By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
MARIANNA -- The Forrest City Mustangs laid a 29-0 shutout on Marianna Friday night.
It could have been 50-0.
Marianna (0-2) only moved the football past midfield once during the game and never came close to scoring any points.
Meanwhile the Mustangs improve to 2-0 for the year and will face Newport on Friday on the road. The Mustangs were awarded a forfeit win over Osceola last week.
The Greyhounds are off to an 0-2 start, something which concerns Forrest City Coach Donnie Willis.
"Newport is highly upset after losing their first two games," Willis said. "And that means we will have to be at our best. Newport always plays well at home and hurting at 0-2, they will be looking for some revenge."
The Mustangs totalled 232 yards against the Trojans Friday -- 140 on the ground and 94 through the air. They picked up 13 first downs on the way to the shut out win.
The Mustang defense held the Trojans to just 89 total yards of offense.
Forrest City led 8-0 after a three-yard run by Montrell Ashcraft and the two-point run by Theodis Haggins.
By the time the first quarter had ended, the Mustangs led 14-0, following a seven-yard scoring pass from quarterback Justin Edwards to Jeff Bradley.
Edwards found Eric Jimmerson just before the half for a 15-yard scoring strike. The point after pass from Edwards to Ashcraft gave the Mustangs a 22-0 cushion, which held through the half.
The Mustangs added the final touchdown in the fourth quarter when Ashcraft ran one yard for the final score.
Willis said he was pleased with the play on both sides of the football.
"Defensively, we looked good and carried our effort from the Osceola game over and I was glad to see that," Willis said. "On offense, we used a lot of people including both quarterbacks. Edwards and Austin Easley both went in and played well."
Edwards, a senior, played the first half while Easley, a junior directed the offense during the second half.
Edwards completed five passes in the first half while Easley connected for four completions in the second half.
Senior tailback Theodis Haggins finished with 40 yards while Ashcraft finished with 41 yards and two touchdowns.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
PALESTINE -- The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots chewed up 334 yards on the ground and forced four Elaine turnovers Friday night in a 42-16 win over the Panthers at Patriot Field.
The Patriots improve to 2-0 for the year.
Brandon Roberts led the Patriot offense by carrying 12 times for 87 yards. Quarterback Clyde Kennedy wasn't far behind with 83 yards on 8 carries and two touchdowns. Ricky Posey added 45 yards on two carries and one touchdown while Jonathan Wheeler came through on defense with two interceptions.
Chris Siler led a solid defensive effort with 10 tackles. Nine other P-W players had at least five tackles in the game.
Elaine scored first to lead 6-0 before P-W answered with a seven-yard run by Quinton Mason and the two-point pass play from Kennedy to Siler for an 8-6 lead.
Elaine forced an 8-8 tie at the end of the first period when they sacked Mason in the endzone for a safety.
Kennedy's seven-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put the Patriots in front 14-8 and his 28-yard run with 1:10 to play in the first half left P-W holding a 22-8 lead at the half.
Casey McDaniel interception of an Elaine pass and return for a touchdown with 9:12 to play in the third quarter pushed the P-W lead to 28-8 and Kennedy's 38-yard touchdown pass to Teddy Matthews gave the Patriots a 34-8 cushion.
Posey added the final P-W touchdown with 2:04 to play in the game, a 20-yard run. He tacked on the two-point play for a 42-8 lead.
Elaine scored late off a long Hail Mary pass to set the final.
Ray Gardner, Palestine-Wheatley's leading rusher, played sparingly after being injured in the opening quarter.
He left the game with just 49 yards.
The Patriots will travel to Dermott this week.
The Forrest City Junior Varsity Mustangs will see their first action of the season tonight when they travel to Wynne.
The JV game is set to kickoff at 6 p.m. at Yellowjacket Stadium. Last week's scheduled opener was cancelled due to the Labor Day holiday.
The Forrest City Junior Varsity Mustangs will see their first action of the season tonight when they travel to Wynne.
The JV game is set to kickoff at 6 p.m. at Yellowjacket Stadium. Last week's scheduled opener was cancelled due to the Labor Day holiday.