If fans not in attendance at the Yazoo County-Morton football game Friday night happened to catch a glimpse at the scoreboard, they must have thought an exhibition basketball game was being played instead of football.
In what turned out to be an offensive shootout, Yazoo County outlasted a game Morton squad, 64-62 in an overtime classic.
“We went to play a football game and ended up with a basketball score,” joked YCHS head coach Robert Dobbs. “Both teams were clicking on all cylinders offensively. They couldn’t stop us and we couldn’t stop them. I give credit to our kids though because they never gave up. They kept fighting and continued to make plays offensively. Even when we were tired and started cramping, they never quit.”
The Panthers started things off with a pair of first quarter touchdowns (a 51-yard punt return by Cameron Williams and a five yard T.J. Rials run) to take a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.
Morton got on the board to open the second quarter, but YCHS answered back with a 97-yard Jarrett Jasper kickoff return, pushing the lead to 20-7.
Morton, however, added two more scores in the quarter and led 21-20 at the half.
Both teams scored once in the third quarter and Morton took a 28-26 lead into the final quarter.
Then things got interesting. The two squads scored as many points in the final frame (Yazoo County 30; Morton 28) that most teams do in an entire game.
Kavontae Jones started things off with a 12-yard touchdown run followed by a 2 pt. conversion pass from Gregory Shaffer to Rials to make the score 34-28.
The two teams spent the rest of the quarter trading scores as the score see-sawed back and forth.
After a Morton TD, Jones scored again on a 32 yard run.
Morton scored on a 35 yard pass and Williams caught a 34-yard pass from Rials making the score 48-41 Yazoo County.
Morton then tied things at 48 ironically on a 48-yard run and PAT kick, before YCHS scored what appeared to be the final TD on a Williams 22-yard TD reception with thirty seconds remaining.
Morton, however, forced the overtime when their 15 yard TD pass tied the score at 56 as time expired.
In the extra period, Panther Malikh Brown scored on a 10 yard run and Adarius Hodge caught the 2 pt. pass from Rials to give the County a 64-56 lead.
Morton would answer back with a 17-yard touchdown, but failed to convert the 2 pt. attempt, giving Yazoo County the win.
The two teams combined for almost 1,000 yards of total offense (Yazoo County 517; Morton 469).
Rials completed 12-of-15 passes for 166 yards, two TDs and one interception.
Williams was the leading receiver with four catches for 83 yards , and Jones was the leading rusher with 165 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns.
Yazoo County, now 3-1, has another huge road test on the road this Friday night at Choctaw.
