City blanks county in charity flag football game at NHS

Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2000

The City of Natchez gave Adams County a lesson in flag football Saturday, as city officials trounced the county team 34-0 in the charity event at Natchez High School.

&uot;I really thought they’d be more competition than this,&uot; said Alderman Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West, the city coach.

The undisputed game MVP was the police department’s Craig Godbold, who intercepted four second-half passes and returned his third for the final touchdown of the game.

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&uot;It was fun. I hadn’t played in years,&uot; Godbold said. &uot;It was good to see the Sheriff’s Department actually run once in a while.&uot;

Each player in the game was required to bring a $5 fee to help raise Christmas funds for Adams County Families First Resource Center, a new service arm of the Adams County Youth Court.

County officials, however, maybe should have spent some money on talent, as the outcome of the game was never in question.

City quarterback Darrel Smith, of the Natchez Fire Department, was the team’s offensive spark in the first half. After completing two lengthy passes to get to the red zone, Smith took it in on a keeper for the first score of the game. The county team responded with six-play drive that was ended by Alderman Jake Middleton’s interception at the goal line. He returned the ball nearly the length of the field, setting up another TD run by Smith.

Smith connected with Andrew Frye for the two-point conversion, giving the city a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Both teams abandoned the punt in the second half, the county team using every down to try to break onto the score board, the city team obviously running up the score.

Godbold’s first interception set up a long Frye run for the first score of the second half. His second interception was followed by a long touchdown strike from Smith to Alderman Ricky &uot;The Play Maker&uot; Gray.

County coroner James Lee, one of the team’s few defensive bright spots, sacked Smith on the two-point attempt.

&uot;We’ll remember that last score,&uot; said Adams County Judge John Hudson. &uot;They decided to pour it on with a big lead. We’ll remember that next year. Craig Godbold is a marked man.&uot;

Smith was also the star during the halftime punt, pass and kick competition, winning both the longest pass and the longest field goal prize.

The county’s Ray Brown won the longest punt award.