SHAW — The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws blew out the Shaw High School Warriors 42-8 here Friday night.
West Tally improved to 2-3 as Shaw tumbled to 0-5.
While May graduation took a heavy toll on a Shaw team that was last year’s Class 1A state runner-up, Choctaws head coach Shane Hargett said his squad was “happy to get out of there with a win” in their Region 5-1A opener.
“We played well,” he noted. “Defensively, we played really well. ... We limited our turnovers and we caused a few to balance it out. We played really good on special teams, blocking a punt. We did the things you need to do to be successful.”
The Chocs, who had an open date Sept. 22, used the extra time to good advantage.
“We rested our guys some, worked on stuff, did a lot of chalk talk and just kind of shored up on defense,” Hargett explained. “We have some veterans and some young kids, and some of them were making some mistakes. So, we just tried to work on that and make sure everybody was on the same page. It paid off. The extra week to prepare helped us out.”
West Tally head coach Shane Hargett
At Shaw, the Choctaws led 14-0 at the half before scoring four second half touchdowns to run away with the game.
Isaac Day rushed for 173 yards, including touchdowns of 35 and 11 yards, and scored a pair of two-point conversions. Day also had an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Tristian Hill tallied 73 yards on the ground, including TD runs of 25 and 15 yards, and ran in a two-point conversion.
Jamerious Johnson tacked on a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the game.
Hargett said his team had three other touchdowns, two of them passing, called back on holding penalties.
This week, West Tally plays host to the 2-4 South Delta Bulldogs during homecoming at Choctaw Stadium.
The Rolling Fork team has lost two in a row, including 44-32 to Hollandale Simmons last week, but Hargett gave them an asterisk.
“The record they have isn’t indicative of what they’ve done,” he said. “They are a heck of a football team and have played some really, really good teams.”
Simmons is 5-0, and South Delta played them close, 32-32, until the fourth quarter, Hargett explained.
He said the challenge for coaches is to limit the distractions of homecoming.
“There are a lot of activities going on: dress-up days, coronation, parade,” Hargett noted. “Homecoming is great for alumni and students, but it’s really stressful for a coach. You’ve got to make sure you keep your kids even-keeled and focused. ... We are playing a very important [region] game for homecoming.”
Hargett said his team must “limit turnovers, play sound football and execute” to build on last week’s success.
The Choctaws will be without the services of a key defender. Starting defensive end A.J. Pimpton dislocated one of his wrists and broke the other on a freak play at Shaw.
“He was rushing the passer, kind of swatting for the ball with both hands, and both hands actually came down on the quarterback’s face mask, one on the side and one on the front part of it,” said Hargett, who noted that Pimpton underwent surgery Monday.
