McKenzie improves record 6-1
Adarius Davison breaks up a pass to a Kinston receiver. (Tori J Norris | The Standard)
TORI J. NORRIS/THE GREENVILLE STANDARD
The McKenzie Tigers continue to push toward the playoffs with a 35-14 win over the Kinston Bulldogs (0-6) last Friday night.
Although the Tigers had a slow start in the first half, they came back in the second half to secure the win. Chris Shufford had a 47 yard touchdown run and Quindario Lee scored on a 32 yard pass to put 14 points on the board at halftime, the lowest scoring first half this year for the Tigers.
“During the first half, Kinston came out and ate up a lot of the clock on offense,” said Head Coach Norris. “We had a sluggish start offensively which we focused on during halftime.”
When the Tigers returned after halftime, the energy level improved. William Brown had two touchdowns, a 32-yard and a 27-yard run and Seth Keeney scored with a 47-yard run.
“Our defense played well against a type of offense that can put you to sleep,” said Coach Brown. “We put Kinston in good field position a couple of times with penalties and kickoff returns which allowed them to score a couple times.”
The Tigers defense had three interceptions by Jackson Vickery, Adarius Davison and Chris Shufford. Also, Dawson Miller had a stand out night with several sacks and tackles for loss of yardage.
This week, McKenzie will face in county rival and region opponent Georgiana (7-0). “This is going to be a fast physical team,” said Coach Norris. “They have a lot of very athletic players and we will have to play hard and be able to execute the entire game.”
The Tigers will travel the eight miles to Georgiana and face the Panthers. The winner of this game will secure the number one rank in 1A Region 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
