PORT GIBSON — McComb committed four turnovers and had nine penalties for 85 yards but still found a way to make key plays when it mattered most and win the football game 30-22 at Port Gibson on Friday.
The Tigers (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory, have a bye next week and begin district play at South Pike at 7 p.m. Sept. 30.
With McComb ahead 23-22 and facing a third down and three, senior quarterback Venchenza McCray threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to his nephew senior wide receiver Gerkithis McCray with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 30-22.
McComb senior nose guard Lucky Davis recovered a Blue Waves fumble on a bad snap at the Tigers 40 yard line with 1:16 left in the game to seal the victory.
“Lucky, he played hard all night,” McComb head coach Jeffery Gibson said. “The defense actually played well, but we gave up the big play — third-and-long. We’ve got to continue to work on that. Lucky Davis, he continues to play well and get better.”
Gibson said defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Dedrick Johnson called the long pass play to Gerkithis McCray after looking at the Port Gibson defensive alignment.
“Venchenza made a great pass to Gerkithis on the deep ball to seal the victory,” Gibson said.
The Tigers trailed 6-0 after Port Gibson returned a Venchenza McCray interception 75 yards for a touchdown with 6:10 to play in the first half.
McComb was not able to sustain any lengthy drives until the final few minutes of the first half.
Following a Venchenza McCray 15-yard run to the Port Gibson 20 with 2:53 remaining in the second quarter, there was a long delay as one of the Blue Waves went down with an injury.
Three plays later junior running back Vincent Jones ran for a 9-yard touchdown with two minutes to play in the first half. The Tigers lined up as though Tejay Patel was going to kick the PAT, but Zachary Wall ran into the end zone for the 2-point conversion on a fake to give McComb an 8-6 lead.
Patel followed with an onside kick recovered by Deriyone Brister of the Tigers to give McComb possession at its own 45.
On a fake to senior wingback Ali Henson, Venchenza McCray ran up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown as the clock expired to end the first half. On another fake extra point attempt, Henson ran in the 2-point conversion to extend McComb’s lead to 16-6.
“They weren’t lined up properly, so it dictates what we’ll do on extra points,” Gibson said. “We just watched the film and knew we could get an onside kick. It was just from film study.”
Port Gibson had a 54-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half and an 11-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper to cut McComb’s lead to 23-22. The Blue Waves successfully completed the 2-point conversion on both touchdowns.
Venchenza McCray threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Henson with 7:23 in the third quarter. The Tigers attempted to fake the extra point once again as Henson ran in for 2.
However, the Tigers were hit with a 5-yard penalty on the 2-point conversion, so Patel came in to kick the PAT.
Gerkithis McCray fumbled the game’s opening kickoff giving Port Gibson possession at the McComb 45 with 11:51 remaining in the first quarter.
Port Gibson had two touchdowns called back on penalties on the opening possession. The Blue Waves went for it on fourth and goal, but Tigers senior defensive back La’Monte Kelly picked off a pass in the end zone with 5:36 left in the opening period.
Senior defensive lineman Jehdiel Harrell also had a fumble recovery for McComb in the win.
“We made a game that shouldn’t have been this tough, tough by mistakes,” Gibson said. “We just made it difficult. We’re just going to have to eliminate those things with steady work, with steady growing, but it’s always good to get a win. We’re ready to get into district play. We’re ready to get into the off week, so we can fine tune some stuff.”
The Tigers’ head coach said he appreciated all of the fans traveling to Port Gibson.
Senior free safety Piere Jones has missed all five games with a knee injury, senior cornerback Jamarcus Johnson was out with a concussion, while senior wide receiver Quandarrius Lofton was out with a strained muscle.
Gibson said Lofton could have played if Friday’s game was a district matchup. He did not believe athletes being out with injuries caused any of his team’s errors.
“That did not play a role,” Gibson said. “We made too many mistakes. If you’re on the field, you’re expected to make plays. That’s on us.”
McCOMB 30, PORT GIBSON 22
Score by Quarters
1 2 3 4 Tot.
McComb 0 16 7 7 — 30
Port Gibson 0 6 16 0 — 22
Scoring Summary
(Second Quarter)
Port Gibson — Minor 75 INT (2-point conversion fails), 6:10
McComb — Jones 9 run (Wall 2-point conversion), 2:00
McComb — Venchenza McCray 8 run (Henson 2-point conversion), 0:00
(Third Quarter)
Port Gibson — Hicks 54 pass to Johnson (Hicks 2-point conversion), 9:58
McComb — McCray 8 pass to Henson (Patel kick), 7:23
Port Gibson — Hicks 9 run (Hicks 2-point conversion), 5:26
(Fourth Quarter)
McComb — Venchenza McCray 46 pass to Gerkithis McCray (Patel kick), 2:17
Team Statistics
McComb Port Gibson
First Downs 20 9
Rushes-Yards 33-128 32-168
Passing Yards 252 145
Total Yards 380 313 Punts-Avg. 2-41.5 3-30.33
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 4-2
Penalties-Yds. 9-85 13-110
Individual Statistics
Rushing
McComb — Venchenza McCray 14-88, 1 TD, Jones 12-33, 1 TD.
Port Gibson — Hicks 19-92, 1 TD, Rankin 10-57.
Passing
McComb — Venchenza McCray 19-28 for 252 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs.
Port Gibson — Hicks 5-13 for 145 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving
McComb — Gerkithis McCray 4-93, 1 TD, Butler 6-72, Henson 5-45, 1 TD.
Port Gibson — Johnson 2-94, 1 TD, Rankin 3-51.
Defense
McComb — Davis 1 fumble recovery, Harrell 1 fumble recovery, Kelly 1 INT.
