Before every season, each team has a list of goals. One of the main goals on those lists is to win the district opener, and West Marion (3-4, 1-0) was able to go on the road last Friday night and do just that, beating Seminary 24-21.
In a defensive slugfest, the Trojans’ ability to convert on their two-point conversions (3-for-3) ended up being the difference in the game with both teams finding pay dirt three times.
“That was really big. We’ve talked about it for several weeks now. When we had Josh (Miller), we were at 60 percent on two-point plays, and it became a norm,” West Marion head coach Brad Duncan said. “We’ve been struggling with it this year and those three were huge. If we don’t get two of them, we lose.”
The biggest staple of West Marion’s offense is its quick passing game — receiver screens, hitches, slants — but Seminary’s defense took that away from the Trojans. Instead, it was the West Marion running game and the Trojans offensive line that came out to play.
“Offensively, Adryane James, again, had some really big runs. He had those big runs because of the offensive line — those guys up front did a really good job,” Duncan said. “Richard Godoy, Traveon Lee and Tyrese Smith, who played both ways for us at defensive end and center, had really big games for us. Bryant Magee played well, and we had a freshman, Teddy Williams, who had to start because we had one of our starting guards out. He didn’t do bad for a baby in there — he’s a 300-pound baby — but he’s still a youngster who did a really good job for us. That’s why we were able to win because we were able to run the ball.”
Making just his second varsity start at running back for the Trojans, filling in for injured senior Charles Lewis, James had another big game, highlighted by a 59-yard touchdown run. Duncan said the game is simply starting to slow down for the 5-foot-9, 160-pound sophomore.
“Just maturing, he’s growing up,” Duncan said of James’ breakout. “He’s just a sophomore, but he’s getting to a point where he’s comfortable playing high school football. He mentioned earlier in the year how fast everything was going. The more reps he gets and the more experience he gets, it’s kind of slowing down for him. He’s a really good kid, a smart kid and he’s handling the chance to play really well.”
The Trojans’ defense had one of its best games, forcing four turnovers and holding Seminary scoreless through the first half.
“Keyon Brister had a really good game and Tyrese Smith had a really good game. Defensively, they’ve seen the Wing-T a few times and they really had some key stops,” Duncan said.
Nolan Miller came away with two interceptions, while Jeremiah Holmes had an interception and recovered a fumble he forced. Patrique Martin led the defense with 16 tackles, followed by Holmes with 14 and Brister with 13.
While winning its district opener is a big development, West Marion has no time to dwell on the win with Jefferson Davis County (6-1, 1-0) coming to town Friday night.
Jefferson Davis is in its first year as a program following the merger of Bassfield and Prentiss and is really starting to find its groove. The Jaguars outscored their last three opponents 127-49 and are coming off of a 43-14 drumming of Tylertown.
Duncan knows its gut-check time for the young Trojans.
“If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. The best is coming to Foxworth, and they’re a really good football team,” he said. “They have a lot of experience. They have 28 seniors and 20 juniors, and we’re kind of excited for the test of going against (Jefferson Davis County). They’re really good. They’re picked to win our division. We’re going to go out, play as hard as we can play and see if we can win.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Foxworth.
Pictured Above: Adryane James crosses the goal line against Columbia Academy. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
