Breaking even

Breaking even

Red- zone struggles cost WMCS at jamboree

Sports Editor

West Memphis Christian hit the ground running last Friday night.

The Black Knights unofficially started their 2016 football season by playing in their district’s annual jamboree, which was held at DeSoto School in Helena, Arkansas.

The games didn’t count for or against the team’s record, but West Memphis Christian headed home with a 1-1-1 mark after battling the hosts from DeSoto to a scoreless tie, dropping a 14-0 decision to Tunica Academy and topping Lee Academy of Marianna 7-6.

“I saw a lot of good things. I was most impressed with how much better we look,” said third-year West Memphis Christian head football coach Darrow Anderson. “Evin Cooper played really well for a quarterback that we’ve put a lot of new stuff in for.

Our line played well. I think overall, just having older kids helps because they’re more mentally and physically able to compete with high school-aged kids.”

It wasn’t all roses for Anderson’s troops, however. His Black Knights drove inside the opposing red zone and came away scoreless four times in the three 20-minute periods against their league rivals.

One of those instances came in the first contest against DeSoto as neither team was able to muster much of an offensive threat.

However, West Memphis Christian got their legs underneath them in the second contest against Tunica when the Black Knights embarked on an 11-minute drive before ultimately coming up short on that drive.

“I think the score of that Tunica game is a little misleading,” explained Anderson. “We had a really good drive out of the gates, didn’t finish it and they scored on a couple of big plays. Overall, I liked what we were able to do against them, the score just didn’t go our way.”

West Memphis Christian finally hit paydirt in the finale against Lee Academy as the Black Knights scored on their initial drive for a 7-0 lead.

That advantage held up until Lee’s final drive when they crossed the goal line to get within 7-6 before going for broke on a two-point conversion to try and capture the win.

Bryce Waller shot the gap to record a tackle-for-loss on the attempt and the Black Knights headed home with a crazy, dramatic victory.

“I thought that was huge for our team in that we got a win, especially in the last game,” says Anderson.

“Wins and losses weren’t a concern of mine, but I know that the kids felt better about it headed home.”

While last Friday’s outing was a mere scrimmage, the lights come on for real this week when West Memphis Christian kicks off its 2016 regular season when it hosts North Delta, in a contest that will also be the first to be played in the school’s new on-campus football stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

West Memphis Christian played North Delta on the road last August and dropped a 54-7 decision in Batesville, Mississippi en route to a 2-8 final mark in 2015.

Photo by Chuck Livingston

West Memphis Christian played in its annual district jamboree last Friday night.

By Chuck Livingston