By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Oct. 9, 2004
Marcus Walker ran for three touchdowns and more than 150 yards to lead Southeast Lauderdale to its first win in nearly a month with a 40-27 victory over Choctaw Central.
The victory broke a three-game losing streak for the Tigers (3-4), who hadn't won since a 26-15 decision over Clarkdale on Sept. 9.
"It does a lot for our confidence," said Southeast Lauderdale coach Ty Trahan. "It was a good learning experience for these guys. It shows them that it doesn't matter who you play. You've got to prepare each and every week, especially in this league."
Big plays helped the Tigers overwhelm the Warriors (0-7) from beginning to end. On the second play of the game, Southeast Lauderdale quarterback Drew Harper hit Chris Gordon for an 80-yard touchdown reception and an early 6-0 lead.
Midway through the first quarter, Harper exploited Choctaw Central's defense again when he scored on a 33-yard quarterback draw, giving the Tigers a 12-0 lead.
Harper's touchdown run was Southeast Lauderdale's shortest scoring play of the first half. After Bronson Bell reeled in a 26-yard touchdown pass for Choctaw Central and cut the Tigers' lead to 12-7, Walker answered with his first touchdown run. After breaking into the Warriors' secondary and facing two defenders, Walker cut back across the field, causing the two Choctaw Central defenders to collide and fall to the turf. Walker's 70-yard run put Southeast Lauderdale up 20-7, and the Tigers never led by less than a touchdown the rest of the way.
"We felt like we could make some big plays on them, offensively and defensively," Trahan said. "But we've got to learn how to put teams away. I think the homecoming hoopla got to us this week. We forgot we had to play a football game."
Walker added another 70-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter for Southeast Lauderdale.
Meanwhile, Choctaw Central's offense also enjoyed a degree of success. The Warriors answered each of the Tigers' big plays, once with a big play of their own. Trailing 26-14 midway through the second quarter, Randall Favre caught a pass that was deflected off a Southeast Lauderdale defender and took it in for a 34-yard touchdown reception.
Favre's touchdown momentarily brought Choctaw Central to within 26-20, but a Southeast Lauderdale safety with less than two minutes before halftime gave the Tigers a 28-20 advantage.
After halftime, though, the Warriors had less luck responding to Southeast Lauderdale's outbursts. LaKendrick Pringle took a swing pass in for a seven-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter, and Walker scored his third touchdown of the night on a 22-yard run early in the fourth.
Suddenly, Southeast Lauderdale led 40-20.
Choctaw Central's only score of the second half came with six minutes left in the fourth on a Michael Morris touchdown run, bringing the score to 40-27.
The Tigers scored more points against Choctaw Central than they totaled during their three-game losing streak.
"We fired off good tonight at times," Trahan said. "We've got to make sure we have positive yardage near the end zone. We've also got to tackle better. We've got a good nucleus on defense, and hopefully we can be a good defense."