The Carroll Academy defense allowed just two first downs while the offense had 512 yards of total offense as the Rebels pounded Oak Hill 28-0.
With the win, the Rebels remain unbeaten at 5-0 and will have a huge test this week against Class AAAA Pillow.
While the Carroll defense was suffocating, the offense was all that bad as they racked up a whopping 512 yards of total offense with 478 yards rushing and three backs with more than 100 yards rushing.
“I thought the defense played really good,” Milton said. “In hindsight, we controlled the game from the start to the finish. We gave great effort and when you do that, good things are going to happen and that’s what happened for us on Friday night. We made a couple of mistake on offense that cost us scores but we righted that.”
Things didn’t start so well for the Rebels as a snap flew over the punters head to give the Raiders the ball at the Carroll 33. But the defense didn’t yield a first down and the Raiders missed a field goal.
Carroll responded with a nine-play drive as Hunter Brackin scored on a 66-yard run. Gavin Wiltshire booted the PAT and Carroll led 7-0.
The Rebels appeared to be going in for a score on their next drive when Brackin fumbled at the goal line and the ball went out of the end zone for a touchback. From there, Carroll turned the ball over on downs and punted as the Rebels led 7-0 at the half.
“Give Oak Hill some credit, they had eight in the box and were bringing pressure,” Milton said. “We weren’t going to change who we were. We kept on throwing those body blows and eventually those short runs turned into long runs in the second half.”
After forcing an Oak Hill punt to start the second half, Carroll went on a punishing 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Mims throwing an interception in the end zone.
But the damage was done as Oak Hill punted in three plays. Carroll then struck quick as Brackin scored on a 59-yard run. Wiltshire’s PAT was good and Carroll led 14-0.
After another Oak Hill three-and-out, Carroll again scored quickly as Mims raced 80 yard for a touchdown with Wiltshire’s PAT making the score 21-0.
Another three-and-out by Oak Hill gave Carroll the ball right back. After a 67-yard run by Mims, Jeb Beck scored on a 6-yard run as the Rebels led 28-0.
Mims led the Rebels on the ground with 178 yards rushing on 11 carries while Brackin had 156 yards on 12 carries. Beck had 139 yards rushing on 27 carries. Mims was just 1-of-4 passing for 34 yards.
Crawford Holly led Carroll with 5 1/2 tackles while Logan Hodges had four tackles and a forced fumble. Logan Taylor had four tackles while Mims had a fumble recovery and Beck had an interception.
The unbeaten Rebels will face their toughest test of the season when they take on Class AAAA Pillow.
The Mustangs are just 1-4 on the season but are coming off a 28-20 win over AAA power Heritage last week. Their losses have been to Indianola (33-12), MRA (45-6), Bayou (20-12) and Jackson Prep (41-0).
“We won’t have to get our kids up for this game,” Milton said. “We have sort of had an eye on this one for a few weeks now. We haven’t played them in a long time but needed a game. It should be a lot of people at the game. They are 1-4 but have played some really good teams and beat a really good Heritage team last week. They are pretty consistent with what they are trying to do and are a lot better than their record. It’s a good rivalry game. They are very athletic and this will be the first time we face a team that throws it around like they do.”
