8/26/2009 6:00:00 PM Tornadoes blow past South Leake
By STEVE SWOGETINSKY Sports Editor
If Philadelphia High School's football season opener with South Leake had been a boxing match, they would have stopped it in the first quarter.
The Tornadoes opened their 2009 campaign with a 52-0 victory over South Leake. The Tornadoes led 46-0 at the half and gave their junior varsity some playing time throughout the third and fourth quarters.
"I was really proud of how the junior varsity kept them out of the end zone," head coach Teddy Dyess said. "I've coached in games where we played the junior varsity and the final score would have been 46-23 or something. But our younger guys got a chance to play and they took advantage of it."
The 1-0 Tornadoes now look toward class 4A foe McClain High School this Friday night in Lexington. McClain, which finished 7-4 last year, opened the season with an 8-6 loss to South Delta.
"McClain was really a good team last year," Dyess said. "They are very balanced on offense and play good defense. We will be tested."
Philadelphia had 397 yards rushing and 117 passing for 514 total yards.
Brandon Willis scored a pair of early touchdowns on runs of 61 and 38 yards. Jeremy Morgan got into the act as he scored a touchdown on a 48-yard rush.
Quarterback Lee Smith connected with Tyriq Patrick on a 70-yard touchdown pass play. Then Willis completed his night with a pair of rushing touchdowns, one for 13 yards and the other for 26 yards. Latimer Smith kicked the extra points.
With his team leading 38-0 with 26 seconds left in the half, linebacker C.J. Johnson intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. The Tornadoes led 46-0 at the half.
The Tornadoes junior varsity scrimmaged South Leake throughout the second half. Late in the game, Philadelphia had the ball deep in its own territory. Thomas Triplett broke loose for an 82-yard run to cap the scoring.
Willis rushed for 156 yards on 11 carries, all in the first half, to lead the Tornadoes. Triplett finished with 72 yards on four carries while Morgan rushed for 57 yards on three carries. Patrick had two catches for 110 yards. Georgio Grace caught one pass for three yards and returned a punt for 19 yards.
Julian Riddle had six tackles and three assists to lead the Tornado defense. Johnson had six tackles, two interceptions and two quarterback sacks. Kenan Williams had five tackles.
