CLARKSDALE — Finally emerging on the plus side of the turnover ratio was a strong factor in West Tallahatchie’s 28-8 win Friday [Sept. 9] over Coahoma County.
In getting their first win of the season, the Choctaws (1-2) enjoyed their first 20-point margin of victory since 2019. The Red Panthers fell to 1-2.
A week after committing seven turnovers in an overtime loss to O’Bannon — 12 total in their first two games — West Tally had only one, a fumble, against Coahoma while themselves forcing five.
“I’m happy to see that we protected the football, and that’s 90% of the game,” said Choctaws head coach Shane Hargett. “If you turn the ball over more than you get turnovers, it’s going to be very hard to beat anybody regardless of what kind of team they have.”
Shane Hargett
The visitors scored first in the game on a 12-yard carry by Isaac Day, who had three rushing touchdowns in the contest. Ja’Quarius McGee ran for the two-point conversion.
Coahoma tied affairs near the end of the first quarter on a 12-yard rushing TD by Cameron Bell, who also carried for the conversion.
The Choctaws scored 14 second-quarter points — Day on a 7-yard run followed by a McGee conversion with about 6 minutes in the half and Day on a 35-yard carry (the two-pointer failed) with about 3 minutes before intermission — to go up 22-8 at the break.
The last points of the game came about midway through the fourth quarter when McGee scored on a 3-yard run. The follow-up try failed.
No offensive stats were readily available from the game, but Hargett lauded defenders Sentrell Howard, who snared two interceptions, and Jeremiah Westmorland and Reginald Walker, who corralled one pick apiece.
This week, the Choctaws are set to face the 0-3 Riverside Bulldogs at Avon, just south of Greenville, but Hargett said he expects a battle.
“We’ve got a tough game Friday,” he noted. “Riverside hasn’t won a game, but, at the same time, they have played three extremely tough football teams, so we really don’t know what they have.”
Riverside has scored just six points in three outings while allowing 151, but the caliber of competition the Bulldogs have faced has a lot to do with it, Hargett added.
Last week, Riverside dropped a 56-0 decision to undefeated and 2021 Class 1A state runner-up Simmons of Hollandale. They also lost 40-6 to now 4-0 Canton Academy and lost 55-0 to now 2-1 St. Joseph of Greenville.
“They’ve had an extremely difficult schedule and they’re very underrated,” he said.
In 2021, West Tally barely got the better of Riverside — the final was 8-0 — within the friendly confines of Choctaw Stadium in Webb.
Riverside will be the last tuneup game before the Chocs enter their grueling seven-game Region 2-1A schedule, and Hargett is hoping his team can fire on all cylinders and keep the momentum going.
“It’s the last, quote-unquote, preseason game to get us ready for our season,” the coach said. “We want to just keep on building momentum, tackle better, block better and, most importantly, protect the football.”
After the Riverside game, the Chocs host West Bolivar Sept. 23 for homecoming.
