Yazoo City High School was unable to keep pace with the Greenwood Bulldogs in a 38-19 loss.
The loss dropped Yazoo City to 4-4 on the year.
In the first half, turnovers allowed the Bulldogs to reach the end zone time and time again, and when the proverbial dust cleared, it was a 30-7 game at the half.
The Indians flipped a switch in the second half and held the Bulldogs to only seven more points while scoring 12 of their own, but it wasn’t enough. Greenwood took the game 38-19.
Yazoo City head football coach Timothy Johnson thought his defense did as well as could be expected given the turnovers that kept putting them behind the 8-ball.
“We had five turnovers, so that’s tough to overcome,” Johnson said. “I think we did a great job on defense. We have a young defense, and we constantly put them in bad situations. I’m proud of them. Greenwood had a short field all night. We didn’t hit a lot of big plays, but that’s okay. We learned how to drive and keep our defense off the field. We got it together in the second half. They didn’t score after an early one in the third quarter.”
Johnson rotated a lot of players in and out in the game, and he gave some young linemen some opportunities in key spots against a traditionally tough unit.
“We played six freshmen on the line, and that’s tough against a team like Greenwood,” Johnson said. “Greenwood is known for their lines. They’re very good up front. I’m proud of how our guys fought up there.”
Roncedrick Weekly went out with an injury a week ago, opening the door for Kory Price at quarterback.
According to Johnson, it is a good fit and will stay that way when Weekly comes back.
“Kory is a very patient quarterback and works through his progressions,” Johnson said. “He stays in the pocket and slings it. I’m really proud of him. We’ll keep him there when Roncedrick comes back, which will let us get him the ball more in space and allow him to be a playmaker. We think that will let us take advantage of each of their talents.”
Price went 9-for-13 for 135 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Rorecoss Willis caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Tommy Washington caught two passes for 36 yards in the loss.
Jared Waters rushed the ball 16 times for 116 yards and a score.
Javarious had nine total tackles, one of which was for a loss, and a sack in the losing effort.
Parviz King had seven total tackles.
Senior Torey Haymer had four total tackles and a fumble recovery for a score.
The Indians will have an open date this week to try to regain their health and momentum.
Johnson wants to allow his team to be as healthy as possible when they head into their final regular season games.
“We’re going to lift, run, and take it easy,” Johnson said. “We’ll try to get in and out of practice quickly. We have homecoming against Gentry and senior night against Rose Fort. Those games will determine whether or not we make the playoffs, and we’ll need to be healthy for that.”
