For a player who spends most of his time thinking he’s a stand-up comedian on the side, Kevonte Dillon was one unhappy camper early in the game Friday against Pearl.
The speedy senior wide receiver darted across the middle to catch a pass from quarterback Alex Woodall. As Dillon hauled in the pass, a Pearl defensive back nearly ripped his head off with an illegal facemask.
Dillon, who is known in the locker room as Eddie Murphy for his constant jokes, stayed down as McComb’s coaches and medical personnel sprinted out. He got up to cheers from the crowd but not before a 15-yard personal foul penalty was tacked on. It was a minor gesture and hardly soothing on Dillon’s neck, which was contorted 180-degrees.
“Everybody that comes in contact with Kevonte knows Kevonte is a light-hearted, goofy kid. He’s always crackin’ jokes,” said McComb coach Malcolm Jones, who cringed when he was shown a photograph of Dillon’s play after the game. “That was my first time seeing him ever angry and upset like I saw him Friday night after that kid did that to him.”
Dillon was fine and took out his frustration during the remainder of the game, picking off three passes and adding a touchdown catch in McComb’s 36-29 double overtime win over Pearl.
“He’s tougher than I thought being able to rebound and play the game that he played Friday night,” Jones said.
Dillon’s night defensively was his second multi-interception game of the season. He picked off a pair of passes in September against Brookhaven.
Dillon’s production on the field has been unexpectedly welcome by McComb. He entered the season as a weapon on offense and any other production was an afterthought.
“I really never thought he’d be a defensive player and we just happened to throw him in there to see what could happen and he’s really improved upon that,” Jones said.
The largest impact Dillon may have is as a receiver, even if his statistics don’t indicate that.
Dillon’s big-play ability as a running back and wide receiver has helped take some pressure off leading receiver Quatavious Smith.
Smith has led McComb in receiving nearly every week, and it got to a point where defenses starting double-teaming Smith.
Jones recognized the need for others to step up after Smith racked up 161 of McComb’s 164 receiving yards against Brookhaven.
“Myself and my wide receivers coach had that talk with the receiving corps and we were asking for other kids to step up because we didn’t just need to be relying on Quatavious,” Jones said.
Smith remains the primary target, but Dillon finished Friday’s game with three catches for 23 yards, a TD and a two-point conversion.
five local teams remain
in playoff hunt
Following Centreville Academy’s surprise exit from the first round of the MAIS AA playoffs, just five local teams remain in the playoffs.
McComb (8-2) travels to Pearl River Central (9-1) in the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs, while Tylertown travels to Greene County for the second round of the 4A playoffs.
Tylertown cruised past Port Gibson, 42-18, to advance.
In 1A, Bogue Chitto (11-0) starts its state title push at home against West Lowndes (5-6) and Dexter (6-5) travels to Noxapter (9-2).
Kentwood (8-1) plays Houma Christian (6-3) in the first round of the LHSAA Class 1A playoffs.
