North Delta spoils WMCS’ grand opening
North Delta spoils WMCS’ grand opening
Green Wave QB steals the show
Sports Editor For nearly an entire week of preparation, West Memphis Christian head coach Darrow Anderson warned anyone who would listen that North Delta quarterback Will Kidder could play.
He stressed it during his meetings with coaches.
He surely stressed it to his kids.
Despite the constant warnings about Kidder and his ability, the North Delta passer constantly evaded the West Memphis Christian pass rush to extend plays and pick up big chunks of yardage down field, while also scrambling for yardage in a 37-12 North Delta win.
Kidder accounted for four total touchdowns in the victory.
“He was basically everything we were afraid of,” Anderson said simply following the game. “I was pleased with our effort and the work that we put in all week. We fought all the way to the end. I think we ended up running out of gas in the second half, and before we ran out of gas, we made a number of mental mistakes that cost us.”
The first mental mistake was a bad snap through the end zone that cost the Black Knights a team safety that will go down as the first score in Knights Field II. That score came with 7:20 left in the first half and was good for a 2-0 Green Wave lead.
North Delta took the free kick and pushed ahead on a swift four-play, 59-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a 45-yard scoring pass from Kidder to John Haga-Lewis and the visitors led 9-0.
Just as it seemed as though North Delta was going to take over for good, the West Memphis Christian defense came up with a stop on 4th-andinches with the Green Wave inside of the hosts 10-yard line.
That lit a fire underneath the Black Knights, but the team was limited in its playcalling with just 1:47 left in the first half, and starting on its own 11-yard line.
The Black Knights responded by going threeand- out and North Delta got a 30-yard touchdown run from Haga-Lewis with 43 seconds left and following the point-after, the visitors led 16-0.
In a span of two plays, the game had turned almost immediately.
“That was a back-breaker,” Anderson said simply.
“You come out here, you drive down inside the 20 and we shoot ourselves in the foot and get a holding call or something. But we didn’t lay down, we kept fighting, and I think we’re gonna get there.”
The 16-0 tally doubled as the halftime score.
The lead swelled to 23-0 before West Memphis Christian senior quarterback Evin Cooper got his team on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run with 6:17 left in the third quarter.
Cooper would team up with Thomas Warren for a 63-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to get the Black Knights within the eventual final score of 37-12.
The North Delta season opener was the first game played at Knight Field II, a project that has been in the works for a number of years.
The event was wellattended by fans and backers, and a number of West Memphis Christian alumni were recognized at halftime of the game.
West Memphis Christian will hit the road for its second regular-season game when they trek to Somerville, Tennessee to play Fayette Academy on Friday night. That game will kick off at 7 p.m.
By Chuck Livingston
