Richard Dark

Saturday, September 08, 2001

The Natchez Democrat

WOODVILLE – Many times in a bitter rivalry, it all comes down

to mental toughness and conditioning.

That’s exactly what summed up the Centreville Tigers 31-12

victory over cross-county rival Wilkinson County Christian Academy.

The homestanding Rams slugged it out with the Tigers for the

better part of three quarters before Centreville cranked it up

a notch to score three touchdowns in a 13-minute span that bridged

the final two quarters to win going away.

&uot;I feel like midway through the second half, our conditioning

really came into play,&uot; Centreville coach Bill Hurst said.

&uot;Our kids know what they have to do and they know what they

would be faced with if they didn’t come ready to play.&uot;

Early on, it looked like they were ready, capitalizing on an

early WCCA turnover to set up a first score.

A blocked punt by the Tigers set up a 39-yard field goal from

Royce Fonte that gave the Tigers a 10-0 lead with 10:23 remaining

in the first half.

But the hosts came back with an impressive 12-play, 70-yard

grinding drive to cut the lead to 10-6.

Stephens McVea capped a production that he personally fueled

with a tenacious second effort from a yard away.

He missed the extra point and the score remained that way until

the 7:34 mark of the third. That’s when McVea, who led the Rams

offensive attack with 209 yards on 29 carries, swept wide for

a dramatic 38-yard touchdown rumble that gave the Rams their only

lead of the night at 12-10. The run capped a seven-play, 78-yard

output.

But Centreville had a more deliberate ground attack whick was

led by Johnathan Newman’s 144 yards on 29 carries and John Vincent’s

69 markers on six totes. Rams coach Warren Whitaker said he didn’t

think the problem came down to physical shortcomings, but those

of the mental variety, and of course, &uot;Ole’ Mo.&uot;

&uot;We might have gotten a little tired, but I really think

it was momentum more than anything,&uot; he said. &uot;But we

didn’t lose to a poor team tonight by any means. I look for them

to be in the playoffs down the road.&uot;