Eupora set to build off opening season win
It was a strong start to the Brad Gray era last week when the Eupora Eagles went to Winston County and took home a blowout win over the Noxapater Tigers.
Eupora was stifling on the defensive side of the football and had big plays in the passing and rushing attack that led to the run away win. For Gray, he had been waiting for his team to see the results of its hard work during the summer and the Eagles finally got it.
“I told the coaches last week that the kids worked really hard in the summer in the weight room and in practice and I felt like we needed good stuff to happen early,” Gray said. “You can be fully prepared and be the better team and then on Friday night, things may go the other way. It was huge to start off like that and get the guys confidence. It was big.”
Getting the first win was important to set the tone for a grind of a season ahead and Eupora is 1-0. Now, Eupora welcomes in longtime rival French Camp Academy tonight.
There’s some unknown with the Panthers as coach Nathan Wright’s team enters this week without having played a game yet in 2021. The Panthers had several players out last week due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and contract tracing and they’re just coming off of quarantine as game day approaches.
Gray cautions that French Camp always will bring the fight and it also had some great athletes touching the ball in the past. It makes for a tough scout in week two. “Last year they played us really hard and I think French Camp is always going to play Eupora hard,” Gray said. “They’re well-coached. They’re going to be aligned on defense. They’ll be fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they had a Division-i guy at quarterback and with him gone, I’m not sure what they’re going to do. We’ll rely heavily on our defense this week.”
Choctaw County at South Pontotoc
Last Friday night’s scoreboard against Winona showed a Choctaw County loss, but it didn’t tell the full story.
The Chargers went into the game with about 30 available players with over half of the team in quarantine with COVID-19 or contact tracing. There were no excuses going in from Jeff Roberts – he told his team it was about the next man up.
Against a strong Class 3A team like Winona, Choctaw County stayed blow for blow in the first half trailing 14-13 at the break, but it couldn’t stay in the race for four quarters as Winona scored 21 points in the second half and took home the 35-19 win.
It was a solid start for firstyear starter Connor Jewel at quarterback with 12-20 passing for 200 yards and three touchdowns. The team was without star running back Antonio Kennedy, which put a hit on the rushing attack but Tyreese Miller did rush 21 times for 74 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Caleb Cunningham had a breakthrough game with four catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
Some of those players missing last week will be back this week as the Chargers will go back to the road and take on South Pontotoc. Like French Camp, this is the first game of the season for the Cougars as they had virtual school for the first two weeks which meant they forfeited the first game of the season against East Webster and will be making their debut.
There’s many unknowns for Choctaw County going into this game, but the team could take many good things from the first game of the year and carry it into this week. It’s a chance for the Chargers to get some momentum going with three tough nonconference games to follow.
Nanih Waiya at East Webster (scrimmage)
No matter what happens today, East Webster will get a win from Nanih Waiya due to the Warriors having to forfeit for going to virtual school.
It’s the rules put in place by the Mississippi High School Activities Association as teams that go virtual for two weeks have to have a week acclimation period which means the game it plays must be an exhibition of two quarters. So the two teams will play a two-quarter scrimmage today with the Wolverines awarded a win.
East Webster will take whatever it can get to try to get better this week. Last week the team got a win over Okolona with some mixed results. It was a 21-6 victory with some solid defense but questions remain on the offensive side of the football. This week is a chance to continue to improve on those things.