Liberty shines at South Side
With 10 teams playing at the SportsPlus Jamboree on Friday night at South Side High School, a team would have to do something memorable to stand out after five games before the end of the night.
Liberty did that.
The Crusaders matched up with Trinity Christian Academy and won 28-0.
“Liberty played as well against us as you’d expect a team with five potential D1 signees would do,” said TCA head coach Blake Butler.
Christian Ballard’s first carry in a Liberty uniform after transferring from Chester County last week was a touchdown.
Wide receiver Rodney Castille drew loud noises from the crowd when he caught a pass, ran a few steps at full speed and stopped with the suddenness of having hit a wall before changing direction on a big play.
Everything continued to go right for the Crusaders as they finished with an interception returned about 35 yards for their final score of the night.
“I liked the way our guys got after it,” said Liberty head coach Tyler Turner. “There were some rough spots that I think we need to fix, but we hustled well and played well for the most part.”
Liberty hosts Henry County next week, while TCA will host St. George’s.
North Side 14, South Side 6
North Side’s defense did a good job of getting in the Hawks’ backfield and disrupting their play for certain stretches of the game.
The Hawks had a hard time building consistency, but they did prove they had big-play ability with a 69-yard touchdown run by Shemar Givens, a junior who came over from Jackson Central-Merry.
“I was pleased to see how we played because in practice the last week or two, we played better than was I was expecting based on that,” said South Side head coach Brian Moore.
North Side head coach Donnie Nickey said his team did well with the basics of the game.
“We came out trying to play our base stuff and do well with fundamentals, and I think we did that,” said Nickey, who will coach his first game as a head coach on Aug. 20 vs. Oakland at Middle Tennessee State University.
South Side will travel to Obion County.
USJ 7, Dyer Co. 7
University School of Jackson and Dyer County each scored a touchdown and added no more.
Both teams picked up turnovers to keep the scoring totals down.
USJ went without projected starting quarterback Jacob Buie, who was in a jersey, shorts and a walking boot.
“He’s practiced this week, but we decided to hold him out tonight,” said USJ coach Rusty Bradley. “He should be ready to go by next week.”
USJ linebacker Campbell Carlock appeared to suffer an arm injury, but Bradley said he doesn’t expect it to affect his play much.
“It could be a bone bruise in his hand or a possible break,” Bradley said. “We’ll find out about that in a day or two.
“But we expect him to not miss any playing time. He can just put a cast on and play with it.”
USJ’s score was a pass from Garrett Reynolds to Ryan Miller in the first half.
USJ will host First Assembly Christian School next week.
Jackson Christian 7, Greenfield 0
Jackson Christian head coach Todd Roland said his team’s youth on the line showed nothing unexpected from as a lot of guys up front will get their first meaningful experience in high school games next week vs. South Gibson.
“If they’re making mistakes now, it’s my fault because they’re doing their best to learn what they need to do,” Roland said. “But those guys came out and played great. I’m happy with it.”
Greenfield head coach Don Pitt said he was glad his team made the trip to Jackson.
“This is fun because of all these fans here watching and this atmosphere,” Pitt said. “Those two quarters went by quickly.
“I think our guys might’ve had some early jitters because of the different environment, but they did a good job of adjusting.”
The Yellowjackets will host Fulton City, Ky., to open the season next week.
Humboldt 13, Gibson Co. 2
The Vikings had a shaky start to the game with a high snap that caused a loss of 21 yards and a fumble, but the team settled down and scored a couple of touchdowns on big plays.
“We’ve got some new guys out there that haven’t been in this situation before that were still learning what to do, or having to remember it,” said Humboldt head coach Junior Reid.
Youth was something that affected Gibson County too.
“A lot of our guys who are contributing are sophomores and freshmen,” said Gibson County coach Cody Finley. “We’ve got five freshmen starting out there tonight.
“But they did a good job of staying after it, and I’m proud of the way the game ended as we kept fighting.”
The last play of the game was the defensive play in which Gibson County picked up the safety to avoid the shutout.
Humboldt travels to Fairley next week, while Gibson County will host Zion Christian.
Brandon Shields, 425-9751