Thursday night was why Greenville High School football coach Quintarus McCray had fought for months to give his players a chance to play. Thursday night was why it mattered that the Hornets took the playing field.
In their first game of their abbreviated season, the Hornets made one clutch play after another to come back and defeat visiting Humphreys County 20-14.
The Hornet victory wasn’t assured until the final play of the game when Cowboy quarterback Ashton Allen raced to the left pylon for an apparent game-tying touchdown. But, after a conference by the officials, it was determined that Greenville defender JJ Kennedy had pushed Allen out of bounds before reaching the endzone to, thus, end the game.
“I am proud of my players because I saw that they will fight,” Coach McCray said. “We only had 13 practices to get ready but that didn’t stop us from giving our best. They showed that they are willing to fight, and I loved to see it.”
Greenville running back Lamarckus Kinney scored all three of the Hornet touchdowns. Kinney’s final touchdown of the game came with 5:47 left in the game to put Greenville on top for good.
“This victory shows that we are coming to play,” Kinney said. “We are only going to get a couple of games, but we are going to make the best of it.”
Said Coach McCray, “Lamarckus is our horse, and he helped us win the game.”
After Kinney’s game-winning score, Greenville sophomore Trey McCray intercepted an Allen pass to stop a Humphreys County drive inside of Greenville territory.
Trey McCray, the son of the head coach, credited his dad for helping him be ready this season.
“My father has been a great influence,” Trey McCray said. “He really helped keep me patient this season, so I knew if I kept working hard that my time would eventually come.”
Said Coach McCray, “My son is growing up right before my eyes. It was great to see him make that interception.”
The Greenville defense kept the Cowboys scoreless for the first three quarters. Hornets Deverious Barnett and Livell Dunlap each recovered fumbles in the first half to stop Humphreys County drives that had advanced deep into Greenville territory.
The Cowboys scored both of their touchdowns in a matter of moments minutes into the fourth quarter.
Allen rushed in the first Cowboy score from six yards out to cut the Greenville lead to 12-8 with 11:48 left in the game. Senior Cowboy lineman Christopher Hubbard then soon intercepted a Greenville pass and raced 48 yards into the endzone to give the Cowboys their first lead, 14-12, with 11:27 remaining.
The Hornets have three more games locked into their schedule, and Coach McCray said he would like to add another game next Friday. The Hornets are scheduled to travel to Clarksdale on Oct. 23.
