Tornadoes hold off Knights’ rally for first win
The Philadelphia Tornadoes picked up their first win of the season as they defeated West Lauderdale 29-21 on the road last Friday night in prep football action.
The Tornadoes improved to 1-1 and will host Leake Central Friday. Leake Central beat Leake County 41-0 last weekend and also stands at 1-1. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
"It was good to get the first win," Coach David Frey said. "But we made too many mistakes and I hope we are getting that out of our system.
"We have a tough test this week in Leake Central. They are very athletic and have a lot of team speed. We have to be ready to play."
Lidetrick Griffin caught the opening kickoff on the Tornado 10-yard line and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was no good and the Tornadoes led 6-0.
West Lauderdale scored in the second quarter when Ja'Karius Grant ran in on an 11-yard rush. The extra point failed and the game was tied at 6-6.
Conner Long put the Tornadoes back in front nine plays later when he booted a 25-yard field goal. At the half, the Tornadoes led 9-6.
The Tornadoes kicked off the second half. The Philadelphia defense put some points on the scoreboard when Tanner Boler recovered a fumble and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. The Tornadoes went for two and it failed, making the score 15-6 in favor of Philadelphia.
Two plays after the kickoff, Boler recovered a fumble on the Knights' 47. A 15-yard face mask penalty moved the Tornadoes to the 28-yard. Morgan connected with Griffin for a 20-yard completion. Then Kornelius Triplett ran the ball in from eight yards. The extra point failed and the Tornadoes led 29-6 with 7:01 left in the game.
But the game wasn't over as West Lauderdale battled back. First, quarterback Eli Bryan completed a touchdown pass to Wyatt Castle for a 20-yard touchdown pass play. The extra point was good and Philadelphia led 29-13.
The Knights recovered an onside kick. Three plays later when Bryan ran in from 14 yards old. The kick was good and the Knights trailed 29-21.
West Lauderdale drove down to the Philadelphia two-yard line but failed to score and the game was over.
"It was a big time stop," Frey said. "They could have given up and they didn't. We weren't solid this week; we still have a lot to work on. But a win is a win."
Boler finished the game with 10 tackles. He had two fumble recoveries and an interception. Trey Crockett had 11 tackles and forced a fumble. Antuaze Brown had nine tackles.
Morgan completed seven passes for 102 yards. Griffin had four catches for 47 yards.