By Brad Greer

Greenville St. Joseph might have outlasted North Delta 60-40 Friday night in a matchup of unbeaten teams, but one thing was clear: the Fighting Irish knew they barely escaped Cpl. Michael Brandon Presley Field with the win, despite the 20-point margin.

The two teams combined for 100 points and 1,080 total yards and went toe-to-toe for three hours and 15 minutes.

In the end it was the Fighting Irish’s explosive duo of Trey Benson and Dillon Johnson that proved to be the difference.

Both Division One commitments scored four touchdowns each as St. Joe pulled away in the second half after leading 24-22 at halftime.

Benson finished the night with 249 yards on 16 carries while his counterpart Johnson finished with 224 yards on 18 carries. Benson capped of the night with a 93-yard scoring jaunt with 1:06 remaining in the game.

Not to be outdone, North Delta received a gutsy effort from senior running back Jimmy Manues who rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Ryan Gibson accounted for 110 yards on 24 carries and two scores.

Manues had scoring runs of 46 and 4 yards while Gibson found the end zone on runs of 28 and 1 yards.

Jordan Cox and Hawk Aldison produced scoring runs as well. North Delta rolled up 527 yards of total offense with 398 yards coming on the ground.

“That was an amazing football game between two outstanding teams. It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Green Wave head coach Mac Aldison said.

“I was hoping to stop them a few more times than we did, but those kids (Benson and Johnson) are amazing. Our kids left everything on the field tonight and one thing about it is they will line up and get after it with anybody. They were not intimidated by anyone. I can’t more proud of their effort tonight because we will not face another team with that much talent the rest of the season,” said Aldison.

Gibson finished the night 6-of-12 passing for 110 yards. Cox had one pass completion for 19 yards on a halfback pass to Gibson. Drake Barton had two catches for 60 yards while Ian Cole and Tyler Hall registered one reception each.

Aldison led the Green Wave defense with seven tackles and an interception that set up North Delta’s first touchdown. Martin Wolfe followed with six stops while Cox, Cole and Hall supplied three each.

North Delta hosts Sylva-Bay Academy of Bay Springs Friday for homecoming at 7 p.m