CERRO GORDO – Senior quarterback Shawn Tyson ran for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns Friday night to lead West Columbus to a 38-24 Three Rivers Conference victory over a short-handed West Bladen team.
The Knights lost star quarterback Tyre Boykin on the third play of the second quarter when he was flagged for a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and disqualified from the game.
“We had to fix a lot on the fly,” said Knight Coach Kris Williams. “We had to move Shyron (Adams) to quarterback and replace him at receiver. We were already thin with Kerron (Washington) out with an injury.”
Still the Knights battled back from 26-6 and 32-12 deficits to within 32-24 with 3:30 remaining, but their onside kick attempt did not go the required ten yards. Three plays later Tyson charged up the middle on a 35-yard touchdown run that sealed the verdict.
Adams returned the opening kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 Knight lead. Two plays later the Vikings Nigel Ceesay raced 38 yards for a tying touchdown.
After a Knight punt the Vikings marched 75 yards in 13 plays. Tyson scampered 31 yards for a first down that overcame a trio of holding penalties. A roughing the kicker penalty against the Knights kept the drive alive, and Tyson darted 5 yards for the touchdown and a 12-6 West Columbus lead.
The Knights answered with a 66-yard, 16-play drive that was stymied at the Viking 12 yardline when Boykin incurred the two penalties that backed West Bladen up 30 yards. Junior Andrew Brown caught a 26-yard pass from Adams to pick up a first down at the 20 yardline, but a couple of sacks ended the threat.
On the next play Tyson dodged tacklers in the pocket and scrambled 77 yards for a touchdown. Ceesay banged into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and a 20-6 lead.
Two plays later the Knights fumbled and the Vikings Jordan Williams recovered at midfield. Two plays later Williams galloped 36 yards around right end for a touchdown and a 26-6 lead.
The Vikings fumbled on their first possession of the second half, and sophmore Kendall Johnson recovered for West Bladen at the WC 25 yardline. Adams completed a 9-yard pass to senior Nelson Drake for a first down, then bolted 13 yards through the middle for the touchdown to trim the deficit to 26-12.
West Columbus covered 54 yards in 6 plays to pad the lead to 32-12. The Knights sacked Tyson but were whistled for a facemask penalty to start the drive. Tyson then dashed 21 yards for a first down. An 11-yard halfback pass from Tayvon Tyler to Daquan Hardy produced the touchdown at the 5:18 mark of the third period.
West Bladen responded with a 49-yard, ten-play drive. Junior Tra’shawn Ballard was the workhorse gaining 36 yards on 7 carries. Ballard powered through the line on a 14-yard run for the touchdown to trim the margin to 32-18 eleven seconds before the quarter break.
After an 8-yard Viking punt, the Knights drove 51 yards in 7 plays. Adams scooted 9 yards to start the drive, and Ballard reeled off runs of 7, 19 and 6 yards before barreling into the end zone from 3 yards out to close the gap to 32-24 at the 3:30 mark.
“I was proud of our effort in the second half,” said Coach Williams. “We could have put our heads down and given up, but the kids kept fighting and had a chance there at the end.”
Ballard ran for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries to lead the Knight offense. He also caught a pass for 13 yards. Adams completed 7 of 11 passes for 66 yards and ran 19 times for 37 yards and a touchdown. The speedy sophmore also had the 85-yard touchdown return of the opening kick-off.
Ceesay finished with 87 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries for West Columbus. The Vikings totaled 360 yards rushing.
The Knights racked up 176 yards rushing and 242 total yards.
West Bladen will travel to East Columbus Tuesday for a 7 p.m. make-up game.
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