Calhoun City dominated Bruce in every possible way Friday night as the Wildcats roared to a 63-13 victory over the Trojans, their tenth straight in the rivalry.
Brieton Sykes races for a touchdown against Bruce.
The 63 points for the Wildcats was the most every scored in the 67 meetings between the two schools. It was the second largest margin of victory in series history. Calhoun City won 60-6 in 1930.
“The game with Bruce is always a rival game that we have to play hard in,” Calhoun City Coach Perry Liles said. “(Tonight’s result) isn’t what you expect in this game. Tonight our kids played really hard and I was proud of them.”
The Wildcats domination showed itself in the first few seconds of the game. Three plays into the game, Brieton Sykes, who rushed for 162 yards on only five carries, broke free on a 59-yard touchdown run.
“We just practiced hard this week and focused on this rivalry game,” Sykes said.
The Trojans mishandled the ensuing kickoff and the Wildcats recovered at the Bruce 31. Following a 15-yard run by Jaalen Thomas, QB Jo Gray raced up the gut for a 16 yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead.
The lone highlight for the Trojans came on their first offensive possession of the game. Sophomore Quinn Davis took a hand off around the right end and raced 61 yards for a touchdown to pull the Trojans within 14-6.
“I was coming around the edge and had a good block out there that got me out and I just took off,” Davis said. “I just wanted to reach the end zone.”
Quinn Davis gets outside for a touchdown run for the Trojans.
It was all Calhoun City from that point forward, scoring on every possession in the first half except their final one, where they ran out the clock with a 49-6 lead.
The Wildcats (6-3, 3-0) finished their first quarter scoring with a 45-yard touchdown run by Sykes, a 34-yard touchdown pass from Sykes to Jyair Pierce, and a 34-yard scoring run by Gray, who was quarterbacking the Wildcats for the first time in the rivalry.
“I faked across, found the gap and just hit it hard as I could,” Gray said of the touchdown run. “It’s a great feeling to win like this. This gives us a lot of momentum, but we can’t be stuck on this game. We’ve got to get ready for Eupora.”
Calhoun City would close the half with a 35 yard touchdown run by Sykes and a 6-yard touchdown pass from Gray to Jesse Nabors.
After a three-and-out from the Trojan offense to start the second half, Thomas ran for a 47 yard touchdown and a 56-6 lead.
Tyrese Quinn accounted for the next score when he scooped up a Bruce fumble and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown and a 63-6 score.
Bruce would add a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by Jordon Glaspie for the 63-13 final score.
Jo Gray's touchdown run for the Wildcats.
Bruce is eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. They travel to East Webster next week and then finish the season at home against Okolona.
The Wildcats will be looking to clinch the region title and a top seed in the playoffs with a win next Friday against Eupora.
“(Eupora) also had a big win against Bruce. They’re as good as us, so we have to handle this success,” Liles said. “We talk all the time about handling failure and success. We have to handle this success.”