Enterprise drops district game

By Staff
JAMES KENNEDY/Laurel Leader-Call
October 20, 2001
TAYLORSVILLE Nursing a 14-10 halftime lead, the Taylorsville Tartars
needed a second half spark. Elbert Brown provided it.
Brown rushed for 308 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Tartars to a 49-24 Region 7-2A victory over the Enterprise Bulldogs.
Tartars head coach Shannon White.
A happy Brown credited the Tartars' offensive linemen. "It feels great. The line opened big holes and everything was there. The offense got pumped up in the second half."
Quitman loses district lead
LAUREL Northeast Jones molded itself into an annual championship contender by playing hard-nosed, defensive-dominated football.
The Tigers dusted off that old playbook Friday night. In the process, Northeast dusted off former division leader Quitman.
A 39-yard second-quarter touchdown run by Spencer Richardson proved the difference as Northeast shut out Quitman 7-0 in a thrilling Region 5-4A contest played in The Jungle.
feel proud."
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Quitman, Northeast Jones and Mendenhall each have 3-1 region records. Florence follows at 3-2, while Magee is 2-2. This season, four teams from the region advance to the playoffs.
Northeast won its second straight region game to move to 6-2 overall. Quitman drops to 5-3.
Both teams dominated on defense.
Still, the contest had several hairy moments. Quitman started its final possession on its own 20-yard line with 2:26 left in regulation. On third-and-19, quarterback Prentiss Davis hit Roderick Laphand for a 74-yard pass completion. NEJ defensive back Eric Jefferson came up and attempted the pass interception, but instead got burnt on the
near-disastrous play.
Two plays later, Jefferson redeemed himself with a pass interception in the end zone to seal the victory.
Quitman finished with 182 yards of total offense and six first downs. The Panthers rushed 28 times for 99 yards. Quitman completed 4-of-13 pass
attempts for 83 yards.
Northeast finished with 239 total yards and 12 first downs. The Tigers rushed 41 times for 183 yards. Richardson rushed 16 times for 70 yards. Ford had 34 yards on seven keeps.
In the air, Ford completed 4-of-8 pass attempts for 56 yards. Jefferson led the way with two receptions for 27 yards.
A 24-yard punt by Quitman set Northeast up on the Panthers' 39-yard line with 4:47 left before halftime. After Rustin got stuffed for no gain on first down, Richardson got the call on second down. The senior speedster broke three tackles and took off for the end zone.
The Travis West conversion closed the game's scoring with 4:02 left before halftime. The Tigers had one final threat in the opening half. Northeast moved from its own 37-yard line to the Quitman 14-yard line. After an incompletion on first down, Ford suffered an interception in the end zone. The Laphand theft snuffed the final legitimate threat by the hosts in the contest.
Next week, both teams travel for their next division assignments. Quitman travels to Mendenhall, while Northeast travels to Magee. Brown opened the scoring for Taylorsville in the opening period. His 36-yard touchdown run capped off a six-play, 65-yard drive. T.J. Grissom's extra point kick gave the Tartars the 7-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first quarter.
Enterprise responded immediately with a seven-play, 81-yard drive. Kelly Jimmerson's 50-yard touchdown run followed by Michael Swancey's kick tied the score with 5:33 to go in the opening quarter.
The Tartars then answered again. Brown's 60-yard run was immediately followed by a Jason Johnson 12-yard touchdown run with 3:28 remaining in the first period. Grissom's kick split the uprights.
The Bulldogs cut the Tartars lead to four when Swancey kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired for the half.
That would be the closest that Enterprise would get.
The Tartars kicked the ball to begin the second half. However, Bulldogs kick returner Davieon Dixon fumbled the ball. Chris Keyes recovered the fumble for Taylorsville.
The Tartars were unable to capitalize on this opportunity turning the ball over on downs back to Enterprise.
The Tartars began their next possession on their own 8-yard line. It ended quickly. Brown sprinted 92 yards for the touchdown on the first play of scrimmage. Grissom's kick extended the Taylorsville lead to 11 with 6:25 to go in the third period.
The Tartars next series ended with a Brown 22-yard touchdown run capping off a six-play, 39-yard drive. The kick was unsuccessful and Taylorsville led 27-10 with 1:55 remaining in the third stanza.
Jason Johnson again contributed to the Tartars cause. On their first play of scrimmage, Johnson went 70 yards to paydirt. Brown's successful two-point conversion run stretched the Taylorsville advantage to 25.
Tartars reserve quarterback Kris Thigpen then got into the act. He connected with Horace McGill on a swing pass from the Bulldogs 29 that went the distance for the touchdown. Grissom's extra point gave Taylorsville the 42-10 lead with 6:44 left in the game.
Enterprise responded with a six-play, 55-yard drive that was capped off by a Jimmerson 4-yard touchdown run. Swancey's extra point cut the lead to 25 with 4:22 remaining.
The Tartars scored their final points of the night with 3:45 to go. Brown sprinted 84 yards down the sideline for the touchdown. Grissom's kick was good.
The Bulldogs closed the scoring with 21 seconds left in the game. Zeb Swain's 3-yard scoring run successfully concluded a nine-play, 67-yard
drive. Swancey's kick ended the scoring.