Black Knights finish regular season with dominance of Desoto

Black Knights finish regular season with dominance of Desoto

West Memphis Christian averaged 12.6 yards per carry in the win this past Friday

sports@theeveningtimes.com

Following a 49-0 thrashing of the Desoto Thunderbirds (3-7 overall, 0-3 1-1A MAIS) last Friday night, the West Memphis Christian Black Knights are halfway through a four-step plan that head coach Darrow Anderson hopes will end with his team competing for a national championship.

The Black Knights (8-3, 3-0) accomplished step one of the plan two weeks ago with a confidence building 59-26 win over Greenville Christian (2-7) and executed the second part of the plan this past Friday by winning the 1-1A MAIS division outright with their victory over Desoto.

Anderson says the next two steps in the Black Knights plan will unfold during the 1A MAIS playoffs which starts this Friday as West Memphis Christian welcomes Columbus Christian Academy (2-7).

“Step three is to go out and get a win in the opening round of the playoffs and step four is to get a win in the semifinal round,” Anderson said.

“Our goal right now is to get there. And then, obviously, our next goal will be to win the state championship. And, I think we can get there. But, it’s just one step at a time.”

All seven of the Black Knights scores against the Thunderbirds came via the ground game, highlighted by senior running back Thomas Warren who racked up 132 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. With the tripledigit yard performance on the ground, Warren once again surpasses 1,000 yards rushing on the season, a feat the Black Knights running back accomplished for the first time in his junior season.

Warren got the Black Knights on the board first, scoring on a 13-yard jet sweep to the right side and then breaking free for a 58yard touchdown run.

Also adding of pair of touchdowns for West Memphis Christian was junior running back Malik Barrow who picked up 63 yards on three carries.

Barrow added a 27-yard and a 20-yard touchdown to 49-point night for West Memphis Christian.

Anderson likes what he saw out of his junior back.

“Malik’s run the ball really well,” Anderson said.

“He sees the wholes really and, when he sees them, he explodes through them. I was really proud of him and really proud of the way he ran the ball.”

Already leading by a score of 36-0, Anderson granted some underclassmen playing time and it paid off in scores by sophomore running back Elijah Eulls and eighth grade offensive lineman Ryan Stewart, who finished the night with four carries for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Anderson credits, in part, the Black Knights offensive line for opening up lanes and allowing his slew of runners to find daylight.

“They blocked really well,” Anderson said.

“They pretty much just dominated the line of scrimmage and allowed us to get outside Desoto.

They also blocked really well up the middle and allowed us to pop off some long runs. On the counter play, they blocked that extremely well every time.

I think we averaged 20 yards every time we ran that play.”

Handling the ball under center were two Black Knights quarterbacks.

Freshman Jacob Hatcher split time with staring signal caller Parker Benson as Benson is still recovering from a shin injury. The two combined for 70 yards rushing. Hatcher finished the night two-of-six passing for 10 yards through the air while the junior, Benson, completed all three of his passes for 20 yards.

Defensively, Anderson was pleased that West Memphis Christian strung together a complete performance, remaining stingy, as evident from junior Mathew Land’s teamleading eight tackles, from the opening whistle to the final buzzer. The Black Knights only allowed two first downs throughout the contest and continued to find the ball as Warren continued a trend of West Memphis Christian caused turnovers with an interception.

“We really played a complete game from the first kickoff to the last kickoff,” Anderson said.

“Defensively, man they were just lights out all night… They were all over the field.”

West Memphis Christian now ends the regular season with an 8-3 record and an undefeated 3-0 district record. The Black Knights look to carry the momentum from their stellar regular season into the playoffs as the Black Knights prepare to host Columbus Christian, a team West Memphis Christian defeated 50-0 back on September 1st.

“I think we are hitting the right stride at the right time, as far as execution,” Anderson said.

“Confidence is really good. I think our guys realize what’s on the line here and what’s at stake. I’m really proud of their keeping their focus on one game at a time and not overlooking and trying to move on to the next game before they get through the one that’s in front of them.”

“If we play like we’re capable of playing, I think we should play really well and pull out a big win,” Anderson said of the upcoming match with Columbus Christian.

Kickoff between Columbus Christian and the Black Knights takes place at West Memphis Christian this Friday with game time slated for 7:00 p.m.

By Collins Peeples