Green Wave falls to Chiefs, 42-26

By Brad Greer

In a game that had more twists and turns than a Six Flags rollercoaster ride, Magnolia Heights jumped out to a 28-6 early  in the third quarter  then held off a late rally by North Delta to take a 42-26 victory in Senatobia Friday night in the season opener for both schools.

Leading 21-6 at halftime, Magnolia Heights looked as if it would make it a runaway when Adam Webb hauled in 58-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mac McDonald in the first play of the second half in give the No. 5 rated Chiefs a 28-6 lead. That is when the Green Waves woke up.

North Delta took the insuing kickoff and marched 65 yards on six plays capped off by Tres Brasell’s two-yard  touchdown . The two-point conversion failed as Brasell was stopped short of the goal line leaving the score 28-12 with 9:27 remaining in the third quarter. The scoring drive was set up by a 57-yard pass completion from quarterback Derek Shawn to Bryan Nickle.

   Later in the quarter, the Green Waves capitalized on a bad snap that went over Magnolia   Heights punter Jimmy Braswell’s head that rolled dead on the Chiefs 19-yard line. Brasell then took a quick snap and raced around left end for a 19-yard run scamper with 4:26 left in the quarter. The two-point conversion failed as Shawn’s pass to Geri   Lamm   fell incomplete.

  The Green Wave took advantage of another   Magnolia Heights special teams blunder late in the fourth quarter when   yet another snap sailed over Braswell’s head and recovered by the Chiefs on their own seven-yard line. Brasell   scored his third touchdown of the night two plays later  as he broke a tackle on the one-yard line and spun into the endzone to make the score 28-26 after  Shawn hooked up with Chris Reeves on the two-point conversion. Shawn finish the night 6-of-26 passing for 138 yards and two interceptions.

  Whatever momentum the Green Wave had was quickly douse on the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff as Thomas Zettergren   raced 68 yards for a Magnolia Heights touchdown with 3:45 left in the game. The Chiefs then put the nail in the coffin after a North Delta turnover on the Waves 30 as fullback  Josh Faught took an option pitch McDonald and rumbled 30 yards for his fourth touchdown of the game. Will Morgan added the PAT to give the Chiefs a 42-26 advantage. Faught, who also had touchdowns runs of 84, 73 and 4 yards, finished the night with 232 yards rushing on 15 carries.