Seventeen senior football players were honored Friday night during the Dragon’s game against Whitehaven. Front row, from left, are Bubster Burke, Ed Pomphrett, Ty Sharpell, Travis Walker, Chris Kirkland, Nathan Bouldien, Chris Parrino and DJ Bridges. Pictured in the back row are Jackson Bobbitt, Ritchie Haycook, Blake Heilman, Seth Wiley, Trevor Ring, Nathan Buckler, Joey Bolser, Ammaar Alwani and Daniel Jackson. BELOW: Ty Sharpell looks down field while getting blocks from his teammates.
Traditionally, Collierville and Whitehaven did not play each other unless there was a possible post season match-up. However, since the realignment of the Class 6A districts, the Dragons and Tigers now battle each other every year.
Collierville and Whitehaven have not played each other since they were matched up in the 2012 playoffs.
With the Tigers on a six-game win streak, the Dragons would need to figure out how to score on the Tigers. But the Dragons were unable to stop the Tiger’s running game with Whitehaven defeating Collierville 29-6.
On the Tiger’s first possession, they scored on a 12-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run (two-point conversion was good) for the early 8-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Collierville fumbled the ball and Whitehaven recovered on the Dragons 36-yard line. The Tigers drove down the short end of the field and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run (PAT was good) to go up 15-0.
In the second quarter, Collierville put together a six-play, 57-yard drive with Matt Connors scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run (two-point conversion was no good) to cut into the Tigers lead 14-6. Whitehaven returned the favor by answering on the next series with a 71-yard touchdown run (PAT was good) for a halftime lead of 22-6.
Whitehaven scored again on a 10-yard touchdown run (PAT was good) in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.
The Tigers controlled the game on both sides of the ball to add another game to their winning streak. Key factors in the game for the Dragons were turnovers and inability to move the ball down the field, and stopping the Tiger’s running game. Whitehaven had 353 yards of total offense to Collierville’s 124.
When asked about the team’s performance, Coach Mike O’Neill said, “We dug ourselves a hole early in the game, and you can’t do that against a team like Whitehaven. We had our chances going into halftime, knowing we had to come out with some scores but we weren’t able to do that.
“We have to regroup,” he continued, “and get ready for a tough game next friday night.”
Next for the Dragons is the last regular season game against new district opponent Bartlett on Friday at 7 p.m. at Bartlett.
BOX SCORE
WHITEHAVEN 29
COLLIERVILLE 6
First Quarter
• Wh – Darrion Cole 1-yard run (Marvin Rudd pass from Rodney Saulsberry Jr.)
Second Quarter
• Wh – Kylan Watkins 1-yard run (Mamadou Bah kick)
• Col – Matt Connors 10-yard run (kick failed)
• Wh – Ray Booker 71-yard run (Mamadou Bah kick)
Fourth Quarter
• Wh – Darrion Cole 10-yard run (Mamadou Bah kick)
Whitehaven 8-0 (5-1) Collierville 4-5 (2-4)
