WEBB — The West Tallahatchie Choctaws held off the South Delta Bulldogs 30-22 to secure a victory during homecoming Friday night.
West Tally evened their record at 3-3 while South Delta fell to 2-5.
It was the Choctaws’ first win over the Rolling Fork team in their modern five-game history. A year ago, South Delta topped West Tally 49-8.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” said WTHS head coach Shane Hargett. “I want to give my kids a pat on the back for staying focused. Homecoming is always a coach’s nightmare. You worry about the kids getting caught up in all the festivities, and you do what you can to keep them focused on the ballgame. They came out and played. They were focused and knew what we had to do.”
Hargett said the back-to-back wins over Shaw and South Delta these last two weeks cost him something near and dear.
“It cost me my hair,” he noted early Monday afternoon. “I told [the guys] three weeks ago that if they beat both Shaw and South Delta, they could shave my head.”
Hargett said the shaving was scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. Monday.
“They’re excited about that, as you can imagine,” he added.
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West Tally stormed out to a 16-0 first-quarter lead on the strength of a pair of touchdown runs and conversions, and led 16-14 at the half.
The Choctaws carried a 24-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Late in the game, the ball was batted up in the air and intercepted by defensive lineman Christian Lee, who returned it about 15 yards,” said Hargett. “That killed one of their drives, and we ended up scoring after that.”
WTHS head coach Shane Hargett
Later still, with the Choctaws holding a 30-22 advantage, the Bulldogs completed a deep pass to get into the red zone.
The threat was ended when the South Delta quarterback was hit from behind, causing a fumble that was recovered by Sentrell Howard at about the 10-yard line.
The Choctaws took a knee to run out the game clock.
“It was a very, very dramatic ballgame, but we came out on top,” Hargett noted.
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Isaac Day was the workhorse for West Tally, carrying the ball 26 times for 301 yards, according to Hargett, including TD runs of 35, 26 and 40 yards. He also scored all two-point conversions.
Tristian Hill ran 33 yards to score the other touchdown.
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This week, West Tally will travel to Rosedale to take on the West Bolivar Eagles, who are 2-5 on the season after their 24-0 victory over Shaw.
The Choctaws are now 2-0 in Region 5-1A play, good enough for a share of the region lead with West Bolivar and Simmons.
“This is where we wanted to be, 2-0,” said Hargett.
Friday night will be homecoming for West Bolivar.
“Hopefully, they’re a little bit distracted when we go over there,” the coach joked.
Hargett said West Bolivar brought back most of their team from a year ago and is much improved this season.
West Tally and West Bolivar have had two common opponents. Both teams lost to O’Bannon: West Tally, 24-0, and West Bolivar, 32-0. The Choctaws defeated Shaw 42-8 while the Eagles pitched a shutout against Shaw last week.
The Chocs will be vying for three wins in a row.
“It’s going to come down, as always, to time of possession and turnovers,” Hargett said. “If we can handle our business and protect the football, hopefully we’ll be happy at the end of the night.”
