| Visitors strike quickly 10/11/2008 6:25:58 AM |
Special to the Journal
SALTILLO - Much like the script for the entire season thus far, not much went right for the Saltillo Tigers on homecoming.
Sophomore Ken Morrow scored twice, once by ground and once by air, to lead Pontotoc (4-3, 2-1 Division 1-4A) to its second straight victory, this one by a final of 34-6. Meanwhile, Saltillo (0-7, 0-4) remains in search of its first triumph on the 2008 campaign after another division loss.
"We ran the ball well tonight, but we did it in 5-, 6- and 7-yard spurts," said Pontotoc coach Charlie Dampeer, whose team has outscored their opponents 85-12 the last two weeks. "We haven't hit a big play in a couple of weeks, and we are going to need that down the road. I don't think we're clicking on offense like we were before."
After the first two opening kickoff attempts trickled out of bounds, Pontotoc junior Ryan Thompson glided down the field and returned the opening kick 75 yards to paydirt.
Pontotoc's special teams and run game paved the way for a 21-0 halftime lead, while the host Tigers got off just 20 snaps. Five of those plays were for negative yardage, and the team was penalized four times for another loss of 20.
Mistakes "have been the story all year," Saltillo second-year head coach Greg May said. "We have a lot of young kids, but we have to grow up sooner or later. Pontotoc is a good football team that's well-coached. We don't want to take anything away from them, but you sure can't spot them those points like we did and expect to be successful."
Morrow helped spoil the homecoming festivities further as he extended the Pontotoc lead to 14-0 with 10 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in the second period. Morrow capped a 13-play, 64-yard series as he dashed left then cut straight ahead, breaking four tackles, on his 10-yard rush.
Where's the snap?
The Tigers hurt themselves further late in the second quarter after an errant snap sailed over Drew Chisholm's head and was finally recovered at the Tigers' 21. Pontotoc signal-caller Candan Dallas put the finishing touches on the five-play drive when he spun into the end zone on a 6-yard carry with 3:30 remaining in the half.
Chisholm got Saltillo on the board by outracing the Pontotoc defensive ends to the corner of the end zone from 3 yards out. The sophomore signal caller's scamper wrapped up a 15-play drive that traveled 72 yards over the span of 8:23. The Tigers converted two fourth downs in the series.
Just over four minutes later, Dallas zinged a bullet to Morrow, who managed to slip behind his defensive counterpart and raced into the end zone unscathed from the 10 to complete the 38-yard strike and wrap the scoring for both teams.
Box score:
Pontotoc 34, Saltillo 6
Pontotoc 7 14 6 7 - 34
Saltillo 0 0 6 0 - 6
First Quarter
PHS – Ryan Thompson 75 kick return (Michael Bounds kick), 11:49
Second Quarter
PHS – Ken Morrow 10 rush (Bounds kick), 10:43
PHS – Candan Dallas 6 rush (Bounds kick), 3:30
PHS – C.J. Dillard 35 pass from Dallas (kick failed), 9:39
SHS – Drew Chism 3 rush (kick failed), 1:12
Fourth Quarter
PHS – Morrow 38 pass from Dallas (Bounds kick), 9:22
Records: Pontotoc 4-3 (2-1), Saltillo 0-7 (0-4)
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=280387&pub=1&div=Sports
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