With unbeaten Tri-County rolling into town, things didn’t look promising for a good Carroll Academy homecoming game.
But Carroll took Tri-County to the wire, overcoming an early 13-0 deficit but eventually fell 26-19.
Carroll falls to 3-4 on the season and will travel to Oak Hill this week.
After losing three of the last four games, Carroll showed that they are still a team to be contended with in Class 4A.
“I thought we came out focused,” Milton said. “It was homecoming, and our kids played their butts off and showed what kind of team we can be going forward. I thought our kids played hard the whole game. We got down 13-0 and bounced back and took the lead with seven minutes to go in the game but couldn’t hang on. We finally got to play another private school and showed we can compete with those schools.”
Carroll got the ball to start the game and were forced to punt. Tri-County returned the kick 34 yard to the Carroll 25. Four plays later, Tri-County scored on a 1-yard and kicked the PAT and took an early 7-0 lead.
After another three and out by the Carroll offense, Tri-County went 99 yards in seven plays. After a big 55-yard play, Tri-County scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed and Tri-County led 13-0.
But Carroll responded with a 15-play, 65-yard drive as Brennan Blaylock hit Noah Beck on an 11-yard touchdown pass. Blaylock hit the PAT and Carroll cut the Tri-County lead to 13-7, a score that held until halftime.
Tri-County got the ball to start the second half and threw a pick six as Blaylock got the interception and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed and the game was tied at 13-13.
The score stayed at 13-13 through the rest of the third. Tri-County went on a 15-play drive late in the third but threw an interception in the end zone to end the drive.
Carrol then went 80 yards in five plays. After a big 61-yard gainer by Noah Beck, Lofton Holly scored on a 6-yard run to give Carroll its first lead of the game. The PAT was blocked, and Carroll led 19-13.
Tri-County answered with a big play, hitting a 61-yard touchdown pass on a double move and hit the PAT to take a 20-19 lead.
Carroll then went three and out and Tri-County got back moving on offense, going 85 yards in nine plays, scoring on a 4-yard run. The PAT failed for the final score of 26-19.
The Rebels had 182 yards of total offense with 120 yards rushing and 62 passing while Tri-County had 238 yards passing and 87 passing for 325 yards of total offense.
Blaylock was 11-18 passing for 145 yards with one TD. Noah Beck had eight catches for 128 yards. Lofton Holly led the rushing attack with 30 yards on eight carries.
On defense, Maddox Carpenter led the Rebels with 14 tackles while Mathis Beck and Lofton Holly each had 13 tackles apiece. Brennan Blaylock had two interceptions with one pick six. Reid Blaylock also had a big game with nine tackles and an interception. Noah Beck and Ryder Dowdle each had eight tackles apiece.
“I thought we did a great job of tackling on defense and took away their run game,” Milton said. “We kind of shut that down for the most part. We had three interceptions and one for a touchdown. They are really explosive on offense, and I thought we hung in there with them. I think we should what type of team we can be going forward.”
This week’s game
The Rebels will hit the road this week as they head to West Point to take on an Oak Hill team that has won two straight games.
The Raiders are 3-4 on the season with wins over Benton (37-0), Kirk (42-210 and North Delta (21-20). Their losses are to East Rankin (28-22), Winona Christian (40-28), Canton (40-6) and Lee (33-26).
“They are 3-4 and kind of like us but probably haven’t played nearly the schedule that we have played,” Milton said. “They lost to Winona and East Rankin. We have to bounce back and have a good week and continue to play like we did this last week. I think that’s the challenge for us. After Tri-County, our kids were mad and ready to play another game.”
