Published: September 04, 2008 11:09 am            

County roundup

By Rocky Higginbotham

sports editor

Russell Christian Academy had plenty of offensive fireworks in its season-opener, but still came up on the short end of a 33-32 shootout.

Such may be the life for MPSA 8-man teams, but the Warriors made certain they were celebrating a win last week.

RCA piled up 640 yards of total offense, blasting visiting Calhoun Academy 38-6. Friday, the Warriors will try to keep that momentum going when they travel to Learned to face Rebul Academy. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Last week, Russell had 489 yards on the ground along, with a trio of backs topping the century mark.

Courtney Cunningham led the ground attack with three rushing touchdowns and 120 yards on just seven carries, while Corey Burt piled up 137 yards on nine carries. Preston Meadows was just as effective, scoring once and rushing for 136 yards on 10 carries.

Cunningham and Jacob Palmer combined to hit 7-of-10 passes for 151 yards for Russell, which had a commanding 30-0 lead at halftime.

This week, the 1-1 Warriors will face a Rebul squad which is big across the front and is coming off an impressive victory.

Also 1-1, Rebul drilled Mt. Salus Christian 46-6 last week. The previous week, the Raiders fell 56-40 to defending 8-man league champ Kemper Academy.



Clarkdale at Union



The Bulldogs visit the Yellowjackets in a matchup of former division rivals in Union.

Clarkdale, 0-1, dropped a 25-7 decision to a Scott Central team that figures to be a contender in Region 5-2A.

"Our kids played hard," Clarkdale coach Jud Gartman said. "We just didn't get many breaks."

Eric Houston had a big night in the loss for the Bulldogs, who lost a fumble at the Scott Central 1-yard line and gave up 174 rushing yards to the Rebels' Chris Ficklin.

Union, meanwhile, rolled up a 28-0 win over Choctaw Central to get off to a 1-0 start.

The Jackets did it behind a stingy defense which limited the host Warriors to a minus-20 yards rushing.

Running back Roderick Hawkins and quarterback Shunadrick Landfair lead Union's offensive attack.



West Lauderdale at Brandon



The Knights will hop on Interstate 20 and head to Rankin County, where they'll try to find a way to slow down one of the state's top running backs.

Brandon's Patrick Durr helped the Bulldogs to a 42-20 win over West last year in Collinsville, and he's already off to a big start this season.

In last week's 38-20 win over rival Pearl, Durr ran for 140 yards and four touchdowns as the Dogs got off to a nice start in their quest to return to Class 5A contender status. Durr also ran for four touchdowns and 196 yards last year against West.

The Knights, meanwhile, are also 1-0 after blanking Southeast Lauderdale 32-0 last week. West used a big defensive effort to stifle the Tigers all night, and also got 103 yards on the ground from senior tailback Darren Farmer.



Lamar at Hillcrest Christian



The Raiders are also headed to the Jackson metro area, as they'll venture to Hillcrest Christian School.

Hillcrest has stumbled out of the gate at 0-2, falling 54-0 to Pillow Academy last week after opening the season with a 33-2 setback to Starkville Academy.

Defending Class AAA, Division II state champ Lamar is 2-0, however, gutting out a 34-20 victory over Heritage Academy last Friday.

Junior quarterback Witt Haggard tossed for 216 yards in last week's win, while Robert Thomas ran for three scores for Lamar.

Last season, the Raiders drilled Hillcrest 51-14.



Mt. Salus at Calvary Christian



For a second straight week, Calvary will play a home game somewhere other than its home field.

This week, the Cougars' "home" contest will be moved to Russell Christian Academy, where CCS hosts Mt. Salus Christian School Friday at 7 p.m.

Calvary is 0-2 after a heart-stopping, 36-28 overtime loss to Central Academy last week. The previous week, the Cougars were outscored 56-40 at Tensas (La.) Academy.

Quarterback Kyle Koch accounted for 253 yards of offense in last week's game, tossing for 153 and running 16 times for 110 more.

Mt. Salus, meanwhile, comes in with an 0-1 record after falling 46-6 to Rebul Academy last week. The Eagles had an open date in Week 1.

        

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