French Camp wins shootout in season opener

Sports

September 1, 2010

By Austin Bishop The Star Herald The Star Herald Wed Sep 01, 2010, 06:53 PM CDT

FRENCH CAMP — If cats truly have nine lives, the French Camp Academy Panthers left Friday night's 52-42 win over Montgomery County with only eight.

The Panthers, ranked No. 4 in the state in MHSAA Class 1A by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and No. 7 by the Mississippi Prep Sports Source, survived a see-saw battle that saw FCA put up plenty of offensive numbers but put forth an unimpressive defensive effort.

"I have never had a team look that bad defensively," said FCA head coach Nathan Wright. "I was surprised we looked like we did, but we did. I have been trying to play a lot of guys with a 'White' and a 'Blue' defense and playing different units at a time, but it just wasn't working."

French Camp jumped out to a 22-6 lead after one quarter of play, only to have the visiting Hornets real off three straight touchdowns to take a 30-22 lead midway in the second quarter.

"When we got up 22-6 I really thought it was going to be over at that point," Wright said. "Maybe that was a mistake. They threw a big pass (for a touchdown) and picked up a fumble and ran it in and everything turned around."

After falling behind 30-22, French Camp righted its ship temporarily taking a 38-30 lead on a 69-yard touchdown run by Justin Anderson and a 7-yard pass from Jesse Hoskett to Josh Williams.

But almost before the Panther fans could stop celebrating, Montgomery County had struck again, scoring on a 63-yard touchdown run to cut it to 38-36.

FCA and Montgomery County swapped touchdowns in the third quarter, with Williams scoring on a 26-yard pass from Hoskett for the Panthers.

The winners led 44-42 after three quarters of play, but finally stretched it out to a 10-point lead on an 86-yard touchdown run by Anderson and Jovon Turner's two-point conversion run.

"We had some defensive stops in the fourth quarter, but there was still plenty of time for them to come back," Wright said. "We just held on."

After the visitors had taken an 8-0 lead on their first possession, French Camp scored first quarter touchdowns on a fumble recovery in the endzone by J.R. Ward and runs of 7 and 1 yards by Anderson.

Anderson led French Camp with 246 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Jesse Hoskett hit on 14-of-25 passes for 211 yards. Aro Nebk had five catches for 55 yards, Josh Williams four for 64 and Ben Hoskett three for 72.

French Camp is off this week before paying a visit to Region 3-1A favorite Nanih Waiya on Sept. 10 in the league opener for both teams.

"That's a big ball game," Wright said. "It seems that what happens in that game (against Nanih Waiya) really affects us down the road. It has developed into a good rivalry."

Text Only

Sports

Kosciusko police officer stays fit for duty

Jimmy Evans is your typical lawman, he wears a badge on his upper left chest and various life preserving odds and ends around his waist attached securely to a three-inch wide leather belt, and a bullet resistant vest made of Kevlar.

May 23, 2012 2 Photos
Burrell signs with the West AlabamaTigers
When Taylor Burrell’s senior season at Kosciusko ended, he had no offers to play baseball at the next level.
He thought he might get a look from somebody, but no one called.

May 23, 2012 1 Photo
Bates to be new coach at Central Holmes
May 23, 2012 1 Photo
On the Porch with Dirk
You know we live in a fast paced world of high tech equipment and we want everything immediately. Maybe I am a low-tech redneck because I reckon I still like some things the old fashion way with a slower pace.

May 23, 2012
Whippets fall to Quitman, show grit
The Kosciusko Whippets traveled to Scooba on Saturday to participate in the East Mississippi Community College Spring Jamboree and came away with some answers and somewhat of an identity.

May 16, 2012 2 Photos
KHS tennis ends successful season at state tourney
The mixed doubles team of Christian Barrow-Torres and Jennifer Rule won the first round by defeating Columbia’s Sara Randall and Rashawn Johnson for Kosciusko and then lost the second round to Layfette County.

May 16, 2012
KHS finishes third at Class 4A golf tourney, Terrell 4A medalist
The Kosciusko Whippets came up short at the Class 4A State Golf Tournament at Quail Hollow with a score of 615 behind Lewisburg’s 607 and Corinth’s 614.

May 16, 2012
Young Ethel Tigers making strides at game
The Ethel Tigers traveled to Ridgeland last Thursday night to participate in a spring jamboree that included teams from Newton Academy and St. Aloysius.

May 16, 2012 2 Photos
On the Porch with Dirk
With Mother's Day just passing, I thought I would dedicate this article to the ladies.

May 16, 2012
A new start for gridiron Whippets
When Tyler Peterson walked onto the practice field for the first time this spring as the head football coach of the Kosciusko Whippets he expected a little chaos, which, he says is common for the first day of practice.

May 9, 2012 2 Photos
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

French Camp wins shootout in season opener

Site Map