The boys from North Sunflower Academy can score points in a football game.
They proved it by lighting up their own scoreboard last Friday night with a 64-36 District 1-2A victory over the Rebels of Humphreys Academy from Belzoni.
This victory improved the Sunflower County version of Rebels’ record to a 3-1, 1-0 mark while their opponent fell to 2-1, 0-1.
Breaking the 60-point mark for the second time this season with their recent victory, the NSA squad has not scored less than 50 points in any of their four games played.
“It was a good football game,” said NSA Head Coach Ricky Smither. “The win did not come easy, but the kids kept executing and it ended well.”
Indeed, last Friday’s battle remained nip and tuck as the NSA squad did not earn a lead in the game until midway through the second quarter. It would be a lead they would not relinquish.
Although clinging to a 26-20 lead over HA by halftime, NSA would open the second half of the game with a pair of unanswered touchdowns to distance themselves from the Belzoni visitors.
With that victory behind them, the Rebels have another huge challenge facing them this week in Yazoo City.
For at 7 p.m. this Friday, the NSA squad will take the field against the two-time state champion Mavericks of Manchester Academy.
Also owning a 3-1 overall record, this Friday’s district game will see the Mavericks attempting to rebound from a 46-30 loss suffered last week to Tallulah (La.) Academy.
“Manchester is a very good football team,” said Coach Smither. “They are a well-coached, disciplined team who do a good job of moving people up front.”
“They lost to a very good Tallulah team last week,” he continued, “maybe the best team in our league.”
Ironically, while last week’s loss ended a 29-game win streak owned by the Mavericks, the last team to have beaten Manchester Academy was Tallulah Academy in the 2018 state championship game.
Historically, last season the Mavericks defeated NSA by a 72-26 margin, a victory which runs Manchester’s win streak over the Rebels to six games and improved their series advantage over NSA to a 6-4 mark.
The last time NSA defeated Manchester Academy in a football game was in 1977, when both schools were still fielding 11-man teams.
In last week’s impressive victory over Humphreys Academy, the NSA Rebels featured five different players scoring their team’s 10 touchdowns earned in the game.
The NSA touchdowns were recorded in almost every way available as four were earned by the defense, one by special teams, three by rushing, and two by passing.
It was DD Williams who led the scoring parade with his four-touchdown performance. The sophomore reached paydirt with a pair of rushing touchdowns (45 and 2 yards), a 55-yard pass interception, and a 19-yard fumble recovery.
Meanwhile, Colton Hollis opened NSA’s scoring on the night when he brought the crowd to its feet with his 35-yard punt return for a touchdown. The senior would later add a fourth quarter 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Also scoring multiple touchdowns was Brian Coleman, as the senior picked up an HA fumble for a TD while also erupting on a 25-yard rushing run to the end zone.
Completing the NSA scoring with one touchdown apiece were Corey Coleman (65-yard TD reception) and Roy Washington (80-yard TD reception).
