By Brad Greer

Fernando Van Hook rushed for 273 yards and four touchdowns to lead Magnolia Heights to a 44-14 rout of North Delta Friday night in Batesville.

Van Hook registered scoring runs of 75, 71, 51 and 18 yards as the Chiefs blew open a 10-7 lead at halftime with five consecutive touchdowns in the second half. Kevin Barber added touchdown runs of 20 and one yards, respectively, as Magnolia Heights improved to 3-1 on the season.

North Delta senior quarterback Tyler Pirtle accounted for both Green Wave touchdowns with a four-yard run in early in the second quarter to tie the score at seven. Pirtle later connected with Austin Hagstrom for a 65-yard scoring strike to close the margin to 30-14 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter.

The home team would not get any closer as Barber scored on the last play of the quarter followed by Van Hook’s 20-yard scamper with 7:21 left in the contest.

Pirtle, who battled through two-and-half quarters with leg cramps, led the Green Wave in rushing with 79 yards on 21 carries while passing for 174 yards on 10-of-23 attempts. Magnolia Heights rushed the ball 29 times for 346 yards while rolling up 396 yards of total offense on the night.

North Delta ended the contest with 342 yards of offense with 162 of that via the ground game.
Both teams will start division play next week as the Chiefs take on Pillow while North Delta hosts Kirk Academy beginning at 7 p.m.