8/19/2009 6:00:00 PM Football season gets under way Thursday
By STEVE SWOGETINSKY Sports Editor
The 2009 high school football season officially kicks off this week with a full slate of games.
The Philadelphia High School Tornadoes get the action under way Thursday night with a road trip to South Leake. On Friday, Neshoba Central has a long road trip to Desoto Central, Choctaw Central travels to Noxapater, Leake Academy visits Winston Academy and Union hosts Nanih Waiya. All kickoffs will be at 7:30 p.m.
The Mississippi High School Activities Association is terming this week's competition as "classic game." The results count on a team's record but not in the region standings.
Three of the five local teams got their first taste of action this past week. Philadelphia hosted a seven-team jamboree that drew a large crowd Friday night. Neshoba Central and Louisville had a combined practice and Leake Academy played in the Jackson Academy Jamboree.
Here is a report from all five teams in The Democrat's coverage area.
Philadelphia
The Tornadoes picked up a pair of jamboree victories as they defeated New Hope 17-7 and then crushed Carthage 14-0.
Philadelphia trailed 7-3 halfway through its quarter game with New Hope. Quarterback Lee Smith connected with Georgio Grace on a 30-plus yard touchdown pass play. Latimer Smith kicked the extra point and Philadelphia led 10-7.
Later, Grace intercepted a pass to set up Philadelphia's second touchdown. Brandon Willis ran the ball up the middle for a touchdown to give the Tornadoes the score. Smith's kick was good.
Willis scored again on the Tornadoes' game with Carthage. Willis ran 37 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good and Philadelphia led 7-0.
Philadelphia hit pay dirt again on its second possession with Lee Smith connected with Tyriq Patrick on a 10-yard touchdown pass play.
Coach Teddy Dyess was pleased with the effort but said much improvement was needed.
"We are excited to be playing again," Dyess said. "It's fun to win a jamboree game but I think the films are going to show that we have a lot of things to work on."
South Leake went 4-7 in the Class 1A last year and competes in the Region 3-1A. The team is coached by Quiten Fairley.
Scores from other Philadelphia jamboree games were as follows: Brandon and Columbus played to a 0-0 tie; Kosciusko and Carthage played to a 0-0 tie; Brandon and New Hope played to a 0-0 tie; and, Kosciusko took a 14-0 win over Columbus.
Neshoba Central
Neshoba Central's trip to Louisville was more of a sparring match than a game. Each team got the ball for a certain number of plays and play came back to the 40-yard line.
"It was good to get to scrimmage against someone else," Neshoba Central coach Chuck Friend said. "We made some mistakes and this will give us a chance to look at films and correct some things."
Desoto Central plays in the Region 1-6A league along with South Panola, Olive Branch, Tupelo and Starkville. They finished 4-6 last season.
"They play in a very tough league," Friend said. "From what we have seen, they don't run the ball that much. Our defensive secondary is really going to be tested."
The Rockets will have three starters returning in the secondary in Jerry Calloway, Josh Stewart and Terrence Steele. Also expected to see action in the secondary will be Justin Day, Jonathan Cantrell and Tanner Seales.
Leake Academy
The Rebels of Leake Academy played in the Jackson Academy Jamboree last Thursday.
Leake Academy lost a 7-0 decision to Simpson and then battled Tri-County to a 7-7 tie. Quarterback Grant Wilson ran for a three-yard touchdown in the Tri-County game and Dylan Alford boomed the extra point.
"We looked pretty good in spots," Leake Academy coach Brian Pickens said. "We had 130 yards of offense against Tri-County and that was good.
"But now we need to look toward Winston Academy. They have a good quarterback and throw the ball a lot. We are going to be tested."
Winston Academy finished last year with a 13-1 record.
Choctaw Central ...
The Warriors took the weekend off as they focused on getting ready for Noxapater.
"We have had two good weeks of practice," coach Paul Killen said. "Our attitudes have been good and we are ready to play."
Choctaw Central is trying to improve on last year's 1-9 record. Some of the top players returning include quarterback Christopher Willis, running back Lenoise Willis, receiver Jack Logan, center Gordon Charlie, defensive tackle Dylan Dixon and linebacker Lee McMillan.
Union
Union looks to improve on last year's 5-5 record as they Yellowjackets open at home against Nanih Waiya.
The two teams closed the 2008 season playing against each other with Union taking a 26-21 win.
Top returnees to this year's Union team will be back Shunadrick Landfair, tight end Tyler Smith, and linemen Scott Rivers, Shawn Harrison and Demetrius McDougle.
