Pelham wins big over Calhoun County

EDISON — Friday night’s GHSA Region 1-1A matchup between Pelham and hosting Calhoun County helped keep Pelham out in front of the race for the region title.

The Hornets left Edison with a 49-13 win to improve to 3-1 (3-0 region), while the Cougars fell to 0-3 (0-2).

It was a shaky start for both teams as hiccups prevented either team from scoring on their opening drives.

Three of Calhoun County’s first four drives saw large gains before ending in turnovers. Darrell Starling and Dewaun Jones came up with interceptions for Pelham and the defense recovered a fumble. Jones picked another pass off later in the first half.

Calhoun County head coach Detrich Wadley said the shortened week hurt his team in terms of preparation.

“We just have to stay focused and keep working,” he said.

The Hornets, meanwhile, moved the ball well overall but were hit with four holding penalties in the first quarter alone.

“We teach a certain style, sometimes it gets called, sometimes it doesn’t, we just tell our kids to continue to do what they’re coached to do,” Pelham head coach Dondrial Pinkins said. “We’ll go back and look at it on film. Some of it we saw here on the sideline and I don’t think they were holding calls, but again if the official calls it, we have to live with it.”

Despite the penalties, quarterback Kendrick Patterson was able to move the Hornets up the field with ease. The first drive ended with Kobe Russell punching it in from 2 yards out. From there, the Hornets found themselves at the right place at the right time on the next drive as a fumble on the goal line was recovered in the end zone by Jordan Bennett.

Patterson went on to throw for three touchdowns and rush for one in the first half as Pelham took a commanding 42-0 lead.

“We’ve come a long way,” Pinkins said. “Even though this is year three for me, we still have a lot of young guys in this program. Just trying to get them that experience, and I think the more experience we get the more confident they’re gonna get and that’s just something we’re trying to build on.”

The Cougars got a bit of momentum to swing their way in the second half as Roney Moore returned the opening kick 90 yards for a score.

Wadley said it gave his team a boost to keep fighting.

“That was big,” he said. “It gave us a little morale boost and we came back and kept fighting in the second half, so it was a much better effort in the second half.”

A two-game shutout streak ended for Pelham as Calhoun County scored another touchdown later in the game.

“We came out sloppy the second half,” he said. “Even though we played some younger guys, the expectation doesn’t change, and those are just some of the things we’ve got to continue to work on.”