After a tough 7-6 loss to Calhoun City last week, Eupora coach Stephen Edwards talked to his team about winning the turnover battle. The Eagles created seven turnovers as they hammered visiting Coahoma County 47-0 in the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs. The Eagles are now 7-4 on the season and will travel to Lake for the second round of the playoffs. The Eagles dominated from the beginning, scoring 21 first-quarter points as they raced out to a 27-0 halftime lead. “We talked all week about protecting the football and creating turnovers,” Edwards said. “That’s what we harped on all week long. We wanted some turnovers. And that’s what we did. We didn’t turn the ball over and created turnovers as well. I thought the defense did a good job of getting some takeaways and controlling the game on the line of scrimmage.” The Eagles got the ball to start the game and wasted little time finding the end zone as the offense went 55 yards in seven plays as Edwin Herard hit Cameron Culpepper on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 8:36 left in the first. Kimble Dillinger booted the PAT and Eupora led 7-0. The Eagles partially blocked a punt on Coahoma’s first series, setting the ball up at the Coahoma 14. Two plays later, Preston Perkins scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 5:50 left in the first. Dillinger’s PAT gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead. The Eagles got another short field as Coahoma mishandled the snap on the punt, giving Eupora the ball at the 12. Tre McComb scored on the next play on a 12-yard run with 2:44 left in the first. Dillinger’s PAT gave the Eagles a 21-0 lead. The Eagles scored one more touchdown in the first half as McComb scored on a 5-yard run late in the second quarter. The try for two failed and Eupora led 27-0 at the half. “In the first half, I thought we were hitting hard and hustling but not getting them down,” Edwards said. “In the second half, I thought the kids tackled much better. We got a lot of young kids in the game and I thought they tackled well. And I thought the defense did a good job of creating some turnovers.” Coahoma got the ball to start the second half but two plays in Jalan Potts intercepted a pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. Dillinger’s PAT made the score 34-0. The next score came quickly as Zak Morris recovered fumbled and raced 24 yards for a touchdown. Dillinger’s PAT made the score 40-0. Eupora last score came early in the fourth quarter as Coahoma fumbled the snap on the punt again, giving the Eagles the ball at their own 36. Two plays later, Herard hit Parker Knight on an 8-yard touchdown pass. Dillinger’s PAT made the score 47-0. On offense, Perkins led the way with 63 yards rushing on eight carries while McComb had 50 yards on 12 carries. Herard had 32 yards on four carries. On defense, 19 had nine tackles while Perkins had eight tackles and two sacks. Herard had seven tackles while Morris had seven tackles and a fumble recovery for a TD. Deunte Watson had six tackles and an interception while Campbell Vaughn and Parker Blaylock each had five tackles apiece. Jacarius Turner also had four tackles. The Eagles will hit the road this week as they head South to Lake. The Hornets are 7-4 on the season and were the No. 4 seed out of Division 4-2A. The Hornets are coming off an impressive 27-0 win over East Union, who was the No. 1 seed out of Division 1-2A. Lake has wins over Sebastopol (45-7), Clarkdale (46-12), Pisgah (21-17), Choctaw Central (27-0), Richland (47-21) and Newton (38-8). Their losses have come to Pelahatchie (36-16), Union (28-7), Scott Central (41-0) and Philadelphiaa (35-14). “They are a lot like us,” Edwards said. “They are good on defense and are going to run the football first and ask questions later. It’s almost like looking at a mirror image. We will have our hands full on the road, that’s for sure. But for us to make a run, we will have to go on the road and win some games. Coach (Tate) Hanna has been in it a long time and those kids will play hard for him.”
