ETHEL — The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws skunked the Ethel Tigers 52-0 here Friday night
The win gave West Tally their greatest margin of victory since Sept. 23, 2016, when the Choctaws beat the Byers Lions 58-0.
“I’m proud of the guys on all sides of the ball,” said WTHS head coach Lorenzo Pimpton, whose team improved to 3-2 (2-0 in Region 3-1A) while Ethel fell to 0-5. The Chocs have won three games in a row.
“The guys did an awesome job,” Pimpton said, adding, “It’s not our intent to run up the score on anybody, but it is our intent to play better. And I’m not going to tell the kids to not play hard.”
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The handwriting was on the wall Friday when Ja’quarius McGee returned the game’s opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. He then ran for the two-point play.
The second quarter is when the Choctaws made their biggest splash, scoring 28 of their 52 total points.
“That second quarter, those guys turned it up,” noted Pimpton. “They just wanted to prove to everybody that they’re a better team than some people think they are.”
Kevonte Thomas scored on a 2-yard rushing TD at 11 minutes in the second. The conversion failed.
A couple of minutes later, Dontrel Byrd connected with Ja’quarius McGee on a 66-yard pass play for a touchdown. Atraviuantay Clark ran for the two-point play and a 22-0 lead.
Thomas scored again with about 3 minutes remaining in the first half on a 5-yard run. The conversion run failed.
The visitors’ final points of the half came with under a minute, when Jesdarius Williams returned an Ethel punt 55 yards for a touchdown. Dontavius Garner rushed for the conversion, putting the Chocs up 36-0 at the intermission.
West Tally scored late in the third quarter on a 75-yard run by Williams (Malique McGee passed to Ja’quarius McGee for the conversion) and on a 60-yard pass from Byrd to Ja’quarius McGee (Thomas carried for the points after.)
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Statistically, Byrd was 5-of-5 passing for 145 yards.
Ja’quarius McGee had four receptions for 140 yards and Markeevion Hawkins caught one pass for 5 yards.
Williams led the West Tally ground game with 75 yards on two carries. Byrd had four totes for 60 yards, Jalen Madden 10 for 53, Ja’quarius McGee four for 15 and Thomas three for 11.
Defensively, Rodriquis Simmons led the charge with eight individual tackles, two assists and one sack. Thomas had three solo stops and six assists. Garner recorded five solos and two assists, Clark five solos and one assist, and both Madden and Charles Spurlock had three individual tackles and two assists apiece.
Ja’quarius McGee and Malique McGee notched one sack apiece in the contest.
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Next up, the Choctaws visit the 1-4 Riverside Bulldogs in Avon. Riverside scored their first win of the year last week when they defeated Greenville O’Bannon 22-20.
“They now have that taste of winning, and it’s their homecoming this week,” noted Pimpton. “They’re going to be fired up.”
The coach said the plan for his team is “to go over there Friday on this mission to continue winning.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
