The Chargers are on a three-game winning streak and are now setting their sights on Itta Bena and the Leflore County Tigers after they ended the season of the Belmont Cardinals at the Dale.
The Chargers defeated the Cardinals 61-14 in a game that took a turn in the second quarter in the Chargers’ favor, and they never took their knee off the neck of the Cardinals. The Cardinals struck first with a successful drive that made the game 7-0. The Chargers quickly answered back with a touchdown run by Caleb Cunningham.
Head Coach Jeff Roberts said the first quarter didn’t start the way they wanted to defensively, but second quarter, things took off for the Chargers, and it was off to the races as they ran away with the game.
“On the first three drives, we weren’t tackling like we should. They were missing keys, and they weren’t reading them correctly. But we had a discussion on the sideline. We got a safety and three and out; we started to become relaxed. And we held them to 14 points,” Roberts said.
The Cardinals returned fire with another touchdown in the second. But a kick return by Jeramiah Miller, a fumble recovery, and a safety led to three touchdowns in the second quarter. Junior Jalon James took the quarterback position, even scoring three touchdowns on his own. James was eight for 10 throwing for 170 yards.
“That kickoff return put the game in our hands. They weren’t able to catch our sky kicks, and that was a big deal as well.
“Offensively, we were able to do what we wanted to do, every play worked,” he said.
Roberts said that James started because freshman quarterback Kenyauta “KJ” Cork took some hits in the Calhoun City game, and they wanted to be on the safe side.
“KJ was a little banged up from the last game. He could’ve played, but I wanted to be cautious. I expect him to be back next week,” he said.
This week’s game:
The Chargers are on the road and will travel down Highway 82 West to Itta Bena to take on the Leflore County Tigers. The Tigers ended the season of the Madison S. Palmer High School after defeating them 40-6. The Tigers are 8-2, 4-0 in their district, with shut outs in district games.
“They’re a very good team. They’re fast. They played for the 2A State Championship last year, so they’ve been to the pinnacle. They’re a well-coached team so they’re going to do the little things right. We just have to stop their speed, because they’re fast,” Roberts said. “We’re watching film and putting a plan together. We’ll see how this week goes.”
Roberts said this week’s player of the week is hard to choose because of how well each of them played. But BB Kennedy, Caleb Cunningham, Jalon James, and Luke Beard are all standouts.
“It could be any number of people. BB had nine attempts and rushed for 187 yards and had four touchdowns, Caleb caught four catches and three touchdowns, Jalon was eight for 10 and threw for 170 yards and rushed for 61, and even Luke Beard because of our sky kicks that were hard to catch. It could be a number of people,” Roberts said.
