Strong performances by Caden Greer on offense and Reggie Carter on defense led Kosciusko to a 19-14 victory over Lewsiburg.
Greer, the Whippets' first-year starting quarterback, ran for two touchdowns and threw for one.
“I was really proud of the game Caden Greer played,” coach Casey Orr said. “You can see the improvement from week to week. That's something that we are excited about.”
Greer was 15 of 23 passing for 170 yards and carried 19 time for 56 yards.
Carter was a terror on defense with seven solo tackles, four assists and five tackles for loss, including four sacks. “He had a huge night,” Orr said.
Lewisburg took a 7-0 first quarter lead on a TD run by quarterback Gunner Gilmore. The Whippets tied it before the end of the period on Greer's first scoring run and the extra point by Alexis Hernandez, then took the lead just before halftime on a TD pass from Greer to Lee Wade. The extra point attempt was blocked leaving the lead at 13-7.
Lewisburg went back ahead 14-13 in the third quarter on a pass from Gilmore to Matthew Osteen and the second of two PATs by Lucas Gaschk.
Greer capped off the winning fourth quarter drive with a TD run. With a five-point lead, the Whippets went for two, but the run failed.
“Our guys found a way to win,” Orr said. “I don't think we played our best, but when the chips were down and we had to put a drive together to score we were able to do that.”
The defense made the lead hold up, stopping Lewisburg on the Patriots' final two possessions. An interception by Wade in the dying seconds sealed the victory.
“Our defense played really well for four quarters. We had two really big stops in the fourth quarter,” Orr said.
Kosciusko outgained Lewisburg, a 6A school, 338 to 221, with about as balanced an attack as possible – 170 yards through the air and 168 on the ground. Javen Mallett was the Whippets' leading runner with nine carries for 61 yards. Thomas Olive had 12 carries for 42 yards.
Wade caught six passes for 83 yards and Tyran Mosley four for 51 yards.
Gilmore completed only 10 of 27 passes for 87 yards. D.J. Green carried 10 times for 85 yards for Lewisburg.
The Kosciusko defense forced four turnovers on interceptions by Wade, Adam Greer and Eli Kemp and a fumble recovery by J.T. Herron. Mallett had nine tackles, Kemp seven tackles with a sack and Kantavious Brown had a sack.
Kosciusko and Lewisburg are both 2-1.
Next up for the Whippets is a road game with Choctaw County Friday. Choctaw County is 1-2, with a 34-21 victory over South Pontotoc and losses to Winona 40-29 and Pontotoc 10-6. Winona also gave Kosciusko its only loss 20-7.
“They have a very talented football team,” Orr said of Choctaw County.
Offensively, the Chargers are led by senior running back Antonio Kennedy, who ran for 193 yards in the loss to Winona. The website Scorebook Live listed Kennedy among “20 running backs to watch in Mississippi high school football in 2022.”
“He's a kid you have to account for every play,” Orr said.
