SHELBY — The Charleston High School Tigers kicked off their Region 3-2A slate with a 34-18 win over the Northside Gators here Friday night (Oct. 7), with homecoming next on the agenda.
Charleston improved to 4-3 while Northside fell to 4-2.
“Being a big division game and their homecoming, that made [the win] even sweeter,” said CHS head coach LaDon Taylor.
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While noting that his team played “pretty good” and that he was “proud of the guys’ effort,” Taylor and company did have to overcome some adversity midway through the contest.
After scoring the first three touchdowns of the game, the Tigers were up 20-0.
That was before Northside scored three unanswered touchdowns to draw close.
The Gators scored before the half to cut the lead to 20-6, then added two more TDs in the third quarter.
“We were up 20-6, and before we knew it, real quick, it was 20-18,” Taylor said.
He credited Northside with making some plays, but also said his team “came out really flat” following the half.
“It can be tough when you go in with the lead after you’ve played really well in the first half,” Taylor noted. “Sometimes, [the players] think, ‘Well, we’ll just come back out and the same thing is going to happen.’”
To their credit, the Tigers were able to rally and scored the final 14 points of the contest.
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Charleston drew first blood on the night when Marcus Flowers scored on a 1-yard carry at 2:47 in the first quarter. He also carried for the two-point conversion.
In his first game back after sitting out four games due to a shoulder injury, senior Rod Obannon saw playing time at receiver and cornerback, where he had an interception, but he also got in on the scoring action.
On his lone run of the night, Obannon ran for a 3-yard touchdown at 10:04 in the second quarter. The conversion attempt, a pass, failed.
“He looked pretty good,” Taylor said of Obannon, a team leader who began the season as starting QB before suffering the injury.
“We got down on the goal line and put Obannon in there, and he pulled it and ran. That was the first actual hit that he took. We were really concerned, but he got in there, took a shot and hopped right up. That was good to see.”
Flowers notched his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 14-yard sprint with 5:57 in the second quarter. This time, Flowers was stopped short of the end zone on the conversion try, but the Tigers led 20-0.
The Gators responded with their first scoring drive of the night, capping the effort with a 28-yard TD run by quarterback Ricardo Butler Jr. The two-point pass try failed.
Northside scored again at 6:54 in the third quarter when Butler found wide receiver Jordan McKnight for a 19-yard touchdown strike. Butler’s rushing attempt for the conversion came up short.
The Gators continued their rally at the 2:55 mark in the third quarter when running back Chance Ross carried for a 20-yard touchdown. However, the home team’s hopes of tying the contest were dashed when Butler’s carry for the conversion was stuffed.
The Tigers scored just 45 seconds later on a 1-yard run by Corterrius Johnson with 2:10 in the third period. Johnson also carried for the conversion, extending the visitors’ lead to 28-18.
Charleston added their final points of the night with 6:12 in the fourth quarter when Quentin Carter ran for a 3-yard touchdown. A conversion run was unsuccessful.
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Statistically, Devon Olive completed 2-of-5 passes for 45 yards. Dre Riley had one reception for 38 yards and Flowers caught one for 7.
Between them, Flowers and Johnson accounted for 83% of Charleston’s rushing yards in the game.
Flowers carried 21 times for 125 yards while Johnson had 16 totes for 74 yards.
“Those two guys, they did a wonderful job,” said Taylor.
Carter also had seven runs for 29 yards, Riley one for 6 yards, Obannon one for 3 and Olive three for 2.
Defensively, Timothy Kirk had five solo tackles, three assists and one sack; Riley made three individual stops and had one interception; Quinterrius Goliday had four solo tackles and one sack; C.J. Edwards added four solos; Tracy Truly tacked on three solos and two assists; Omar Wilson had three individuals; and both Obannon and D.J. Boyd took an interception.
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This Friday night will be homecoming at Tiger Stadium on the CHS campus.
Homecoming festivities, normally held before the game, will be at halftime.
On both sides, the Tigers will be playing host to the 3-4 Strayhorn Mustangs, who started the season 3-0 before losing four in a row — the latest, a 48-12 beatdown by 3-3 Coahoma County last Friday.
Strayhorn’s head coach is Tim Melton.
“Coach Melton is a great guy and does a great job with them, so we know that they’ll be well coached,” Taylor said. “We’re just going to have to make sure that we do the things that we are capable of doing and just see how it goes.”
Taylor said he is not concerned that his team will get caught up in homecoming week distractions.
“We’re going to enjoy the homecoming things this week, but come Friday morning, it’s all business,” the coach noted. “Thus far, the guys have done a great job of being prepared mentally for each and every game. The mental focus has been there, so I expect nothing less than that this week even though it’s homecoming.”
Kickoff Friday will be at 7.
