Carroll Academy’s football season went from bad to worse on Friday night.
The Rebels had just 98 yards of offense while North Delta used a rugged rushing attack to take a 35-6 win over Carroll on Friday night.
The Rebels fall to 1-7 on the season and will host Winona Christian on Friday to end out the regular season.
Carroll coach Bo Milton said his team struggling and just wasn’t able to get anything going on offense.
“We are just limited right now and when you get down, it’s tough,” Milton said. “We are just struggling right now. Everybody goes through it at some point. We just can’t mess up, we have to play everything perfect. We hit a couple of big plays early and then we would go backwards and make some mistakes. The bottom line is we have to play better. The kids are still playing hard and I’m proud of that.”
North Delta got the ball to start the game and went 70 yards in eight plays and scored on a 36-yard run to go up 7-0 with 8:16 left in the first.
The Rebels then turned the ball over on downs and punted on their first two possessions. Carroll then got a break when North Delta had a bad snap on a punt, giving the Rebels the ball at the 1-yard line. Nathan Matthews scored on a 1-yard run but the try for two failed and North Delta held a slim 7-6 lear early in the second quarter.
The Green Wave then responded with a nine-play, 57-yard drive and scored on a 12-yard run early in the second quarter. The PAT was good and the Green Wave led 14-6.
The Green Wave extended its lead on an interception in the end zone to take a 21-6 lead at the half.
“We just never got in a rhythm on offense,” Milton said. “They held the ball a lot and the defense was on the field a lot. We just aren’t playing very good complimentary football right now. I thought the kids still played hard. When you are getting beat up and beat down, it’s tough on the kids. But I’m still proud of our kids and how hard they are playing and trying to do the right thing.”
North Delta continued to play a stifling defense and added a pair of second half scores on a pair of 3-yard runs for the final margin of 35-6.
The Rebels struggled on offense, especially in the run game. Carroll had just 26 yards on 18 carries, led by Owen Garrett who had all 26 yards on nine carries.
Logan Upchurch was 7-of-20 passing for 72 yards with an interception. Nathan Matthews caught three passes for 37 yards while Reed Thomas had two catches for 10 yards.
On defense, Reid Blaylock had 12 tackles while Matthews had 10 stops. Thomas had eight tackles while Upchurch had seven tackles.
This week’s game
The Rebels will close out the regular season as they host rival Winona Christian.
The Stars are 7-2 on the season and coming off a 14-13 loss to Marshall. They have wins over West Memphis (45-18), Manchester (35-7), Indianola (40-7), Benton (41-0), Ethel (40-0), North Delta (42-21) and Central Holmes (35-0). Their other loss is to Kirk (42-0).
“I have seen them on filming they are very athletic and have scored a lot of points,” Milton said. “We will have to play really good to have a chance. We will have to e mistake free and be physical. They are balanced on offense and solid in what they do. They got out from on North Delta and stayed in front. We just can’t get behind early.”
Last year, Carroll won 26-9.
