The Charleston High School Tigers defeated the Hatley Tigers 46-8 in a first-round playoff game Friday despite a CHS team tragedy that rocked the squad.
Starting middle linebacker, junior EJ Powell, 16, was medevaced from the team’s practice field to a Memphis hospital two days earlier after sustaining a contact injury that left him unresponsive.
“It was pretty much a routine play in a team period,” said CHS head coach Rasheed DeBerry. “It didn’t seem like much. He just didn’t get up.”
The coach said the team was visibly shaken, but as Powell’s hospitalization continued, the team dedicated Friday night’s game to him and played football with a new purpose, for EJ.
“For them to be as prepared and as inspired under that circumstance, that should be highlighted,” said DeBerry.
Tuesday morning brought the terrible news that Powell had passed away.
A team meeting was held a short time later, and DeBerry said he expected that many of the players would “check out and go on home, too torn up to go on,” and that practice would be called off Tuesday.
Instead, he said the players beat the coaches to the locker room and were getting ready as practice time neared.
“It was a powerful day today,” DeBerry said Tuesday afternoon. “Very sad to start off, but very uplifting to see those guys still want to carry on and handle business in the name of EJ. That was amazing. It really was.”
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“Model citizen. Model student-athlete. Humble.”
Those were some of the words DeBerry used to describe EJ Powell.
“Off the field, he was very quiet, never got in trouble, just did things the right way. He worked his tail off in the weight room, worked his tail off in practice, and on Friday nights just turned into a beast. Some of them called him ‘The Hulk.’ Just really quiet, humble, respectful and respectable until those Friday night lights came on.”
DeBerry said EJ’s loss was a “huge blow” and he will be missed terribly, but for his teammates, a glint of hope has emerged: “It’s turned into a ‘What would EJ do?’ type thing and ‘Be more like EJ.’”
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This Friday, 8-3 Charleston will host the 9-2 Eupora Eagles in a second-round match. The winner advances to face the victor of Friday’s 10-1 East Webster at 9-2 Baldwyn showdown.
DeBerry said Eupora has an “outstanding athlete at quarterback and they like to run him a lot. He can take it the distance if you let him.”
The coach also noted that the Eagles utilize some formations that the Tigers have to be ready for, adding, “They’re always a fundamentally sound team, play hard and execute really well.”
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Last week, Quay Kimble completed 4-of-5 passes for 88 yards and one touchdown, a 29-yarder to Ron Stamps. Laryce Bradley was 1-of-1 for a 49-yard TD pass to Demarion Johnson, who had five receptions for 108 yards and a 2-point conversion.
Coreyun Spearman led the Charleston ground game with six carries for 100 yards and a touchdown. Kimble had five runs for 84 yards and a TD, D’andre Booker had one carry for a 30-yard TD and George Lang Jr. contributed one carry for a 2-point conversion.
Michael Hill had a punt return of 60 yards for a score.
