2 Eupora at 9-1 Bruce. Regardless of the outcome of that game, a Charleston win would mean a second straight week of CHS home playoff football on Nov. 13.
Charleston manhandled the M.S. Palmer High School Dragons to the tune of 38-0 during the regular-season finale last Friday at Marks. The Tigers led 16-0 after the first quarter and were up 24-zip at the intermission.
“We played pretty good, but we played down to the competition at times,” said DeBerry of the victory over the winless Dragons, who now have lost 25 consecutive games dating to late 2024.
“I always want to get better and be more efficient. We didn’t have many penalties, but we had one fumble, and we always want to protect the ball,” the coach explained. “For the most part, we did what we were supposed to do. In the second half, they ran the clock and we had some young guys get in and show a little promise for the upcoming season.”
Coreyun Spearman led the charge on the ground for the Tigers with six carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a two-point conversion.
Quarterback Quay Kimble had five carries for 13 yards, one rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown of 10 yards to Ron Stamps. He ran for a two-point conversion. To make it a triple-TD night while also playing defense, Kimble corralled and returned an interception for a 45-yard touchdown on a pick-6 play.
Santonio Bradley had two carries for 29 yards and a rushing two-point conversion.
Demarion Johnson scored a two-point conversion on a pass reception.
Kimble was one of three Charleston players snaring interceptions against Palmer, noted DeBerry. He said Stamps and Ta’marcus Taylor also plucked some fire from the Dragons’ aerial assault.
The coach was impressed by the three-pick outing.
“In my eyes, on the back end, that’s an improvement for our secondary, kind of going up for the ball and making a few plays,” DeBerry noted. “We’ve been kind of short on that end in recent years to my liking as a defensive-minded coach, but I was proud to see that. Guys high-pointing the ball, pretty much going up competitively for those interceptions.”
The coach said the leading tackler for Charleston last week was E.J. Powell, who racked up six tackles and one forced fumble.
