By Gene Phelps / NE Mississippi Daily Journal
SHANNON — A rain-soaked West Lauderdale coach Stan McCain sat on a desk in a quiet dressing room Friday night and offered no excuses for his team’s play.
“Shannon just whipped our tail in all phases of the game ... and made us like it,” he said.
The Red Raiders, behind the pile-driving blocking of Josh Jennings, Aleric King, Jimmy McPherson, Derryan Ryce and Zack Scott, got 371 yards rushing and four touchdowns on a soggy course from its go-go twins – tailback Keon McGaughy and quarterback Alex Thornton – to whip the visiting Knights 33-6 in their MHSAA Class 4A second-round playoff game.
Shannon (11-1) will play its quarterfinal at Lafayette County next week. The Red Raiders defeated the Commodores 14-7 in Week 2.
Red Raiders coach Chad Cook called the victory a total team effort.
He knew going into the game the rain-soaked track would not slow down his team’s strong ground attack.
“We ran the ball downhill, right at them ... man-on-man, physical,” he said. “That was an outstanding job by our offensive line. They opened up the holes and the backs hit them.
“My (line) coaches, Boris Ivy and Mike Hamilton, get the credit.”
Defensively, the Red Raiders held West Lauderdale’s usually productive double-wing to just 26 yards total offense in the first half and 98 for four quarters.
“One thing we told our defense was that we needed 100 percent effort and 11 brothers on the field,” Cook said. “We made sure everybody on defense had one key and they all did their job.”
West Lauderdale, which didn’t cross midfield in the first half, scored its lone TD with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining on Darren Farmer’s 5-yard run.
“Tonight, our guys didn’t have that little extra we usually have,” McCain said.
Shannon’s Thornton, who rushed for 157 yards, scored on runs of 1 and 30 yards in the first quarter to give the home team a 14-0 lead.
He added an 8-yard scoring run late in the second quarter to give Shannon its 21-0 halftime advantage.
McGaughy, who rushed for 214 yards, picked up 81 on a sweep to give the Red Raiders a 28-0 lead early in the third quarter.
Shannon scored its final points on a safety – the result of a high punt snap that sailed out of the end zone – and on McPherson’s 27-yard field goal.
