PHOTO CUTLINE: Riverside's Ladarius Goodman (8), gets swarmed by a host of O'Bannon Greenwave defenders Friday in first quarter action. Goodman reportedly suffered a dislocated elbow near the end of the second quarter.
GREENVILLE – Before Friday’s regionally televised matchup between Jackson area rival high schools Brandon and Pearl, two Brandon High students were reportedly arrested for spraying “BHS” and dog paw prints on the on Pearl’s $500,000 - $700,000 artificial turf in Ray Rogers Stadium.
O’Bannon and Riverside’s showdown Friday night didn’t involve expensive artificial turf or television cameras, but it was just as electrifying.
If there wasn’t a rivalry between the two Washington County teams, who belong to the same school district and are separated by less than 20 miles, there is now.
There were at least two ejections, numerous scuffles and two major injures during Riverside’s 20-14 win over O’Bannon (0-2). Riverside quarterback Ladarius Goodman reportedly dislocated his elbow at the end of the first half while O’Bannon’s leading rusher, Jeremy McCray, seriously injured his knee only minutes after having a 54-yard touchdown run revoked by a holding call. Medical personnel worked on McCray’s knee on the sideline before he was taken away from the stadium.
As of Friday night, O’Bannon coach Mack Sampson said he had no update on the all-district running back.
There were two scuffles between the two teams during the third quarter and another heated exchange near the end of the game, where at least one OBHS player darted on the field in defense of teammates. After the officials separated the two squads, the game clock winded down.
The teams didn’t shake hands following the game, presumably to stop any more possible confrontations.
“A lot of these kids know each other. The people know each other. We’re in the same school district,” said RHS coach Warren West, whose team is now 2-0 and already surpassed last year’s 1-10 record. “You hate to see that happen and our kids were probably at fault sometimes. We’re going to go back and look at the tape and correct them and try to hold down our tempers.
"But you know in football, when they’re beating on each other, sometimes tempers are going to happen, and you just have to learn to hold that – and that’s part of the discipline that we’re trying to teach our kids.”
Last year, McCray was the leader for the Greenwaves – rushing for over 1,500 yards. His presence was extremely missed after his third quarter injury, said Sampson.
“It was a big turning point,” he said. “Jeremy scored the touchdown to put us up in the first half.
“It really hurt us because we’re a young team.”
West said Goodman’s injury woke the Bulldogs up.
“Our biggest concern was Goodman. We wanted to win it for him,” he said.
After Goodman’s injury, the Bulldogs put the ball in the hands of reserve running back Lorenzo Johnson. And he filled in quite nicely, scoring a rushing touchdown in the third quarter to bring RHS back within two points, 14-12.
Justin Short scored RHS’s final touchdown in the third quarter after he recovered a Greenwave fumble in the endzone. Johnson scored the two-point conversion.
“We were kind of handcuffed having to play a kid at quarterback that has never played there before,” said West. “But he did what we needed him to do – take snaps, keep the football and hope our defense wins the ballgame.”
OBHS is scheduled to travel Friday to Palmer. RHS is scheduled to go to Coahoma County.
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