By Brad Greer

North Delta won every phase of the   statistical battle Friday night in their District 1-AA with Lee Academy Friday night in Clarksdale.

Unfortunately for the Green Wave five turnovers and a blocked punt led to their undoing as the Colts snapped North Delta’s 17-game district winning streak with a 35-6 homecoming victory.

With the loss, North Delta fell to 4-4 on the season and 2-1 in league play while Lee improved to 2-1 and 6-2 overall.

The Green Wave out gained Lee 298-282 in total yardage and held a 21 to 13 advantage in first downs, but three third quarter turnovers led to 21 points  by Lee thus breaking open a 14-6 halftime lead. 

“ We had been keeping our turnovers down to a minimum the last two weeks or so but we took a step back tonight. There are not too many teams you can beat while turning the ball over five times. That was pretty much the bottom line, “ said Green Wave head coach Brandon Ciaramitaro.

Lee took a 7-0 lead midway though the first quarter as Daniel Walker blocked a Andy Linder punt at the Green Wave 16 yard-line. Quarterback Michael Agostinelli then connected with Landon Hite on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 5:06 remaining in the quarter.

North Delta dominated the second quarter by running 27 plays to the Colts six but only could muster one scoring drive a Tyler Beard snagged a 20-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Hays Hudson with three seconds left in the half to trial 14-6 after John McKay’s point after fell short.

Earlier in the quarter, North Delta put together a 13-play, 49-yard drive that ended at the Colt 26 after Hudson was sacked on fourth down.

“We moved the ball well at times. They threw a few blitz packages at us but for the most part we executed our game plan, but we drove down twice in the second quarter and came away with only one touchdown. We are just going to regroup and get ready for another big district game at home next week against Winona,” said Ciaramitaro.

Lee extended their lead to 21-6 midway through the third quarter as Austin Gaston picked off the first of three Hudson’s interceptions on the night. Agostinelli later hit a wide open Gaston on a 23-yard touchdown reception with Hays Stubbs adding the PAT.

The Colts later capitalized on two more North Delta turnovers as Scott Berry added scoring runs of 35 and 1 yards to expand its lead to 35-6 at the end of three quarters.

North Delta registered 191 yards rushing with 127 of that total coming in the first half. Hudson paved the way with 108 yards on 26 carries to go along with 11-of-19 passing for 107 yards and one touchdown.

Bailey Sullivant followed Hudson in the rushing column with 33 yards on 11 carries. Chase Coker added four carries for 21 yards while Hunter Baker and Austin Redwine each had three carries for 18 and 11 yards.

Beard led the receiving corps with three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Sam Copeland also hauled in three receptions for 43 yards. Linder followed with two receptions for 13 yards while Baker, Redwine and Coker caught one pass.

Parker Jones led the North Delta defense with six tackles while Tyler Hardin, Bradley Booth and Baker each had four stops.  Hardin also recorded a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. Redwine and Beard contributed with three tackles. 

North Delta hosts Winona Christian in its final regular season home game of the year Friday night at 7 p.m.