It was different types of nights for Grenada County football teams last Friday when Grenada High School and Kirk Academy each hosted football games.
The Grenada Chargers opened their home portion of the 2022 schedule against Class 4A member Pontotoc at Charger Stadium. GHS rushed for 420 yards and the defense forced four turnovers as they cruised to a 49-10 win over the Warriors.
Over at Kirk, the Raiders jumped out to a 9-7 second-quarter lead only to see North Delta rally for a 35-9 win.
“We are going to make mistakes,” GHS head coach Ashley Kuhn said. “We are playing a lot of sophomores, so there is going go to be mistakes made.”
The Chargers struggled in the passing game once again as senior Jaylon Skinner was 3-of-15 for 37 yards in the contest. Despite being a senior, Kuhn said Skinner has little experience playing the position.
“He played only one game last season before he got hurt,” the veteran coach said. “This season, he has just two games. He has a long way to go and he has a lot of improvements that are going to have to be made.”
Grenada linebacker Tre Parker recovered a Pontotoc fumble at the PHS 33-yard line on the first offensive play of the game. On the first play, the Chargers scored as Jhordan During sprinted into the end for the touchdown with 11:38 left in the opening period. Matthew Melton’s extra point made it 7-0.
The teams traded possessions before Pontotoc took advantage of a short punt to get the football at the Chargers 48. Pontotoc got as deep as the Grenada 17 before settling for a 37-yard field goal from Eddie Nolasco to cut the visitor’s deficit to 7-3.
Pontotoc recovered an onside kick that led to the Warriors first and only touchdown of the night. Conner Armstrong connected with Jaden Montgomery on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 4:22 left in the opening quarter giving Pontotoc a 10-7 lead.
Grenada missed a scoring chance following the Pontotoc touchdown. They drove from their own 35 to the Pontotoc 16. On fourth down, Melton missed a 33-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the opening quarter.
It was time for the Chargers defensive unit to get involved in the scoring. On Pontotoc’s first play following the missed field goal, Tre Parker intercepted an Armstrong pass and returned it 15 yards for the touchdown. Melton’s PAT with 25 seconds left in the first quarter gave GHS a 14-10 lead.
The defense used its second interception in as many possessions snagged by senior linebacker Jaylon Townes to set up its third touchdown of the night. McCaleb Taylor went in from six yards out with 10 minutes left in the half. Melton’s extra point made it 21-10.
Parker later intercepted his second pass of the night and third for the Chargers, but the offense sputtered and lost the ball on downs at the Warriors 17.
The GHS defense stopped the Pontotoc offense on downs at the Warriors 40 on the next series. Grenada would drive as deep as the 9-yard line before losing the ball on downs. The Chargers closed out the half with a 47-yard touchdown run from Taylor. Melton’s kick made it 28-10 at halftime.
Grenada scored on its first possession of the second half when Skinner ran into the end zone on a 16-yard run with 9:46 left in the third quarter. Melton’s extra point made it 35-10.
The Chargers added two more touchdowns with Skinner connecting with receiver Amari Conley on a 16-yard scoring pass with 1:42 left in the final period. Melton kicked the point after to make it 42-10. The game’s final points came with six minutes left in the game as Jarvarious Pratt went in from a yard out with six minutes left. Charlie McAnally kicked the final extra point to make it 49-10.
By the Numbers
Taylor paced the running attack with 21 carries for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Skinner rushed 7 times for 97 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Townes led Grenada with seven tackles, while Parker finished with three tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Chargers limited Pontotoc to 93 yards of total offense.
North Delta-Kirk
The Raiders came out of the gate quick driving from their 37-yard line to the Green Wave 15. Kirk used a 12-yard pass from Lane Goss to Noah Jackson to go with a 15-yard run from Gunner Vance. However, the drive stalled and Vance kicked a 32-yard field goal with eight minutes left in the opening period to give the home team a 3-0 lead.
North Delta responded with a 77-yard drive, all on the ground, to take a 7-3 lead following the extra point.
Kirk’s final points of the night took place in the second period answering North Delta’s drive with one of its own. It took the Raiders nine plays to get the ball into the end zone. Goss had runs of 15 and 12 and capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring pass to Vance. The extra point failed leaving the scoring at 9-7.
“We just didn’t have an answer for them defensively,” Kirk defensive coordinator Stephen Crenshaw said. “At times, we were able stop them some early, but our lack of depth wore on us as the game progressed.”
North Delta added three scores in the second period, the last coming with four seconds left in the half to make it 28-9 at intermission. The Green Wave added a second-half touchdown to account for the final margin.
