SALEM — The last time Salem beat Dexter in football was 2006. And the coach of the Salem Wildcats at the time was none other than Kenneth Murphy, who is back in his second stint with the Wildcats.
Murphy left coaching until his return to Salem this season. Friday, Murphy directed the Wildcats to a 20-12 win over Dexter in district play.
With the win, Salem improved to 6-2 overall, 5-1 in Region 4-1A. Dexter dropped to 5-2, 4-1.
“It just doesn’t get much bigger than this,” said Murphy. “With Dexter being a rival and all, it’s a huge win for us.”
Offensively for Salem, Stevie Quinn had 22 carries for 144 yards. David Carr had 11 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns, and Cameron Robinson had 10 carries for 70 yards.
Salem got on the scoreboard first midway through the second quarter on a 59-yard touchdown run by Robinson. The drive started on the Salem 10 yard line. The PAT was no good.
Salem scored again in the second quarter on a 23-yard touchdown run by Carr . The score capped off a 68-yard drive. The two-point conversion failed.
“I thought our offense played well and controlled the momentum,” said Murphy. “They took care of business.”
Dexter answered with 40 seconds left before halftime on a 4-yard pass play from quarterback Clifford Fernandez to Dante Butler. A two-point PAT failed.
The Bulldogs’ next score came late in the third quarter on a 52-yard pass from Fernandez to Vonta Owens. The PAT failed.
The game was tied 12-12 at the end of the third quarter.
Salem scored on a 5-yard run that started from its own 25-yard line. Stevie Quinn ran for a two-point conversion.
Dexter had two possessions in the fourth quarter but Salem’s Cameron Robinson and Nick Henry intercepted Fernandez.
Defensively for Salem, Shannon Demonde led with five tackles. Henry had four tackles, half a sack and and an interception. Carr, Zack Bacot and Tae Smith each had three tackles.
“I was very proud of the defense because they came up with some huge stops when we needed them,” said Murphy.
Salem visits Mount Olive on Friday in a game that is a makeup of Hurricane Isaac. The game was tentatively set for Thursday due to the Washington Parish Fair, but has been moved to Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Bobcats keep rolling
At Natchez, Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing knew if he had any chance of beating No. 1-ranked Bogue Chitto his defense had to find a way to stop quarterback Brock Roberts, running back Brandon Wells and receiver Germie Martin.
Rushing nor Cathedral had any answers for the trio. All three players had key efforts as the Bobcats shut out Cathedral 25-0 to spoil the Green Wave homecoming.
With the win, the Bobcats improved to 8-0, 6-0 in Region 4-1A. Bogue Chitto rushed for 263 yards while holding the Green Wave to 65 yards rushing.
Bogue Chitto scored with less than two minutes off the clock on an 81-yard touchdown run by Wells. The PAT failed.
With 4:05 left in the second quarter, Martin scored on a 10-yard pass from Roberts. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
Cathedral drove to the Bogue Chitto 14 in the second quarter, but the drive stalled.
With 7:50 left in the third quarter, James Blackwell scored on an 8-yard run. Again the two-point conversion failed.
Bogue Chitto’s final score came with 10:38 left in the game. It came on a 32-yard pass from Roberts to Martin. Cameron Price’s PAT was good.
“I thought we played extremely well on both sides of the ball,” said Bogue Chitto coach Garreth Sartin. “James Blackwell had one of his best games of the season at middle linebacker. He had one interception and made several key stops.”
Offensively for Bogue Chitto, Roberts had 21 carries for 72 yards and went 5-for-12 passing for 75 yards, two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Martin had five carries for 75 yards and two scores. Wells had 14 carries fro 141 yards and James Blackwell had 10 carries for 56 yards.
Defensively for the Bobcats, James Blackwell led the defense with 16 tackles and an interception. Roberts had nine tackles and Damien Terrell and eight tackles.
On Friday the Bobcats face their biggest challenge when Stringer visits for a region match. Both teams are 6-0 in the district.
“We are looking forward to playing Stringer,” Sartin said. “They have a great football team. When we went over there last year it was a tough place to play. They come here this week and the team knows we will have to be ready to play.”
