Lee Academy is in the driver’s seat for Region 1-4A after winning the district opener at Kirk Academy 21-3 Friday night.
The Colts (4-2, 1-0) are now on a four-game winning streak, but they could not pull away until the second half at Kirk.
“It’s always good to get off to a winning start in district for sure,” said Lee coach Rick Johnston. “It was a struggle there early.”
Leading 6-3 at halftime, Lee separated itself down the stretch with senior Gage Murphy getting a safety and a 50-yard touchdown run and senior wide receiver and defensive back Brett Wilson returning an interception 45 yards for a touchdown.
Wilson also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Luke Crumpton in the first half. Junior kicker Michael Basha was 1 for 2 at extra points. He has missed just two extra points in six games.
“Our main focus at the half was getting the blocking scheme up front fixed,” Johnston said. “We did that, to a certain extent. We’re going to go back to work on it today with a lot of film prep. We’re just beat up, up there.”
Senior lineman Shane Griffin was out with an injury, while junior running back and linebacker Tripp Dulaney injured his wrist.
“We’re shorthanded up there, but the kids played hard,” Johnston said.
Dulaney is expected to return this week.
Lee Academy hosts Indianola Academy at 7 p.m. Friday and then North Delta School at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18.
A win against North Delta would guarantee the Colts a district championship. A loss against North Delta means Lee would have to wait and see the outcome of the game between North Delta and Kirk Academy.
Johnston hopes his team takes care of business and does not have to do any scoreboard watching, but first things first, he is focused on the game against Indianola Academy.
“We’ll talk about that in a week,” Johnston said. “Right now, we’re concentrating on Indianola. You need to get every win you can in the power point rankings in our division. Right now, we’re just taking it week to week. With a small roster like we have, that’s what you have to do. We’re just looking at different scenarios as far as different guys playing different spots and that’s what we’re concerned about.”
Johnston said he wants to see his offense run a little smoother down the stretch. Lee has given up nine points on defense the past three games. Six of those points were on the last play at Tunica Academy with the Colts second team in. The Colts defense has outscored their opponents’ offense the past three weeks.
“It’s always a plus on defense if we can turn turnovers into points,” Johnston said.
Johnston said the plan is to force Indianola Academy to win with the passing game.
“They’re always a physical bunch,” he said. “The quarterback’s a good player. So we’ll have to stop the run and, hopefully, make him throw the football and get him to throw a couple to us.”
He also hopes Lee can score on both offense and defense.
“We definitely want it to happen,” Johnston said. “We stress defensively being aggressive, being aggressive so to speak with our bases covered. Our guys have bought into it playing hard.”
