By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Hernando’s Robert Wilcke runs for a first down against Millington. Robert Head Reese Vanlandingham makes the catch over Tyler Denson. Devante Nelson D’Monte Kemp races to the end zone for a 96-yard touchdown.
Will Wolfe brought his loaded Hernando Tigers into Flag City for a showdown with the host Millington Trojans.
Wolfe left his old territory with a 47-14 victory. The former Brighton Cardinals head coach watched his Tigers improve to 2-0 on the season with the victory. Meanwhile Trojans Head Coach Chris Michael saw his young team take a move in the right direction with more flow on offense and his defense improving as the game went along.
The Trojans (0-3) got big plays in all three phases of the game causes turnovers, getting a 96-yard touchdown return on special teams and the offense scoring late in the fourth quarter.
But the first half belonged to the Tigers and standouts like Karleke Oliver, Reese Vanlandingham, Od Wooten and quarterback Robert Wilcke.
Just 46 seconds into the contest Hernando scored when a Wilcke to Oliver swing pass went 33 yards for a score.
The 7-0 score grew to 14-0 a few minutes later in the first quarter when Wilcke connected with Vanlandingham for a 44-yard gain to the 3 yard line. A couple of plays later Wilcke crossed the goal line from a yard out to put the Tigers up by two scores.
The tally was 21-0 at the end of the first quarter when Wilcke hooked up with Wooten for a 30-yard TD pass.
The Trojans started to show some signs of life late in the opening quarter when free safety Tyler Denson caused a fumble with a big hit leading to a turnover.
Hernando’s defense stopped the Trojans deep in their territory. And the second quarter had a similar beginning as the first with the Tigers scoring at the 11:14 mark. Wilcke raced to the end zone from 13 yards out to make the score 28-0.
Almost 3 minutes later Hernando scored again when Oliver capped off a drive with a 2-yard run.
The Tigers’ kickoff gave the Millington faithful a preview of things to come. Trojan senior speedster D’Monte Kemp field the kick and blasted through the Tiger defenders before being tripped up at the 50-yard line.
Hernando stopped the Trojans on that offensive possession. And the Tigers closed out the first half with an Oliver 15-yard TD run to make the score 41-0.
In the second half the Trojans moved the ball more under the guidance of freshman signal caller Tommy Clifton. Despite several of his normal weapons of the sideline, Clifton distributed the ball to teammates like Darnell Nelson, Devante Nelson, Robert Head, Cory Smith and Kemp.
But it was special teams that delivered Millington’s first touchdown of the night. The second half kickoff flew to Kemp. This time there was no stopping him as he blazed to the end zone for a 96-yard touchdown.
In the fourth quarter Hernando got a special teams’ score when the Trojans snapped the ball over the punter’s head into the end zone. The Tigers recovered to make the score 47-7.
The final touchdown of the night was a Clifton to Kemp 33-yard TD pass.
The Tigers move on to take on Lewisburg next week. Meanwhile the Trojans will travel to Collierville to play the Dragons next Friday at 7 p.m.
