COLDWATER — The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws recorded their first “W” of the season with a 20-0 road victory over the Coldwater Cougars here Friday night.
“We needed that win bad,” said West Tally head coach Lorenzo Pimpton. “We hadn’t won a game in so long.”
The Chocs now stand at 1-2. Coldwater is 0-3 after the loss and has yet to score.
Not only did the win get the Choctaws off the schneid this season, it also snapped a 14-game losing streak dating to Nov. 10, 2017.
The success is good, but Pimpton said his team must grow to enhance their chances going forward.
“It’s good to have the win, but we’ve still got some areas we need to improve on,” he noted. “For instance, our defensive backfield has to cover the pass better.”
Pimpton said Coldwater was able to complete some passes in third- and fourth-down situations because defenders were playing too far off the ball.
“We can’t afford to make these mistakes against other teams,” the coach said.
— * —
The Choctaws got on the scoreboard with about 4 minutes to go in the second quarter when Dontrel Byrd completed a 65-yard TD pass to Ja’quarius McGee. Kaleah Thomas ran for the two-point conversion.
The second score came with about 2 minutes remaining in the third period when Jalen Madden ran for a 7-yard touchdown.
Thomas scooped up a Coldwater fumble and dashed 35 yards for the third and final touchdown with 11 minutes left in the contest.
— * —
Offensively, the Chocs compiled 337 yards of total offense. The ground game provided 253 yards of that.
Jalen Madden had nine totes for 75 yards, McGee seven for 70, Atraviuantay Clark seven for 58, Khylia Thomas one for 35 and Byrd one for 15.
Byrd completed 2-of-3 passes for 84 yards — the 65-yarder to McGee and a 21-yarder to Markeevion Hawkins.
Defensively, McGee and Kevonte Thomas recorded four solo tackles and two sacks each. Dontavius Garner had two sacks and Don Harris notched one.
— * —
This week, West Tally will host 0-1 Ray Brooks, whose only game so far was a 14-0 loss at O’Bannon Aug. 30.
“They’re a pretty good team, not big but quick,” said Pimpton. “We hope to have a good game and want everybody to come out.”
