Grenada High School head football coach Ashley Kuhn knew his team’s margin for error was small last Friday when they opened Class 6A, Region 2 play at Tupelo. The Chargers and Golden Wave met on the gridiron for the first time in six years.
The game opened with the teams trading touchdowns, and Tupelo leading 7-6 late in the opening period. The Chargers used a 50-yard put return from Jaheim Shack to take a 6-0 lead at the 6:27 mark on the opening period. Tupelo used a 14-yard pass play from Luke Reed to Kedarius Gibson putting the Golden Wave on top at 7-6 with 2:27 left in the opening period of play.
Grenada used a 40-yard run from Jaylon Skinner giving the Chargers the ball inside the Tupelo 1-yard line The complexion of the game changed on Grenada’s next possession. They moved from their 35-yard line to inside the Tupelo 1. On second-and-goal, it appeared that tailback Joe Moss had scored but he was ruled short of the end zone. On third down, Skinner fumbled and Tupelo turned the miscue into a 93-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Tupelo would add three more touchdowns en route to a 35-6 win.
“I thought we competed well early in the game,” Kuhn said. “We thought Joe got in the end zone on second down and the fumble changed the complexion of the game. I thought we played hard for the most part. We gave them to short field scores thanks to mistakes in the special teams.”
Individually, the Chargers were led by Skinner with 82 yards on 11 attempts. Moss finished the night with 74 yards on 13 carries. Grenada finished the night with 154 yards on 30 carries on the ground. Through the air, Skinner was 1-of-6 for 17 yards.
Defensively, Jalon Townes led the Chargers with 16 total tackles and one tackle for a loss. Dtrevion Parker finished with nine tackles.
Grenada returns to Class 6A, Region 2 action Friday traveling to Madison Central for a matchup with the Jaguars and first-year head coach Toby Collums. Collums came from NW Rankin. Madison Central opened the region season with a 35-28 road loss at Starkville High School last Friday night.
“They are a big, physical, and well-coached football team,” Kuhn concluded. “We will have to play well. and cut down on our mistakes.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Madison Central.
