First-year Kirk Academy head coach Justin Purvis knew what his team was facing when they made the trip to Flora to face two-time defending Class AAAA State Champion Tri-County Academy last Friday. Phillip Wasson’s Rebels have a 50-4 mark in the last four years.
The game started positive for the Raiders as they stopped Tri-County on four downs, but were unable to do anything. After that, the Rebels took control of the game, winning a 55-6 decision over the Raiders.
With the win, the Rebels improve to 3-1 on the season. Kirk drops its second straight game of year to drop to 1-3.
“I thought our guys played hard, but they are so big and athletic,” Purvis said. “We stopped them on downs on their first possession. They took control of the game in the second quarter. A lot of times in blowouts, teams start to blame each other. Our guys didn’t do that, and I’m proud of that. We kept on playing.”
The Rebels led 16-0 at the end of the opening quarter and built that margin to 47-6 at halftime.
Kirk’s lone touchdown came in the second quarter when senior quarterback Linton Carson tossed a 20-yard scoring pass to classmate Jaob Zeitz, who had two catches for 60 yards. The two-point conversion failed.
Individually, senior Gage Vance led the rushing attack with 10 carries for 29 yards. Through the air, Carson was 3-for-5 for 77 yards and one touchdown.
Kirk stays on the road this week against 1-3 Greenville St. Joseph, which will be another test.
“They are big and athletic,” Purvis concluded. “Their quarterback makes plays with his arms and legs. We will have to keep him contained.”
