SHS wins shootout

Sikeston quarterback Trey Lewis breaks a tackle in the second quarter against Obion County Central. Lewis ran for 89 yards and threw for 113.
(Photo by David Jenkins, Staff)

sd_sports@yahoo.com

TROY, Tenn. -- Coming into this season the Sikeston Bulldogs' biggest question marks resided on the offensive side of the ball, where nearly every major contributor graduated from last year's record-setting team.

Judging by their performance in their first game on Friday night, Sikeston's offense appears to be just fine.

The Bulldogs opened the season with a 42-34 road victory over Obion County Central in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Bulldogs racked up 560 yards of total offense and were able to hold off a late rally by the Rebels, who fall to 1-1 on the season.

Sikeston amassed 447 yards on the ground while Obion County Central threw for 372 yards on a staggering 42 attempts.

"I thought our offense was outstanding," Sikeston head coach Kent Gibbs said. "The only time we got stopped was when we stopped ourselves."

With the graduation of all-state quarterback Juqualin Wiggins, all eyes were on Sikeston's new signal-caller, Trey Lewis.

The senior looked sharp in his debut, throwing for 113 yards on 8-of-13 passing while rushing for 89 yards with a touchdown. Lewis, who said he had never played quarterback before on any level, handled the offense like a seasoned-veteran at times.

"I just keep telling myself to keep my composure and just stay relaxed and get the ball to my teammates and make people better around me," Lewis said. "We played a good game and this is a good team we beat. We came down here and did our job."

Lewis wasn't the only new face for the Bulldog offense. Senior running back Darryl Howard, who hasn't played since his sophomore year, had a strong debut, leading the team with 141 yards rushing on 17 carries with a touchdown.

Junior James Watson had 116 yards with three touchdowns and sophomore Kyland Gross had 94 yards, including a momentum-shifting 64-yard run just before halftime to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 28-12.

"They ran the ball hard and they ran it well and if we get on the edge with our speed then we're going to score," Gibbs said. "But I think you have to take your hat off to our offensive line because they really worked hard tonight and did a terrific job blocking for those guys."

While Sikeston's offense was clicking on Friday, the Bulldogs' defense, a team strength last season, showed some chinks in the armor.

Several missed tackles and missed interception opportunities kept Obion drives alive throughout the game.

Obion County quarterback Trey Phipps completed 24-of-41 passes for 330 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.

Junior wide receiver Mason McGrew had seven catches for 97 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wideout Shawn Weaks had six receptions for 96 yards.

"Their quarterback is extremely talented," Gibbs said. "Their receivers don't drop many passes. There were a couple, but as many as they threw, they didn't drop many. They run precise routes. Their offense is pretty dynamic."

Sikeston opened the game with a 7-play drive that covered 71 yards capped by Howard's 5-yard run. Hunter Williams booted the first of his six extra points to give the Bulldogs a lead that they were never relinquish.

The Rebels got on the board on the second play of the second quarter on Phipps' 8-yard pass to McGrew, but Sikeston's Ray Clark blocked the extra point attempt to maintain the Bulldog lead at 7-6.

A pair of Watson TD runs of 3 and 43 yards pushed Sikeston's lead to 21-6 in the second quarter.

Obion responded late in the second quarter as McGrew's 42-yard option pass to Weaks set up running back LaDevin Fair's 1-yard run with 48 seconds left, slicing the Bulldogs' lead to 21-12 and appearing to have stolen the game's momentum with halftime looming.

But Gross' electrifying 64-yard scamper with just four seconds left in the half proved to be a costly defensive breakdown that Obion could not recover.

"We wanted to be basic in what we did and if we broke a long one then we were going to throw one to the end zone," Gibbs admitted. "Sometimes you've got to be lucky. Obviously that's a huge play when you take a look at the final score. That's a sophomore stepping up and making a play."

Obion County Central coach Shawn Jackson, a native of Hayti, knew that Gross' run would be hard to overcome.

"That was a back-breaker right before the half," Jackson said. "They were just trying to run out the clock and they scored on it, and that's the difference."

With the momentum back on Sikeston's side heading into halftime, the Bulldogs took advantage in the third quarter, recovering a Rebel fumble to set up Watson's third TD run to push the lead to 35-12.

The Rebels answered a minute later with McGrew's second touchdown reception and Phipps' two-point conversion pass to Tanner Cary to cut the lead to 35-20.

Sikeston's offense, however, put together what may have been the game's decisive drive on the ensuing possession as they marched 78 yards on 13 plays capped by Lewis' 2-yard dive into the end zone. The drive ran off six minutes and 42 seconds off the clock and pushed the Bulldog lead to 42-20 with 11:52 left.

Phipps hit McGrew on TD passes of 7 and 27 yards, the latter of which came with 3:19 left in the game.

Obion's onside kick attempt was recovered by Sikeston's Howard and the Bulldogs were able to run out the remaining time on the clock to preserve the victory.

As much success as the Rebels had through the air, Sikeston's defense completely stifled Obion's ground game, limiting them to 37 yards on 14 carries.

Fair, a highly-touted transfer from nearby Fulton County, Tenn., was limited to 25 yards on 11 carries.

Throwing the ball 42 times and rushing just 14 times was not part of the game-plan according to Jackson.

First Quarter

S -- Darryl Howard 5 run (Hunter Williams kick), 8:20.

Second Quarter

O -- Mason McGrew 8 pass from Trey Phipps (kick blocked), 11:48.

S -- James Watson 3 run (Williams kick), 7:08.

S -- Watson 43 run (Williams kick), 2:05.

O -- LaDevin Fair 1 run (pass failed), 0:48

S -- Kyland Gross 64 run (Williams kick), 0:04.

Third Quarter

S -- Watson 1 run (Williams kick), 7:26.

O -- McGrew 15 pass from Phipps (Tanner Cary pass from Phipps), 6:35.

Fourth Quarter

S -- Trey Lewis 2 run (Williams kick), 11:52.

O -- McGrew 7 pass from Phipps (Ward kick), 10:25.

O -- McGrew 27 pass from Phipps (Ward kick), 3:19.

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Sikeston -- Darryl Howard 17-141, James Watson 17-116, Kyland Gross 5-94, Trey Lewis 13-89, Ray Clark 2-22, Team 3-(-15). Obion County Central -- LaDevin Fair 11-25, Trey Phipps 3-12.

Passing

Sikeston -- Trey Lewis 8-13-0 113. Obion County Central -- Trey Phipps 24-41-1 330, Mason McGrew 1-1-0 42.

Receiving

Sikeston -- Robert Garces 3-59, Janeil Hatchett 3-47, Darryl Howard 2-7. Obion County Central -- Mason McGrew 7-97, Shawn Weaks 6-96, Tanner Cary 5-81, LaDevin Fair 3-68, Ward 4-30.