CORINTH — The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws fell to the Biggersville High School Lions 48-0 in a first-round North 1A playoff here Friday night, Nov. 11.
The Lions improved to an 11-0 record as they advance to face 10-1 Simmons, 54-0 winners over Smithville.
West Tally’s season came to a close with an overall mark of 6-6.
“We knew going in that we were playing probably one of the best teams in the state in 1A and we had to play a clean, flawless game,” said Choctaws head coach Shane Hargett. “Of course, it kind of turned against us [early]. We muffed the opening kickoff and they recovered it. It just went downhill from there.”
Biggersville recovered the football at the West Tally 33, and on their first offensive play the Lions scored on a run that covered the distance.
The home team took a 20-0 lead at the end of one and led 41-0 at the half.
“Of course, I’m proud of the guys,” said Hargett. “We did the best we could. We’re still really, really young.”
The Choctaws were without the services of some starters Friday night.
“We had several starters out with anything from the flu to knee injuries Friday. We just didn’t have a whole lot to compete with them,” said Hargett. “I don’t think we’ve been 100% healthy in any game we played this year.”
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The coach said he is proud that the team, particularly the seniors, had a winning record during the regular season, but added, “We could have done a whole lot better.”
Hargett said he saw improvement over the course of the season, noting, “We’re a lot better than we were last year, but next year it needs to show in the record.”
West Tallahatchie head coach Shane Hargett (Photo by Larry Gordon)
More importantly, the team needs to “get a better seed in the playoffs,” Hargett said.
For the past two years, the Choctaws have taken the fourth and final playoff spot in their region, and in the first round of the playoffs they have faced a No. 1 seed, with miserable results both times.
“We’ve just got to work hard all offseason, hit the weight room and come back strong in the spring,” the coach said. “We’re going to have to do better next year.”
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Hargett said the team will be losing only four seniors to graduation: Jalil Allison, Adalius Christian, Tony Young Jr. and Xavier Hoskins.
This year’s roster was made up of six juniors, 13 sophomores and seven freshmen.
“We’ve just been extremely young the last two years,” he noted. “Next year and the year after, we ought to be loaded. I’m looking forward to that.”
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Due to biennial reclassification, the Mississippi High School Activities Association recently announced new regions for the 2023-25 football seasons.
West Tally, which has been in Region 2-1A, will be in Region 5-1A next year.
The Choctaws’ regional lineup is shrinking from eight teams to six.
West Tally will lose regional opponents Coldwater, McAdams and Coffeeville, and will gain Leland.
The Choctaws’ Region 5-1A will be comprised of Leland, McEvans, Simmons, South Delta, West Bolivar and West Tallahatchie.
