Corinth Holders gets back on the winning track against Smithfield-Selma football
After suffering their only loss of the season the last time they took the field, Corinth Holders opened up conference play in the Two Rivers 3A with a resounding 49-14 win at Smithfield-Selma Friday night.
Kaelin O’Neal threw for 223 yards and two scores and the Pirates rushing attack churned out 297 yards on the night with both Jordan Neal and Howard Watson going for more than 100 yards on the ground.
Corinth Holders (6-1 overall, 1-0 Two Rivers) scored 29 points in a 10-minute span in the second quarter to blow the game wide open.
Raequan Smith rushed for 112 yards and two scores to lead the Spartans (0-7, 0-1).
Turning Point
Corinth Holders responded when it appeared as though the Spartans had the momentum after cutting the Pirates’ lead to 20-7 early in the second quarter with a six-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a Jordan Neal 46-yard touchdown run.
They said it
“Any time you get a conference win, that’s big,” Corinth Holders coach Bubba Williams said. “We still have a lot of things both defensively and offensively that we need to work on to get ready for next week.”
Three who mattered
Kaelin O’Neal, Corinth Holders: Afforded plenty of time to throw the ball down the field, O’Neal was able to pick apart the Smithfield-Selma defense with 223 yards on 8 of 9 passing and two touchdown passes.
Offensive Line, Corinth Holders: The Pirates’ offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage from their opening drive until the end of the game. Corinth Holders running backs averaged 11 yards per carry and gave O’Neal plenty of time to throw the ball.
Raequan Smith, Smithfield-Selma: The senior playmaker did just that for the Spartans: make plays. Smith found the end zone on a 55-yard burst on a toss sweep in the second quarter and then again from a yard out in the fourth period. Smith factored in many of the tackles registered by the Spartans defense on the night.
By the numbers
15: Number of first downs collected by the Corinth Holders offense.
444: Total number of yards gained by Corinth Holders in the first half.
41: Yards Josiah Adams traveled after recovering a Smithfield-Selma fumble to open up the scoring.
115: Yards receiving by the Pirates’ Johnavan Neal on three grabs.
This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Corinth Holders gets back on the winning track against Smithfield-Selma football."