During spring practice, Central Hinds coach Lance Teasley made a commitment to improve the Cougars’ special teams. It only took one game for it to pay off.

Dallas Martin returned a punt and Kile White a kickoff for touchdowns in last week’s season-opening, 45-20 win over Union Christian. Along with a field goal by Gunar Robinson and a fumble recovery in the end zone by Martin, the Cougars’ defense and special teams outscored their offense 24-21.

“It’s something we put a lot of emphasis on in the spring, because if we can produce one (touchdown) a game on special teams, it’s an extra possession,” Teasley said. “We spend about a third of our time on specials. We spend a little less on offense and defense than normal, to be honest, because we’re trying to get more out of our specials.”

Central Hinds will try to improve to 2-0 tonight when it plays its home opener against Brookhaven Academy.

Brookhaven is coached by Porters Chapel Academy graduate Blake Purvis.

 

SIA at Marvell

Sharkey-Issaquena Academy had no problems in extending its winning streak to a third season and 29 games overall last week when it beat Hebron Christian 64-48 in the season opener.

The Confederates, the two-time defending MAIS eight-man champions, had six new starters in the lineup but still rushed for 406 yards. The total was the team’s third-best performance during the winning streak, behind a 446-yard performance against Kemper in last year’s playoffs and a 411-yard night in the 2013 regular season against Franklin Academy.

SIA handed Marvell one of its two losses last season, 52-8 in late September.

 

Port Gibson at Vancleave

After going winless in an abbreviated season last year, Port Gibson got off to a rough start by losing its season opener 16-12 to Amite County last week. The Blue Waves only played five games in 2014 after the Claiborne County School District was taken over by the state department of education in 2013 and severe restrictions were placed on extracurricular activities.

Port Gibson had back-to-back winning seasons in 2011 and 2012, but is 1-14 since then.

 

Madison Parish at General Trass

Wins have often been hard for Madison Parish to come by, but the Jaguars will reacquaint themselves with a reliable source tonight when they face General Trass in Lake Providence.

Madison beat General Trass — formerly Lake Providence High School — each of the past two seasons to account for two of its seven wins in that span.

General Trass is coached by Toriano Wells, Madison’s former head coach and a former assistant at Vicksburg High School.