There is a belief that football teams improve the most between the first and second games of the season.
McComb High School head football coach Malcolm Jones said he thinks that line of thinking is true.
If that is the case, Jones said he will see a whole lot less turnovers and penalties from his club when the Tigers visit Forest Hill on Friday. The 7 p.m. game will be at South Jackson Field near Forest Hill.
MHS had four turnovers and 13 penalties for 91 yards during last week’s 16-9 victory over Warren Central in the Red Carpet Bowl Classic at Vicksburg.
“I would rate our performance in that game a D-minus,” Jones said. “We had way too many turnovers on offense. If we want to go where we say we want to go, we’ve got to eliminate mistakes and stop turning the football over. We’ve got to create and sustain drives on a consistent basis.”
MHS quarterback Alex Woodall ran for two short touchdowns against the Vikings. Adam Watt kicked a 26-yard field goal and was successful on one of two extra points attempts.
Forest Hill was blown out last week by Callaway, losing 48-6. The Patriots allowed 457 total yards against the Chargers, including 275 rushing.
McComb rushed for 218 yards behind returning senior left guard Tyquan Patterson and junior left tackle Latedric Carter. Larkin Walker led MHS in rushing with 60 yards.
Woodall was 8 of 14 passing for 72 yards and an interception.
“Forest Hill runs what I call a high-risk defense,” Jones said. “(Receivers) need only a step to get behind the defense and go for a touchdown. We’ll see if we can get (our) screen game going. From a running standpoint, they take people out of run support from the secondary.”
Walker caught four passes for 42 yards last week. Travilion Williams caught four for 30 yards.
Offensively, Jones said the Patriots like to run out of the Pro-I.
Linebacker Jahmaad Harrell had 10 tackles with three sacks against Warren Central and was the Enterprise-Journal Player of the Week. Linebacker Chrishawn Speight had 10 stops. Linebackers include Laderek McCray and LaCharles Williams.
Defensive back Charvarius Ward had a fumble recovery and also recovered a lateral. The secondary includes Clifton Bibbs, Marquel Carroll and Julius Leggett. Bibbs had an interception.
MHS limited Warren Central to 195 total yards.
“The only thing I liked about last week’s game was that the defense stood up and played football,” Jones said. “It didn’t matter where Warren Central started, the defense played.”
Jones said 340-pound freshman defensive lineman Lucky Davis has earned playing time.
“He has the agility of a defensive back,” Jones said. “Once he gets in shape, he’ll be a problem for some offensive lines. We haven’t been able to block him in practice.”
