Miller County holds on to top Terrell County

DAWSON — Terrell County’s home opener didn’t go as smoothly as planned. Constant and consistent blunders on offense worked against them all game and they wouldn’t be able to overcome them as they fell to Miller County 29-20 in their Region 1-A opener.

Big plays seemed to be the theme of the third quarter as both teams made them. On their second play of the second half, Miller County quarterback Dylan Johnson found Jakobe Cooper over the middle for a 60-yard connection. Janorris Byrd would take it the remaining 10 yards for the score on the following play and after a successful two-point conversion, the Pirates took a 14-6 lead.

Terrell County (0-2, 0-1 Region 1-A) fired right back with a solid kick return that allowed them to start at the Miller County 43. Minter zipped up the field and into the end zone on the next play, then punched it in for two to tie the game 14 with 8:43 left in the third.

With time winding down in the third quarter, Miller County tipped Terrell County’s punt and it would go straight up and land in Greenwave territory. The play set up a near 30-yard run by Byrd and after the 2-point conversion, it was the Pirates who were on top, 22-14, with 38 seconds left in the quarter.

The Greenwave then put together about a 70-yard drive. Bishop turned on the jets and fully extended on the following play but was stopped just short on the 2-point conversion, but the Pirates remained in the lead, 22-20 with 7:27 left to play.

The Pirates got one more touchdown run from Byrd from 45 yards out on the next drive and after the PAT they led 29-20 with 3:17 left to play. Terrell County head coach William Huff said the Pirates were able to wear down his front line.

“They were big and strong and I think we just ran out of gas up front,” he said. “We couldn’t match what they were putting on the offensive and defensive line, and I think that was the difference in the game. We gotta get better up front.”

The Greenwave couldn’t seem to get out of their own way in the first quarter. Their opening drive alone featured two penalties and three fumbles, all of which they recovered. Huff said his team has to do a better job of preparing for games mentally.

“We’ve got to be meticulous. We’ve got to dot our I’s and cross our T’s,” he said. “We’ve got to be meticulous in our preparation.”

Tray Bishop was still able to use his arm to move the chains when the Greenwave needed him, completing a 37-yard pass to Minter to put them in Pirate territory. He’d later find Minter wide open on fourth-and-16 for a 33-yard touchdown. The extra point was fumbled and Terrell County was forced to dive on it. They took a 6-0 lead with 6:01 left in the first.

The Greenwave defense was able to hold Miller County on their ensuing drive and force a punt, but they couldn’t hold on to the return, giving the ball right back to the Pirates on the Terrell County seven-yard line. The Pirates took full advantage of the choice field position, running it in for the score on first-and-goal. The Greenwave responded by blocking the extra point attempt and the game was tied at 6 with 2:50 left in the first.

Terrell County remained their own biggest enemy in the second quarter as they negated two plays of more than 30 yards with costly penalties. They’d also fumble twice more on snaps, recovering both times, but killing the play before it could really get going. The Greenwave still managed to move the sticks as the half came to a close.

With one last shot on fourth down, Bishop found Minter again for touchdown of about 15 yards but the officials ruled the catch incomplete saying the receiver was out of bounds. The two teams went into the break tied at 6.

Despite going down 0-2 to start the season, Huff said there’s still a lot of football left to play and he’s confident his team’s mistakes are correctable and should improve as the season wears on.