The Ashland High School Blue Devils, who reportedly backed out of a September homecoming game at West Tallahatchie High in Webb to accept a big monetary offer to play another school on that date, will be coming to Tallahatchie County after all.
The cancellation after the schedule had been locked in led the Mississippi High School Activities Association to rule the Sept. 25 no-show a forfeiture by Ashland, awarding West Tally a 2-0 win even though it became an open date for the Choctaws and homecoming festivities had to be delayed by one week.
Now, the 1-9 Blue Devils, the third-seeded team from Region 1-1A, will face the Region 4-1A runners-up, the 5-5 Choctaws, in a first-round state playoff game in Webb Friday night.
Ashland picked up their only win of the campaign in the regular-season finale last week by topping winless Byers 20-18.
West Tally head coach Shane Hargett said he is excited for this historic opportunity, for a fourth straight year, to open the postseason by hosting a playoff game in Webb.
Never before has West Tally been in a position to play host in the state football playoffs for four consecutive seasons.
Hargett encouraged “everybody to come out and cheer us on in the first round.”
“You do what you do in June to get you ready for district, then you do what you do in district to get you ready for this, and this is basically now all that counts,” he added. “It’s the first round of the playoffs, and if you don’t win, you’re one and done.”
Hargett said the players’ dedication to lifting weights and running sprints helped to develop them and then to position them for a playoff appearance.
“That’s the goal, and that’s where we are now,” he added. “Those ninth-graders really need this playoff experience and it will be fun to watch them get it and to keep building to the future. It’s going to be very, very, very bright.”
The winner of Ashland at West Tally will face the victor of Friday night’s game pitting the 0-8 West Lowndes Panthers, the fourth-seeded team in Region 3-1A, at the 9-0 Tupelo Christian Prep Eagles, the Region 1-1A champion.
West Tally and Tupelo Christian wins would put the Choctaws traveling to northeast Mississippi for next week’s second-round contest.
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Last week, in the regular-season finale at Itta Bena, the Choctaws were playing for the regional championship against the then 8-0 Leflore County High School Tigers.
Leflore County won 40-6.
“Leflore County, hats off to them,” said Hargett. “We came out and played real, real tight. It’s unfortunate.”
The coach said the pressure of the situation may have overcome his young team.
“We didn’t do anything but hurt ourselves,” he noted, citing a few examples of the misfortune that the Choctaws invited by their play.
On one occasion, Hargett said his quarterback was about to cross the Leflore goal line for a touchdown when he instead fumbled the ball and saw it recovered and returned some 99 yards for a TD by the home team.
“Every game we’ve lost, we have committed too many turnovers and penalties.”
West Tally did light up the scoreboard on one occasion, and they did it the hard way.
Facing third-and-17 at their own 40-yard line, Kordell Robinson connected with Althaveon Hoskins for a 34-yard completion. A short while later, Demarion Boyd ran to convert a fourth-and-2. Finally, facing fourth down at the Leflore 14, Robinson outraced defenders around the end for the TD with 1:08 remaining in the first half.
