It isn’t as if the Pike County Iron Horse doesn’t have a running game. It just hasn’t been discovered yet.
The Iron Horse offense sputtered to the tune of eight turnovers Saturday night in a 14-6 loss to the Mississippi Raiders in semi-pro football action at South Pike High School.
Along with a running game that netted just 45 yards on 30 attempts, The Pike County (0-1) passing game struggled as well. Starting quarterback Robert Brown was 11-for-34 passing for 95 yards, a touchdown and five interceptions.
“Our offense didn’t execute,” Iron Horse head coach Robert Jackson said after his team’s home opener.
The Iron Horse played without tailback Edgar Smith, who sustained a twisted ankle in the season-opening victory at Memphis last Saturday. Jackson said that Smith was rehabilitating his ankle and should be back in time for next week’s game.
After several short first-quarter drives — the longest by any team was five plays — the Iron Horse defense came through with its first of several big plays when cornerback Bryan Miller intercepted a pass from Raiders quarterback Alex Bell at the Mississippi 36-yard line and returned it 16 yards to the 20.
Two plays later, Brown connected with receiver James Morris on a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Iron Horse ahead 6-0. Morris pulled in the reception down the Raiders sideline at the Mississippi 10-yard line, then trotted into the end zone for the game’s score with 2:04 remaining in the opening period.
Morris’ catch, however, was the longest play from scrimmage in the first half and second-longest in the game for the Iron Horse, which managed 86 yards offense in the first half, then stumbled en route to a 54-yard effort after halftime. Brown was also the victim of no less than eight dropped passes within 10 yards.
While Pike County’s offense struggled to find its identity, the Iron Horse defense turned in another strong performance. After recording four interceptions in last weekend’s win in Memphis, the Iron Horse had just one against the Raiders — Miller’s pick that set up the opening score — but held the quarterback tandem of Bell and Anthony Thompson to a combined 7-for-23 passing for 58 yards. Thompson was 4-for-8 for 41 yards in the second half.
Iron Horse linebacker Cedric Elzie also stopped a Raiders drive with a fumble recovery at the Mississippi 45 on the next-to-last play of the first quarter.
The Raiders took the lead early in the third quarter when running back James Wilson went around the left end for a 5-yard touchdown run with 7:56 to go in the period.
Wilson’s score capped a 6-play, 35-yard drive and was set up by linebacker Gregory Brocks’ interception of a Brown pass and 20-yard return to the Iron Horse 35-yard line.
Wilson then bullied his way up the middle for the middle to put the Raiders ahead 8-6.
During the game, Jackson became visibly upset with his quarterback for turning down open-field running opportunities to instead throw the football. Jackson maintained that Brown hadn’t become pass-happy.
“If anybody was to blame for throwing the ball that much. It was me,” Jackson said. “I called the plays.”
