Football | 9/1/2023 10:10:00 PM

The Arrows dropped their home opener against a solid Northwest Rankin team by a score of 21-14 on Friday night.  The Arrows had the ball with just under 4 minutes left and had an opportunity to tie the game, but fell one play short after failing to convert on a 4th down play.  

The Arrows got on the board first with a rushing touchdown from Senior QB Sam Semi.  Semi scored from 14 yards out and Hayden Wolfe added the PAT to make the score 7-0 with 4:16 on the clock in the 1st quarter.  The touchdown drive for the Arrows was 8 plays for 80 yards.  The Cougars responded with a touchdown drive that ended as time expired in the period on a 5 yard TD run by RB Dylan Lewis, capping a 12 play 80 yard drive.

The Cougars then scored in the 2nd quarter with just over 4 minutes left in the 1st half on a 3 yard pass completion from Wes White to DeShawn Dillon.

At halftime, with the score 14-7 in favor of the Cougars, Jakobe Williams ran for 58 yards on 7 carries while Semi gained 28 yards on 2 carries.  Sophomore WR Jaydann Hollins had 2 catches for 25 yards in the opening half as well.

In the 2nd half, the Cougars added another score in the 3rd quarter to make the score 21-7.  Lawrence Weakley punched in a run from 1 yard out to add another rushing score and put the Cougars up by 14.

Early in the 4th quarter, the Arrows made it a ballgame when Jakobe Williams punched it in the endzone from 6 yards out, carrying multiple Cougar defenders with him.  Wolfe added the PAT to make it a 7 point game at 21-14.

The Arrows forced a punt and got the ball to midfield heading to tie the game when they faced a 4th and 2, forced to keep the offense on the field with the clock dwindling.  Semi scrambled to his left and attempted to hit a crossing receiver but was unable to make the connection, giving the ball to the Cougars on downs.  Northwest Rankin was then able to earn a couple first downs and had the ability to drain the clock and seal the victory.

For the Arrows, Jakobe Williams finished the game with 113 yards on 17 carries.  Semi ended with 80 yards on 8 of 17 through the air.  Hollins finished with 35 yards on 3 catches.

Defensively, Josh Barnes led the Arrows with 6 tackles.  TJ Spann and Benny Jenkins finished the game with 5 tackles apiece.

The loss drops the Arrows to 0-2 on the season before traveling to Brandon next Friday night to take on the Bulldogs at 7 PM.