Neshoba Central blows past Center Hill in 6A Mississippi football playoffs
PHILADELPHIA — According to head coach Patrick Schoolar, Neshoba Central picked the right time to play their first "complete game."
Behind a balanced offensive attack and a defense that came up with two interceptions, the Rockets got past Center Hill 41-14 in the first round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs on Thursday night.
Neshoba Central (6-5) will face the South Panola-Callaway next week in the Second Round of the Class 6A playoffs.
“That was by far across the board our best complete game we’ve played game all year and it’s a great time to have one,” Schoolar said. “Center Hill was good ball team. Offensively we were clicking and defensively we did after the first drive.”
To begin the game Center Hill drove right down the field on the opening drive that was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence Autry to Keyshawn Kimble with 6:44 left in the first quarter to give the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead.
After that it was all Neshoba Central.
The Rockets responded to tie the game at 7-7 on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Will Williams to Tryeston Thompson.
After a Center Hill (5-6) fumble, junior running Mekhi Gaddis scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to give Neshoba Central a 13-7 lead after the extra point was blocked with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
The Rockets scored on their next two possessions to take a 26-7 lead on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Charles Stevenson and a Gaddis 12-yard touchdown run with 4:38 left in the second quarter.
Center Hill cut the lead to 26-14 on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Conner Floyd to Jermaine Hewett with 4:28 left in the second quarter.
Neshoba Central scored on the opening drive of the second half as Gaddis scampered into the end zone from 12 yards out and a successful two-point conversion to extend the lead 34-14.
Neshoba Central sealed the game on the last play of the third quarter as Williams found Stevenson on a 44-yard touchdown pass to give the Rockets the 41-14 lead.
Gaddis had 20 carries for 154 yards with two touchdowns for Neshoba Central.
“Mekhi is a work horse and ever since division play started, he’s been in a groove and he runs the ball hard,” Schoolar said. “We caught the ball well tonight. Will did a good job of getting the ball out fast and Charles is a guy we need to get the ball to more and he’s a good player.”
Williams finished 20-of-26 passing for 221 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rockets offensively.
“We had a really good week of practice, and it carried over to the game tonight. Running game was perfect and offensive line did a great job blocking,” Williams said. “We started the season 0-4 and came back once division play started we knew we were going to be fine and we’ve been playing well and need to keep playing well next week.”
Floyd had 138 yards passing with a touchdown to lead Center Hill. Autry had 87 yards rushing and a passing touchdown for the Mustangs.
“Wish we could’ve came in here 100 percent healthy and played better, but we had trouble stopping the run and didn’t play well,” said Center Hill coach Alan Peacock. “Neshoba is a really good team and a lot to do with our mistakes tonight, but proud of the guys for fighting.”
