Ferriday High School coach Dwight Woods said earlier in the week he was wary of Wilkinson County High School’s quick-strike ability.
On Friday night, his fears came to fruition.
Wilkinson County scored three touchdowns on offense, and added a touchdown each on special teams and defense en route to topping Ferriday 34-22 Friday night in the Miss-Lou showdown.
“I thought we played well for the most part,” WCHS coach Kenneth Brown said. “Offensively, we did the things we needed to do. Defense and special teams played well. When you get all three phases working, the chances of victory gets better.”
For the majority of the contest, Ferriday couldn’t get out of its own way as it committed six turnovers, including a pivotal interception that was returned 60 yards for a score by the Wildcats’ Travion Jones on the final play of the first half.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Ferriday coach Dwight Woods said. “Turnovers and a lack of focus early.”
Jones and teammate Juan Anthony led the Wildcats as the duo combined to score four touchdowns in the decisive victory. Anthony also added an interception on the defensive side, and hauled in five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
“Those guys are good kids with good character,” Brown said. “They have good parent support, and just good all-around good kids.”
Anthony kicked off the scoring after returning the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score, springing the Wildcats to a 26-8 halftime advantage.
“I felt it,” Anthony said. “We did OK tonight, but we could have done better. We didn’t want it to be that close, but we came out with the victory.”
The Trojans, however, wouldn’t go away quietly as they trimmed the second half deficit to 26-22 and maintained possession midway through the fourth quarter.
“We came out and weren’t focused, and I’ll take responsibility for that,” Woods said. “There’s nobody else you can put that on, and we just didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”
But a Ferriday fumble that was returned to the 1-yard line and eventually capped off with a Ja’Quorias Stewart touchdown plunge, ended any hope of a comeback.
Terry Mealey had 16 carries for 88 yards for the Wildcats.
Milak Hampton tallied 102 yards on 16 carries, and Dantrieze Scott had four grabs for 86 yards.
Wilkinson County will attempt to ride the momentum into next week’s region opener against Franklin County High School.
“It’s going to be tough,” Brown said. “We have to keep doing the things we’ve been doing, keep a level head, stay true to our reads and play sound, mistake-free football.”
Ferriday, meanwhile, will attempt to reverse its fortune next week when it travels to Washington-Marion High School.
“We have to get to work,” Woods said. “That’s all we can do.”