The Charleston High School Tigers put a whupping on the M.S. Palmer High School Dragons, defeating them 58-12 in a first-round Class 2A state playoff game in Charleston Friday night.
The Tigers improved to 9-2 on the campaign, while the Dragons limped home at 2-9.
With the win, Charleston now will host the 9-3 Sebastopol Bobcats in a 7 o’clock starter Friday night.
The Bobcats have 2A’s “Mr. Football,” an award bestowed by the Mississippi High School Activities Association and Mississippi Association of Coaches on an outstanding player in each classification.
It is the second straight year that Adarius McDougle, who plays quarterback and free safety, has won the award.
In a 42-21 win over East Union last week, he rushed for 237 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries, and threw for a touchdown.
For the year, he has 703 passing yards with nine touchdowns and 1,668 rushing yards with 30 touchdowns. He has 33 tackles with three interceptions.
“He’s a really good player,” said CHS head coach LaDon Taylor. “He plays quarterback, but he’s more like a running back playing quarterback. A lot of their success depends on him, so we have to be really sound, very physical and play assignment football Friday night to try to contain him as much as possible. If we can contain him and make them try to do something that they probably haven’t been doing all year, that will be good for us.”
CHS gets help this week with the return of starting outside linebacker Timothy Kirk, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. Despite his absence, the senior is the Tigers’ leading tackler with a total of 49 — 36 are solos — and 3.5 sacks.
“He should be back full speed this week,” said Taylor. “Adding him back to the fold will definitely be a plus on the defensive side of the ball.”
Friday night’s winner will face the victor of this week’s game pitting the presently 6-5 Eupora Eagles at the 9-1 Calhoun City Wildcats.
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Despite the 46-point margin of victory, Taylor lamented his team’s slow start against Palmer.
“I was disappointed in how we played those first couple of drives of the first quarter. We gave up a touchdown and we just really did not play well,” he said. “It’s playoff time, and we can’t be going into games like that. In every round, teams get tougher and tougher, and you can’t just flip on a switch after someone hits you in the mouth. You need to be hitting them in the mouth from the start.”
After tossing an interception on their first offensive play of the game, the Tigers watched as the Dragons drove 69 yards in 17 plays, a roughing-the-passer penalty aiding their effort. Palmer scored on a 32-yard touchdown pass to take a 6-0 lead.
The Tigers responded with a six-play, 56-yard drive with Marcus “Deuce” Flowers cashing in on a 23-yard TD run, his first of five scores on the night. The conversion failed and the score was tied.
CHS exploded in the second quarter, scoring five touchdowns offensively and a safety defensively to blow open a 44-6 lead at the half.
Flowers scored second-quarter rushing touchdowns of 2 and 17 yards and ran for a pair of conversion plays.
Latese Edwards had a 1-yard TD run and conversion.
Quentin Carter caught a 57-yard TD pass from Devon Olive and ran for an 8-yard TD.
The game clock ran continuously in the second half.
In the third quarter, Flowers caught a 19-yard TD pass from Olive, and Palmer scored on a 4-yard TD run.
Deuce returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score and Olive passed to David Ray for the conversion in the fourth act.
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Statistically, Olive completed 6-of-7 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Carter caught three balls for 80 yards, Flowers two for 37 and Ray one for 30.
Flowers led the ground attack with 12 carries for 104 yards. Carter added 78 yards on three totes, Coreyun Spearman 4 yards on two runs and Edwards 1 yard on one carry.
Senior cornerback Brandon Henderson returned an interception 31 yards for CHS.
