When I saw a disagreement between coaching staffs on how things should be handled as McComb had the game well in hand on Friday night at North Pike’s home field — Southwest Mississippi Community College — football was not the first thing that came to mind.
The Tigers led the Jaguars 45-0 late in the fourth quarter and had a first down in the red zone. McComb head coach Jeffery Gibson instructed senior quarterback Venchenza McCray to take a knee three times to run out the clock in an attempt to show class.
After the Jaguars got the ball back, they ran twice, and then freshman quarterback Alijah Martin threw an interception to Tigers senior defensive back Jamarcus Johnson. McCray threw a long touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Gary Butler as time expired to give the Tigers a 51-0 win.
Gibson said he made the decision to throw down field because he expected North Pike to take a knee, but when that did not happen he opted for the pass.
I completely understand where Gibson was coming from, and I agree his players have class.
I also appreciate what North Pike head coach Chris Smith was trying to do. The Jaguars were far behind and he just wanted his athletes to get a few more reps as they prepare for a do or die game going into the regular-season finale against South Pike at North Pike Middle School.
Neither coach was right or wrong. I have complete respect for both Gibson and Smith and believe this was nothing more than an honest misunderstanding.
What happened reminded me of how divided we are as a community in Pike County based on school allegiances. I am all for fans, parents and proud alumni cheering on their teams, but at the end of the day, citizens from all schools need to work together to make life better for everyone in the area.
We have four high schools in Pike County and none of them are more than 20 minutes apart. It’s time we recognize we may be separate schools, but we are one community.
If we worked together more as a community and showed greater unity, we would not have such a lack of communication leading to what we witnessed at SMCC on Friday.
Three of the six schools in Region 6-4A are from Pike County, and we have local matchups in three of the five weeks in district play.
We all see each other at the store, around town and at different functions yet we let our school pride define us. I see McComb Tigers, North Pike Jaguars and South Pike Eagles fans fail to interact with fans from the opposing sides all too often.
Sports should be a bridge to bring us together, not a barrier to divide us.
