Tornadoes fall 33-13 Friday in matchup against Noxubee
The Philadelphia Tornadoes showed improvement in the second half as they fell to 0-2 following a 33-13 loss to Noxubee County Friday night in prep football action.
The Tigers built up a 26-0 halftime lead and it could have been more. But the Tornadoes stopped the Tigers on fourth down three times in the red zone and recovered a fumble another time.
“The defense played well,” said Tornadoes coach David Frey. “They made some big stops inside the 20 and showed improvement between the first week and the second week.
“The offense played better in the second half. We went to the Wildcat formation and finally started to pick up some yards. I thought we finished strong,” Frey said
The Tigers took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. Quarterback Chrishard Rupert connected with Antonio Fowler for a six-yard touchdown pass. Trevon Sledge kicked the extra point and Noxubee County led 7-0 with 9:44 remaining.
The Tigers recovered a fumble on the kickoff on the Philadelphia 14-yard line. The Tornado defense held the Tigers to four downs and Philadelphia had the ball for four plays. The Tornadoes punted the ball.
Two plays later, Noxubee County’s Bobby Shanklin ran 29 yards for a touchdown. The kick was no good and the Tigers led 13-0.
In the second quarter, defensive lineman Travours Hatcher recovered a Tornado fumble and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. Sledge’s kick was good and the Tigers led 20-0 with 6:56 left in the second quarter.
Shanklin scored his second touchdown of the night on 26-yard run. The kick was no good and the Tigers led 26-0 with 1:09 left in the half.
Philadelphia took the second half opening kickoff and drove it 69 yards in 16 plays for a touchdown. On fourth down, quarterback Marcus Beamon connected with Ja’naylon Dupree on a nine-yard TD pass play. Connor Long kicked the extra point and the Tigers led 26-7 with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers took the ensuing kickoff and six plays later, had another touchdown on the scoreboard. Shanklin scored on a 10-yard run. Sledge kicked the extra point and the Tigers led 33-7 with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Tornadoes put together 17-play drive that covered 97 yards, Running out of the Wildcat, the Tornadoes pounded out four first downs along the way. Dedrick McWilliams scored on a two-yard run. The try for two failed and that ended the scoring for the night.
Both teams have tough opponents next week. (2-0) Noxubee County visits West Point and (0-2) Philadelphia visits Madison-Ridgeland Academy.