WATER VALLEY — The Charleston High School Tigers feasted on six turnovers and held the home team to only one conversion on 12 third-down attempts en route to a 51-6 drubbing of the Water Valley Blue Devils here Friday night.
“Our guys did really well,” said CHS head coach Scott Martin, who saw his team improve to 6-2 while Water Valley plummeted to 1-6. More importantly, Charleston is now 1-0 in Region 2-3A after this first regional match for both teams.
Another facet of the game at which the Tigers excelled was rushing. Charleston ran the football with authority, gaining 346 yards on 26 carries — a 13.3-yard average.
“The backs and the offensive line both did a good job,” Martin noted.
— * —
Charleston set the tone early, driving 98 yards in just three rushing plays with Fred Hervey bursting through the middle to cover the final 52 yards of real estate. The conversion failed, but the visitors led 6-0 with 9:22 in the first act.
The Tigers scored again at 6:45 in the first quarter on a 15-yard Billy Kimble run. The conversion failed, but Charleston now led 12-0 and would soon pad the lead by taking advantage of one of the five interceptions thrown and two fumbles coughed up by the Blue Devils.
Kimble’s explosive run of 63 yards gave the Tigers their third touchdown of the night with 4:55 remaining in the opening act. The PAT failed, but CHS led 18-0.
Quarterback Tre Truly’s 5-yard run with 11:54 in the second quarter was followed up by Dee Gary’s PAT kick, giving the Tigers a 25-0 advantage.
Hervey’s second score of the game came on a scorching 49-yard run with 5:19 showing before the half.
On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, a Water Valley fumble on a lateral pass was recovered by Jonathan Jones and returned 22 yards for a touchdown. Gary’s kick was true as Charleston extended its lead to 38-0 with 5:00 remaining in the second period.
Later, Dontarius Cosby hit DeAntre Prince for a 60-yard pass play. Prince was pushed out at the 1-yard line, but Cosby ran the ball in on the next play with 1:15 left in the first half. Gary’s PAT try was blocked, but CHS had built a six-touchdown lead at the break before calling off the dogs in the second half.
The Tigers did score once more in the game, on defense.
With Water Valley driving at the Charleston 24, A.J. Reed went above a receiver to intercept the football around the 5. Reed broke to the outside, picked up a convoy of blockers and raced to a 95-yard pick six with 5:50 left in the third quarter. The PAT by Brandon Sims was good.
The Blue Devils picked up some late points on a 10-yard touchdown run with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. The conversion failed.
— * —
Statistically, Charleston’s Cosby completed 1-of-4 passes for 60 yards. Truly connected on 2-of-4 for 23.
Prince had the one reception for 60 yards, Tylen Herron snared one ball for 13 yards and Rickey Sutton caught one for 10 yards.
Kimble led all Charleston rushers with nine carries for 157 yards. Hervey had four totes for 113 yards. Truly ran four times for 46 yards, Quynn Crawford four for 19 and Herron one for 13.
Defensively, Jones led all Tigers with 11 tackles — nine solos and two assists. He also had an interception and a fumble recovery in the game.
Bo Curtis and Rantravious Carmichael were next on the stat sheet with a total of four tackles apiece.
Sutton, Dequan Street, Reed and Truly also snared interceptions in the game.
— * —
After going 2-2 in the last four games — the two losses were to Senatobia and Lafayette County, a pair of Class 4A schools — Charleston has fallen from No. 1 to No. 3 in The Clarion-Ledger’s Class 3A poll. The latest Associated Press poll, released Tuesday, has the Tigers at No. 4 in Class 3A.
However, Martin said his team is building momentum at the right time, with regional games the rest of the way in the regular season.
The Tigers’ second game in the region will be played Friday night as Charleston hosts the North Panola High School Cougars of Sardis during homecoming at Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff is at 7. Homecoming festivities begin at 6:30.
North Panola enters the game with a record of 7-0 — the first time in school history the program has started a season with seven straight wins.
Four of those Cougar wins have come against teams that now have a losing record. Overall, the seven teams defeated by North Panola to date have a combined won-lost record of 13-33. One of the wins — over Falkner — was by forfeiture.
Still, some observers have said the outcome of this game may well determine the eventual Region 3-3A champion and runner-up.
While not commenting on those scenarios, Martin said the Sardis team comes in with momentum and confidence.
“They’re going to play hard,” he noted.
The coach said he hopes the homecoming festivities will not prove to be a distraction for his team.
“We’ve got to go out and take care of our business on the field,” Martin said. “That’s our homecoming activity.”
He also hopes to see a good turnout of fans Friday night.
“We need a big crowd,” he said. “I imagine North Panola is going to bring a big crowd.”
