The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws, 2-0 after beating the Riverside Bulldogs 60-0 at Avon Friday, Aug. 30, will play their home opener this week, hosting the O’Bannon Greenwaves of Greenville for a 7 o'clock kickoff Friday nght.
The Greenwaves are 1-0 on the campaign after last week’s 16-0 win at the Leland Cubs.
“We look forward to O’Bannon,” said West Tally head coach Shane Hargett. “They are a pretty good football team. They’ve been tough competition for us the last couple of years.”
As the first home game in Webb, Friday night’s match-up will be observed as the Raphael S. Davis Memorial Classic, in memory of the Army National Guard specialist, a former Choctaw athlete, who was killed serving his country in Iraq in 2003.
“We look forward to this game every year, honoring the family,” Hargett said.
Mississippi Army National Guard Specialist Raphael S. Davis of Tutwiler, who died in 2003 while serving in Iraq, is memorialized each year during West Tally's first home varsity football game.
Last week's outing was memorable, creating several mentionables.
The 60-point margin of victory over Riverside was the greatest for a West Tally team in recent history, and it may be a record. In a 2007 game, the Chocs pummeled Coahoma Aggie 59-0 during homecoming in Webb.
West Tally last scored at least 60 points on Oct. 10, 2014, when they waylaid Potts Camp 64-7 on the road.
Including the season-opening 22-0 win at Palmer on Aug. 23, the Choctaws have recorded consecutive shutout wins for the first time since September 2022.
West Tally last began a season 2-0 in 2016, when they opened with four straight wins and won nine of their first 10 games en route to a 9-3 record.
Hargett talked about none of that Tuesday, focusing instead on what his team did well against Riverside to get to this point.
“We played really, really clean. We didn’t turn the ball over, and we took advantage of their mistakes,” he said. “I think they had five turnovers, and every one of them led to a touchdown for us.”
The overwhelming win at Riverside was totally unexpected, Hargett said. In 2023, West Tally beat the Bulldogs 27-20, and he expected a similar slugfest this time around.
“But they just made so many mistakes,” he noted.
For his team’s part, they jumped out to a 22-0 first-quarter lead and held a 36-zip advantage at the half.
West Tally inserted reserves in the third quarter.
Isaac Day, who compiled 208 rushing yards, scored the first two touchdowns on runs of 57 and 36 yards.
Day later completed a pass to Arlanders Stovall for a 31-yard score.
Stovall also tacked on an 11-yard rushing TD.
Tristian Hill had rushing touchdowns of 18 and 12 yards.
Jamerrius Johnson scored on a 9-yard run and a 22-yard pass from Hill.
Reginald Walker scored a rushing touchdown from 9 yards out.
Hargett said both Hill and Johnson recorded two-point conversion runs in the game.
At QB, Hill finished the night 5-of-10 for 66 yards, Hargett noted.
The West Tally coach noted that his team has started the season on a high note because they have played disciplined football and executed well.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Hargett stated. “We’re taking care of the football. We haven’t done anything to cripple us. We haven’t shot ourselves in the foot yet. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum into our first home game and stay healthy.”
