Gators hope for a rebound

Published 11:16 am Thursday, October 4, 2012

A little over 20 years ago, when Tavares Johnson Sr. played guard at Cleveland East Side High School, he had to block Broad Street’s Eddie Maxon, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound tackle. While that gridiron matchup finished as a tossup, as a team, Johnson’s Trojans usually got the better of Maxon’s Jaguars.

Twenty years later, the former All-Bolivar County players are now head coaches in Class 6A football. Maxon left perennial state power South Panola, where he was a defensive line coach, to fill the vacancy at Greenville-Weston after Bill Lott left to take the post at Mississippi Delta. Johnson left his alma mater at East Side, following a successful six-year run, to take over at Vicksburg after Alonzo Stevens retired.

Friday night, the pair reunite when Greenville-Weston meets Vicksburg at Memorial Stadium. Johnson said he’s looking forward to it.

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“I remember having to block big ole’ Eddie,” Johnson said. “These days, we’re both in the same boat, trying to put together a program.”

Maxon brought much of South Panola’s offensive scheme to Greenville-Weston (1-5, 0-2). The Hornets are averaging four turnovers and just 143 yards per game.

One guy who won’t be playing for the Gators (1-5, 0-2 Region 2-6A) is Tavares Johnson Jr. The junior quarterback broke the tibula bone in his leg after a run against Northwest Rankin last week. Sophomore Marquez Pickett replaced him as Vicksburg lost 21-6.

“People forget that Pickett took just about every snap in our 7-on-7 drills last summer after Junior was getting over the broken foot,” Johnson Sr. said. “He knows how to run our packages. We’ll also have a package for Johnathan Tenner.”

Another plus for Johnson Sr. was the play of Vicksburg’s defense. They held Northwest to under 300 yards in total offense and were in the game until the final three minutes.

“For the first time all season, a team had a four-and-inches on us, but this time, we stopped them,” an elated Johnson Sr. said. “We made a change to an even front. It allowed us to get better coverage on the guards and not let them have a free release on our linebackers.”