ASHLAND — The West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws defeated the Ashland High School Blue Devils 54-14 here Friday night.
West Tally improved to 4-1 on the season, the Choctaws’ first 4-1 start since 2016.
This week, the Choctaws have been preparing for a Thursday night game at North Panola High School in Sardis. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
North Panola enters with a record of 2-3 after beating M.S. Palmer 37-34 last week.
West Tally head coach Shane Hargett said he is hoping for a strong showing from his team.
“If we play like we’re capable of playing, we should come out on top,” he noted. “If we play like we played against Charleston (a 40-12 loss on Sept. 19) and a little bit like last Friday, it’s going to be a shootout. We don’t know. We’ve just got to keep getting better every week.”
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The Choctaws’ 40-point margin of victory at Ashland was a welcome outcome.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Hargett said. “We played well, for the most part.”
However, the coach pointed to too many “unforced errors,” including 115 yards of penalties in the first half.
“We had a couple of plays called back on holding, including a touchdown pass and a big punt return,” Hargett noted. “We’ve got to get our footwork better. A lot of our holding calls are because we stop on our blocks and grab ahold instead of driving with our feet. We’ve got to clean that up. Fortunately, the opponent we played let us off the hook some with their own mistakes.”
Ashland, now 0-5 on the season, was outmatched by the Choctaws, who scored 46 first-half points.
West Tally opened scoring with an 84-yard touchdown on a pass from Kordell Robinson to Jamerrius Johnson.
Kordell Robinson scored the second TD of the night on a 13-yard run, said Hargett, who noted that the Choctaws went up 16-0 before Ashland got on the board late in the first quarter to pull to 16-8.
The second quarter was all West Tallahatchie, with 30 more points hung on the scoreboard to make it 46-8 at the half. Among the scoring plays mentioned by Hargett were a Kelvin Robinson run and a 47-yard TD pass from Kordell Robinson to Althavion Hoskins with about 1 minute left in the half.
Ashland returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter, and Kelvin Robinson scored on a 41-yard run in the fourth period.
Statistically for West Tally, Kordell Robinson completed 5-of-7 passes for 187 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.
Johnson hauled in three of those receptions for 109 yards and one TD, while Hoskins had two grabs for 78 yards and one score.
Kelvin Robinson led the ground assault with six carries for 103 yards and a TD. Johnson had five totes for 46 yards, Kordell Robinson five for 41 yards and a TD, Cameron Christian two runs for 34 yards and a TD and Demarion Robinson eight carries for 31 yards. Four other backs had one run each.
The Choctaws converted six of their two-point conversion attempts, with Demarion Robinson leading the way with four conversions. Brothers Kelvin Robinson and Kordell Robinson had one each.
Johnson had a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Defensively, Christian and Kelvin Robinson led the team with six solo tackles apiece, including two tackles for a loss by Kelvin Robinson and one by Christian. Isaiah Hill added three solo stops.
Hoskins and Demarrion Boyd intercepted a ball each.
After North Panola, the Choctaws will have an open date on Oct. 10.
“We’ll use that opportunity to get ready for Coffeeville,” said Hargett, referring to West Tally’s Oct. 17 homecoming game with the Pirates which will also mark the Choctaws’ Region 4-1A opener.
