Head coach Walter Denton’s Tylertown Chiefs still taste the lingering flavor of last year’s state football championship.
The South Pike Eagles are still trying to regain the glory of the past, but head coach Willie Brown maintains that will take time.
The Chiefs stayed on their fast track to another possible Class 3A state title bid Friday night with a 28-12 beating of the Eagles at South Pike’s Colee Field.
Tylertown (3-2) won for the third consecutive time after opening the season 0-2. The Chiefs beat Vicksburg and Lawrence County prior to Friday’s win over the Class 4A Eagles.
The Chiefs’ defense limited South Pike running back Dewayne Pounds to just one touchdown — a 24-yard scoring run three plays into the second quarter. It was the game’s first touchdown, and it gave South Pike a 6-0 lead with 11 minutes before halftime. The extra-point attempt failed.
From there, Pounds was held to just three rushes of 10 yards or more. He finished the game with 106 yards on 19 carries.
Although Pounds registered another 100-yard rushing performance — his third of the season — Tylertown defensive end Edward Mark and defensive tackle Anfernee Lowe stopped him from doing more damage by pursuing the Eagles’ speedy running back on the corners.
“Our defense shut down the outside,” Denton said. “We didn’t let him get out there and beat us.”
South Pike also was hobbled by two touchdowns called back by penalties.
Pounds had a 12-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive erased by a holding call. The Eagles eventually failed to convert a fourth-and-13 play from the Tylertown 14 as the pass sailed high over the receiver’s head and through the end zone.
Pounds also had a 9-yard scoring run in the third quarter negated by an illegal shift penalty.
“I’m not frustrated,” Brown said after the loss. “We’ve improved a great deal. But the kids still don’t have the whole concept of what we’re doing. It’s all new to them.
“It takes time to learn what we actually want them to learn,” Brown added.
After a sluggish first quarter, Tylertown’s offense got untracked on the ensuing drive, marching 80 yards on 12 plays. The drive was capped when fullback Peyton Denton followed his blockers up the middle for a 7-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 6 with 6:31 remaining in the first half. The two-point conversion run failed.
Denton carried 12 times for a team-best 76 yards.
After the Eagles went three-and-out on their next drive, Tylertown went 55 yards on seven plays, finished off by running back Ashton Ellzey’s dash off left tackle for a 6-yard touchdown run. Ellzey also added the two-point conversion run to send the Chiefs to a 14-6 lead with 2:11 remaining before halftime.
The Chiefs threatened again just before halftime, but South Pike safety Willard Hampton intercepted Ellzey’s last-play Hail Mary at the goal line.
The pickoff did little to discourage the Chiefs from going to the air. Tylertown struck again two plays into the third quarter when Ellzey hit tight end Adam Wilkes over the middle at the South Pike 40. Wilkes then outran two defenders to the end zone to complete the 79-yard scoring play to extend Tylertown’s lead to 20-6 with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter. The two-point pass play failed.
On its next drive, South Pike advanced to the Tylertown 49, before quarterback Devonta McKnight’s pass was intercepted by Chiefs’ cornerback La Darrius Slocum at the Tylertown 26.
Slocum then slipped to the right and scampered 50 yards down the Tylertown sideline to the South Pike 24-yard line.
Four plays later, Ellzey broke loose up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown run. He also added the two-point conversion run to balloon Tylertown’s lead to 28-6 with 6:19 to go in the third.
South Pike capped the scoring in the game’s final moments. Following a 14-yard punt return by Tim Lewis and a late hit penalty against Tylertown, the Eagles set up shop at the Chiefs’ 39.
Five plays later, McKnight ran up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 28-12 with 19.7 seconds to play. The two-point conversion run failed.
“Our offensive line played very physical football,” Walter Denton said. “We won the game in the trenches tonight. That’s what we wanted to do.”
