MONTICELLO — Just last season, the McComb Tigers suffered a heartbreaker and finishing with the No. 5 seed in District 6-4A and narrowly missing the playoffs.
This season, however, with one game remaining on the schedule, the Tigers have already secured their spot in the postseason and helped their cause with seeding by picking up a spirited 32-7 road win over Lawrence County.
Wet weather that moved across most of the area on the evening left the field at Lawrence County High School saturated and the conditions less than favorable. The game was also delayed for thirty minutes about halfway through the first quarter due to lightning in the area.
Despite the conditions and the delay, McComb played like a team on a mission. The Tigers racked-up 248 yards of total offense with over half of that coming from senior quarterback Chris Roberson.
“It is supposed to be like this, we had a good game, and everybody did their job,” said Roberson who had 119 yards and one touchdown on 9-of-10 passing to go along with seven rushes for 64 yards and another score.
Despite the big night for the Tigers (5-2, 3-1) it was the Cougars (2-5, 1-3) who gained the upper hand first recovering a pooch kick on the game’s opening kickoff. Even though they grabbed the possession first, the drive stalled, and the ball went over to McComb.
Roberson and the Tigers were in no rush to try and get their first score of the night. The senior helped manipulate an 11-play 83-yard drive that wrapped when he hooked up with Jeremiah Ratliff on a 12-yard touchdown strike. Following a successful 2-point conversion, McComb grabbed an 8-0 advantage with 3:43 to go in the opening quarter.
“We have been knowing each other and trust each other,” said Ratliff commenting on the relationship he has with Roberson. “And I know that if he needs a big play, I can make it and I was there for him. He gave me the ball and as a playmaker, I tried my best to make it into the end zone.”
Ratliff finished as the leading receiver with six catches for 77 yards to go along with his score.
After both teams came back out following the delay, the Tigers forced a punt which was fielded by Kharel Coney. The senior defensive back showed his skills on special teams with a 26-yard return setting McComb up with prime field position.
Two plays later, the Tigers added to their lead when Lakevion Harris sliced through the Cougar defense and into the end zone from 16 yards out. And with the two-point conversion, McComb found itself up 16-0.
Then it was the Tiger defense’s turn to put some points on the board. Junior Jameer Lewis scooped up a fumble and returned it 65-yards for a touchdown further pushing McComb away from Lawrence County.
McComb continued to shine of offense going 3-for-3 when it came to scoring drives as the Tigers got a 13-yard run from Roberson with 5:49 to go until the half, making the score 32-7.
In the second half, both teams implemented their run games heavily causing the clock to continue to tick away. The lone score of the evening for Lawrence County came with 3:25 to go in the contest as the Cougars blocked a punt and recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
After the game, McComb head coach Willie Brown said that it was a big win for his Tigers played efficiently on both sides of the ball.
“I think that the offense did a great job and the defense did a great job,” he said. “Everything was clicking. Actually, this was the first time that I had the chance to be victorious against Lawrence County. I have probably played them five different times since I have been coaching (in my career) and this is the first time, I beat Lawrence County. I’m pretty sure we are in the playoffs and this was good for the kids.”
McComb will return home Friday to host to Raymond. It will not only be the regular season finale for the Tigers but it will also be senior night and homecoming.
