[10/13/01]It was hard to tell what was sloppier Friday night the field at Tallulah Academy or the brand of football the Trojans and Porters Chapel Academy displayed on it.

Playing on a soggy field and in a driving rain for much of the second half, the teams combined for 18 fumbles nine each nine turnovers and only 15 first downs in Tallulah’s 9-0 win.

“This is great. A great feeling, a good night. We needed a win,” Tallulah coach Jacky Thames said.

“I’m so proud of these kids. The conditions were horrible, and it showed with both teams.”

Stuart Frith rushed for 126 yards and the game’s only touchdown, a 14-yard run in the first quarter, as the Trojans (3-4, 1-2 Conference 7-A) controlled the ball for 33 minutes, 40 seconds. The Trojans had 212 total yards, but they just couldn’t turn it into any points.

“We’re real proud of that,” Tallulah coach Jacky Thames said of his team’s ability to control the ball.

“We hate that we didn’t finish some of our drives, but even though it’s week six, we’re still learning.”

Tallulah turned the ball over three times in PCA (3-4, 0-3) territory in the second half, including twice inside the Eagle 10, and was also penalized eight times.

PCA’s problems with the bouncing ball were worse. Nearly every Eagle fumble bounced straight to a Tallulah player, resulting in four first-half turnovers.

“We got real lucky with some of the fumbles,” Frith said.

The worst came with about eight minutes left in the second quarter. PCA quarterback Andrew Embry found Chris Simms for a 74-yard gain to the Trojan 2-yard line, but T.J. Smith fumbled on the next play.

Tallulah recovered at the 1-yard line and the Eagles never crossed midfield again. They finished with minus-5 yards in the second half.

Even when PCA did recover its fumbles, it didn’t help. The first bobble the Eagles recovered happened to be in their own end zone with 3:30 to play in the third quarter following a mishandled snap. Embry fell on it, but Tallulah’s Cole Morris fell on him for a safety and a 9-0 lead.

“We fumbled, but we’ve been fumbling all year,” PCA coach Bubba Mims said. “The difference was they recovered ours, and they recovered most of theirs, too.”