7&8-Year-Olds
9 a.m.     Sardis vs. Charleston
10:15 a.m.     Batesville vs. Greenwood
9&10-Year-Olds
11:30 a.m.     Oxford vs. Greenwood
12:45 p.m.     Batesville vs. Charleston
11&12-Year-Olds
2 p.m.     Charleston vs. Lafayette
3:15 p.m.     Batesville vs. Oxford
Winners will advance to the Super Bowl
Sat., Nov. 5. at a location to be announced.

By Myra Bean

The Youth Football League played the first round of playoffs Saturday in Robert H. Dunlap Stadium on Tiger Field. All three Batesville Tigers and Sardis Falcons teams made the playoffs.

The last game of the day between the Falcons 11-and-12-year-old team and Oxford was one of the highlight games of the day. The score at the end of regulation was tied at 13. Oxford scored on the third try from the 18 yard line and ran in the extra point for the 20-13 win.

Sardis lost the ball on a fumble on the second try in overtime, giving Oxford the victory.

The game got to this point as Oxford scored first in the first quarter on a 14-yard run but missed the extra point with 3:12 on the first quarter clock. Sardis took a one-point lead on a one-yard run by  Rhysonne Bishop with 1:41 left in the first quarter. The extra point run by Bishop gave Sardis the lead.

Oxford took a 13-7 lead into halftime on a 10-yard run with 27 seconds left in the half.

With 2:13 left in regulation, Sardis quarterback Phillip Mangrum found Al Osburn for a 33-yard pass reception touchdown. However, the missed extra point left the game tied at 13.
In Falcons 9-and-10-year-old action, the Falcons lost 31-6 to end their season. Sardis was only able to score in the first quarter.

Batesville Tigers

The Batesville Tigers 9-and-10-year-old and 11-and-12-year-old teams advanced to the second week of playoffs. The 9 and 10s won their game over Lafayette in a 6-0 squeaker. The only score was an 82-yard run by No. 4 with 5:38 left to go in the second quarter.

The 11 and 12s also played Lafayette and won 25-13. Batesville scored its first run with 6:53 left in the first quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Shegog to Jordan Strong. The extra point kick by Robert Hentz failed.

Lafayette tied the game at six on a 56-yard pass touchdown with 7:46 left in the first half. The ball deflected off the shoulder pads of a tiger into the hands of the Lafayette receiver who scampered down the field for the score.

Batesville reeled off 19 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 25-6 lead into halftime. Behind the blocking of Strong, Shegog scored on a 10-yard run with 5:07 left in the half. The kick by Hentz was good for the 14-6 lead.

Strong intercepted a Lafayette pass in the second quarter with 4:27 left. In one play, Tigers’ Stedarrius Sanford shook a few defenders and ran 41 yards to score with 4:13 left. The two-point kick by Hentz was good for the 22-6 lead. The last score was a 20-yard field goal kick by Hentz with 13 seconds left in the half for the 25-6 lead.

Saturday’s second round of playoffs will take place at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss beginning at 9 a.m.

“I am asking the fans of the Tigers and the Falcons to travel with us Saturday,” said coordinator Fred Hentz. “It does them good to look in the stands and see your faces.”
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under.

By Brad Greer

Anterio Draper ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as the Batesville 7&8 year-old Tigers eased past Lafayette 31-13 in the first round of the Youth Football League playoffs Saturday morning at Robert H. Dunlap Stadium.

In other games involving local teams, the Sardis 7&8 year-old Falcons advanced into the second round of the playoffs with a 2-0 win over Oxford.

Cameron Wright caught a pair of touchdown receptions for Batesville as the Tigers built a 19-6 halftime lead. Kylen Vaughn accounted for both Lafayette scores with runs of 58 and 20 yards.

Draper got the Tigers on the board in the first quarter with a five-yard run. LaMarcus Carr then added a one-yard run in the second period to make the score 13-0. After Vaughn’s 58-yard sprint cut the Tiger led to 13-6, Draper connected with Wright on a touchdown pass with 11 seconds left in the half.

Batesville put the game out of reach in the third quarter on Draper’s 60-yard scamper for a 25-6 Tiger lead. Carr later tossed a touchdown pass to Wright with 48 seconds remaining in the quarter to close out the scoring. Carr also intercepted a pass on defense for the Tigers.

In their victory over Oxford, the Sardis defense scored on a safety with 2:49 remaining in the game. Terry Flowers led the Falcon defense with a fumble recovery. Rodrick Taylor scored on a 31-yard touchdown run, which was erased by a clipping penalty with 52 seconds remaining in the contest.