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Tough week for Tate County football
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| By: Shawn Jenkins |
October 10, 2009 |
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Independence vs. East Side - Despite their effort, the Independence Wildcats fall to 1-1 in their division with an upsetting loss to the East Side Trojans. (Photo by Willie Love)
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Excitement built up around the county for last week's high school football action and it was for good reason. Senatobia was undefeated and looking to take command in their division. Independence had won two straight on the road and had a tough division opponent coming to town. Coldwater was looking to win their first home game since 2007 and gain some important ground in their division and Strayhorn was trying to avoid a 0-7 start for the third straight season. None of them won this week as four opposing teams came into Tate County and they all left with a victory.
Lafayette County 27 Senatobia 14
It was Size versus speed when Lafayette County came into town to meet the Warriors for a big division showdown and it was the Commodores that came away with the win 27-14. The game went back and forth in the beginning and went into halftime tied 14-14, but the Commodores used three big running backs to control the ball and wear down the quick Warrior defense in the second half. Not only were the Commodore running backs hard to stop, so was there quarterback, Jeremy Liggins. "He's looks like a Division 1 quarterback," said Warrior fan Brant Barnes. "He looks and plays a lot like Tim Tebow." Barnes comparison with Tebow was pretty accurate. The 6'3" 235 pound Liggins has accounted for over 1,500 total yards and nineteen total touchdowns in the Commodores first six games. That's over 200 yards and three touchdowns a game from one player. He's explosive and the scary thing is, he's only a sophomore.
The Warriors did put up a good fight and hung in there for a while as Dex Harrington threw his eighth touchdown of the year, but it wasn't enough. When you get behind to a team that can play ball control power football like Lafayette it's hard to comeback. This loss wasn't too big of a setback for the Warriors, who are now second in their division, but they'll need to win their last three division games starting this week when they travel to Rosa Fort. The Lions have had a decent season at 5-3 and haven't lost at home, so look for them to put up a good fight.
East Side 14 Independence 0
Independence also had trouble with a ball hogging team this week. The East Side Trojans came into this one allowing less than ten points per game on defense, so it wasn't a big surprise when they shutdown the Wildcat's offense and caused five turnovers. "We had a couple of strong drives," said IHS head coach, Michael Dogan, "but they came up with turnovers that keep us out of the end-zone." The Trojan offense isn't great and it doesn't have to be. The defense keeps the game close and the offense plays power football to control the clock. Independence couldn't afford to play this type of ballgame with East Side and needed to open up on offense early to force the Trojans into passing situations; however East Side had their way with the Wildcats and pulled out a 14-0 win.
This was a must win for the Wildcats. They fell to 1-1 in their division while the Trojans improved to 2-0 and they have another tough matchup on the road this week in Charleston. The Tigers are undefeated and the Wildcats will need to derail them to gain some ground in the division. Charleston's game with Palmer was rescheduled from Friday to Monday, so they'll only have three days to prepare for the Wildcats. With little recovery time, the Tigers will be tired and a little banged up, so Independence can pull out an upset this week. "We're going to have to take advantage of them having a short week," said Coach Dogan. "We need to win this one!"
Wheeler 28 Coldwater 6
It has been a long time since the Cougars have won a home game and it seemed like they had a good chance to knock off Wheeler for homecoming. Wheeler came into Coldwater after losing three straight. Unfortunately, Coldwater's offense came out flat and wasn't able to move the ball. Their only touchdown came from the defense when junior linebacker, Kendrick Mack, took an interception to the house. Mack finished the game with thirteen tackles and he continues to have a monster breakout season.
This loss hurt the Cougars putting them at 1-2 in their division and now they will have to win the rest of their games to have a shot at the playoffs. This may be a tall order with Smithville coming to town next week. The Seminoles are undefeated and in command of the division, so they won't come into this one laying down. The Cougars will have to play a solid game to pull this one out!
Broad Street 66 Strayhorn 0
Broad Street came into this one on a roll winning four straight and there was no way they were going to let the Mustangs slow them down. The Jaguars scored nine touchdowns and shutdown Strayhorn's offense to cruise to victory. The Mustangs are at home again this week against West Tallahatchie. The Choctaws haven't had a great season either, so this could be a chance for the Mustangs to get one in the win column.
For the first time this year all four Tate County teams suffered a loss at the same time. They'll have to chalk this one up this week up and move on. There's too much on the line for Independence, Senatobia and Coldwater to dwell over these losses since they all face divisional opponents this Friday in must win situations. Be sure to check up on the action next week as the playoff picture starts to unfold.
Want to talk football? Have some insight or action shoots to share? Give me call at 662-292-0982 or shot me an email at sjenkins.shelter@gmail.com.
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©The Democrat 2010
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