Rebels kick off region play with big win over Resurrection
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By Stan Caldwell
Dispatch Correspondent
Senior running back Tykil Hinton is shown running through a Resurrection defender during the Rebels’ big win last Friday. Photo by NICHOLE McLAIN PHOTOGRAPHY
RICHTON – B.J. Brown doesn’t have a high profile among running backs in Mississippi, but if he keeps playing like he did against Resurrection Friday night, that could change.
The compact senior for the Rebels gashed the Eagles for three big running plays that led Richton to a 28-7 victory over RCS in the Region 8-1A opener for both teams. Richton improved to 4-2 overall, while Resurrection dropped to 1-5.
Brown ran just 11 times, but finished with 205 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns. At 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, Brown runs low to the ground and he has breakaway speed.
“He’s a threat every time he touches the ball,” said Richton coach Andrew Roberts. “At any given time, he can take it to the house, and he can make something out of a busted play real quick. That makes him extra-special.”
For the Eagles it was simply a matter of attrition. After graduating two large senior groups (by 1A standards) the past two seasons, veteran head coach Eric Denmark is working with a roster numbering under 20.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” said Denmark. “We’ve got 16 kids on the team, and really only 12 that play. So you’ve got 12 kids who never leave the field. I mean, they’re warriors.
“So we’re pleased with the effort. We lost two really good senior classes, but with the eighth-graders we’ve got coming up next year, it will help us get our numbers back up.”
Senior running back B.J. Brown is shown celebrating after one of his touchdown runs in the Rebels’ win over Resurrection last Friday. Photo by NICHOLE McLAIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Roberts was happy with the victory, but not with all aspects of his team’s execution. But the win gives the Rebels the inside track for a playoff berth in Class 1A.
“I thought we played hard, but we need to clean up a few things,” said Roberts. “I’m not satisfied with how we executed tonight. We anticipate everybody showing up Monday ready to get after it, even though it’s the beginning of fall break. It’s week-by-week now.”
Part of his displeasure was over Resurrection’s second possession of the game, after both teams lost big yards on high snaps to thwart their first series on offense.
The Eagles converted three third downs on a seven-minute long scoring drive that covered 75 yards on 14 plays, including the touchdown on a 1-yard run by senior quarterback Sully May.
After losing 13 yards on the opening snap of the game on a high snap, May – who started the season as the third-string quarterback – finished with a respectable 70 yards rushing on 21 carries.
That would prove to be the lion’s share of the offense for RCS, as the Rebels adjusted and took away the middle of the field. Resurrection finished with a net of just 164 yards of offense
“In 1A, we have to be variable,” said Roberts “We have to recognize formations and get into different alignments ourselves, in order to defend the various looks and attacks we’re going to see.
“That pays off in the long run. But a lot of times early in a game, it can hurt you if you’re caught out of alignment, and I think that’s what happened to us in that first drive. We really didn’t understand the feel for our angles versus their speed.”
Nevertheless, it took Richton all of 23 seconds to answer the Eagles’ score.
Brown took the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for an apparent touchdown, only to have the score nullified for a block in the back at the 40-yard line.
No matter. Brown took the next snap around right end and outraced the pursuit for a 50-yard touchdown run, and he added the run on the conversion to give the Rebels the lead for good, at 8-7.
“My goal right from the start was to return it all the way,” said Brown. “We had the flag on the kickoff, so I had it in my mind that I had to score. And that’s what I did.”
A special teams miscue gave the Rebels a very short field on the next possession after the touchdown.
Following a three-and-out, the snap on the punt attempt went over the head of senior punter William Wright, and his attempt to salvage a kick out of the play was blocked, with Richton recovering at the 15-yard line.
On third-and-1 from the Eagle 6, senior quarterback Daylin Carter carried the ball around right tackle for the touchdown. Senior Tykil Hinton ran the conversion to give the Rebels a 16-7 lead.
The only turnover of the game gave Resurrection a chance to get back in the game at the beginning of the second half, when the opening kickoff bounced off a Richton player and was recovered by the Eagles at their own 36-yard line.
“I feel like this team has a lot of potential, a lot better than past years,” said Brown. “We’re 1-0 in our district, and we’ve got the talent to go as far we want.”
RCS used up almost six minutes off the clock, and drove as far as the Rebel 6. May had a big 21-yard carry, and sophomore Bryce Crossley had a 19-yard scamper to the Richton 15.
The Eagles were lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1, but a false start moved them back 5 yards, and Wright’s 27-yard field goal attempt was wide right. Resurrection would not get closer than the Richton 42 the rest of the game.
“We started flexing a little more and guarding the edges a little more,” said senior nose tackle Logan McRee. “They were killing us on the edges, because we were focused on the middle, so our ends had to contain that edge, and they did that after that first drive.
“It’s great that we’re changing the culture here. It’s been down the past couple of years, but I’m glad we’re the senior group to build it back up.”
Richton was stopped on the ensuing possession after driving as far the Eagle 15 before being pushed back. But there was no stopping Brown in the fourth quarter.
After getting the ball right back on a punt, Brown took the first snap of the series 54 yards around the right edge, then added the killing touchdown on a 5-yard run.
Brown then capped his night with a 51-yard touchdown run, after the Rebels stopped RCS near midfield. Richton got it all done despite a lopsided deficit in time of possession, 28:42 to 19:18 in favor of RCS.
Resurrection will be back on the road next week to face Taylorsville in another region clash, while Richton will be home again next Friday hosting Lumberton.
“I thought Resurrection did a phenomenal job,” said Roberts. “I’ve been in a situation where they are, where they’re very thin.
“So a lot of people look at their roster numbers and they think it’s going to be an easy game, not realizing that seven or eight of those guys are four-year starters. I think attrition just got to them a little bit, but they do have some talent, and they can play some football.”
