Velma Jackson has run roughshod through Division 6-1A opponents, beating opponents 174-0 going into Fridayís game with Nanih Waiya. But the Warriors gave the Falcons all they wanted before dropping a 35-7 contest to the Falcons. The Warriors fall to 4-6 on the season and will travel to Leake County in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs. Nanih Waiya coach James Courtney said his team played hard and gave the Falcons all they wanted, scoring the first points on the Falcons in division play this year. ìI thought our kids played really hard,î Courtney said. ìIt was a 14-7 game at half and 21-7 end of the third and we had opportunities for it to be even closer. I thought the defense played really well and forced four takeaways. We were physical and I believe they knew they had been in a fight and we hit them.î Nanih Waiya got the ball to start the game but was forced to punt. That punt was partially blocked and Velma got the ball at the Nanih Waiya 43. Four plays later, the Falcons scored on a 23-yard run. The PAT failed and the Falcons led 6-0 with 8:23 left in the first quarter. After another Nanih Waiya punt, Velma went 85 yards in seven plays and scored on a 12-yard run to go up 12-0 with 4:11 left in the first quarter. Nanih Waiya then responded with an 11- play, 53-yard drive as Kade Massey scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on the first play of the second quarter. Riley Watkins hit the PAT and the Warriors cut the score to 12-7. Velma drove deep into Nanih Waiya territory but fumbled and Sameer Hughes recovered. But the Warriors were forced to punt but the snap was low and Velma scored a safety with 7:31 left in the half to extend the lead to 14-7, a score that held to the half. ìWe have got to clean up the mistakes, and capitalize on what teams gift us,î Courtney said. ìWe just havenít been able to do that in the passing game. We are still working and in order for us to make a good run in the playoffs we are going to have to hit some of these chunk plays we are gifted based on our style of play and the defenses having to load the box to stop our run game.î Velma extended its lead on its second possession of the second half with a 26-yard run. The PAT failed and the Falcons led 20-7 with 5:43 left in the third. The score stayed at 20-7 until early in fourth quarter when Velma Jackson blocked a punt and got another safety to make the score 22-7. Velma got its next score on defense asa Kade Massey pass was intercepted and returned 66 yards for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked and the Falcons led 28-7. After turning the ball over on downs, Velma punched in one last score, going 38 yards in four plays, scoring on a 1-yard run to make the score 35-7. On offense, the Warriors had 97 yards rushing and 12 passing for 109 yards of total offense. Russey led the Warriors with 100 yards on 23 carries. On defense, Caden McDaniel led the Warriors with nine tackles while Carmelo Austin had eight stops. Kamryn McGee had seven tackles while Kurtis Austin and Sameer Hughes each had had six tackles. Caysen Dewberry, Kewan Pankey and Sanjiya Hickman each had four tackles apiece. Russey and T.J. Henley each had three tackles apiece. This week’s game The Warriors will hit the road this week to open the Class 1A playoffs as they make the trip to Walnut Grove to take on Leake County. The Gators went 6-4 this season and have wins over McAdams (34-6), Enterprise-Lincoln (34- 14), Puckett (14-7), Pelahatchie (44-30), Mount Olive (56-20) and Stringer (44-8). They have losses to Leake Central (34-6), Scott Central (42-8), Sebastopol (34-8) and Taylorsville (54-0). ìLeake County is a good football team loaded with with talent,î Courtney said. ìThey are big upfront and they have skill guys everywhere. We have to make it our style of game and play it inside a phone booth. We can not turn the ball over and when they overreact to the run we have to be able to complete a couple passes that could be explosives. Our best defense will be long sustained drives that end in touchdowns by our offense. We have to be opportunistic and grab a turnover hear or there. The key will be being physical limiting our mistakes and playing our brand of football. If we turn it into a track meet it could be a long night.
