The Kirk Academy Raiders have a chance to be journey into waters not journeyed in a long time.
After last week’s 40-0 win over Winona Christian, KA finds themselves at 2-0 for the first time since 2008. Now, first-year head football coach Colin Boone’s squad plays host to defending Class AAA runner-up Central Holmes Christian, looking to go 3-0 for the first time since the 2000 season when Mack Norwood’s team started 5-0 en route to an 11-2 record. The challenge against the Trojans will be immense for the Raiders.
“Central Holmes has an outstanding football team that returns a number of players from a team that played for it all last year,” Boone said. “They are an extremely talented team and we have our work cut out for us. No question, they will be the best team we have played to this point and possess the most speed we have lined up against.
Central Holmes is also off to a 2-0 start. They have beaten Sylva Bay Academy 54-28 and Oak Hill Academy 38-28. The Trojans are led by senior quarterback John Ward (5-foot-9, 145), who also plays free safety on the defensive side of the football. Classmate Eli Kemp (5-foot-11, 170) is the top running back and leads the defensive unit at linebacker.
“They have arguably the best player in our league in Ward,” Boone said. “He is a special player and he can change the game in a hurry. We are going to have to limit his big plays.”
Kirk opened its season with a 21-6 road win over Manchester at Yazoo City. Last week, the Raiders dominated Winona Christian School in a 40-0 blowout. Despite the two wins, Boone knows his team has plenty of room for improvement.
“Our effort has been outstanding each of the first two weeks and it will have to have that same kind of effort this week,” Boone concluded. “We have a lot of areas that we need to clean up – a big one being penalties, both pre-snap and personal foul penalties. They have to stop if we are going to continue to win games.”
The Raiders have been led in the backfield by senior quarterback Carter Hathcock (6-foot-1, 205) and junior running back Noah Jackson (5-foot-10, 160). Hathcock’s top receiver has been senior Logan Pratt (6-foot-4, 190). The Raiders have benefitted from the return of senior running back Gunner Vance (5-foot-10, 155) to enhance the running game and give Kirk a scoring threat with his foot as the Raiders’ field goal kicker.
Defensively, the Raiders have gotten solid play from junior Landon Rice (6-foot, 190) at linebacker and junior defensive end Blake Mattox (6-foot-4, 185).
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
