Wilkinson County Christian went into Claiborne Academy expecting to pull out the victory and get back on the winning track, head coach Sam Byrd said.

However, thanks in part to three key injuries that didn’t happen.

Claiborne Academy defeated WCCA 14-13, but the Rams lost more than just the game.

Wingback and holder Justin David went down with an ankle injury, starting quarterback George Davis went down with a knee injury and full back Spencer Smith was taken to the hospital with a neck injury.

“When one guy goes down you’ve got to have somebody else step up, and they did,” Byrd said. “We just came up a little short tonight.”

Claiborne started the game off with a touchdown in the second quarter.

After the injury to Smith, the team was ready to come back.

“It kind of sparked the team up,” Byrd said.

Tip McKenzie scored on a 45-yard run with 9 minutes left in the third, but Claiborne quickly struck back.

After a high snap on an attempted punt, Claiborne recovered the ball on the Rams’ 25-yard line and punch in the touchdown on a fullback trap. They also converted the extra point.

Another big run by McKenzie — 65 yards this time — cut into Claiborne’s lead once again.

“It was big-time runs on his part,” Byrd said. “He did a great job hitting his seams and following his blockers. He’s really learning to use his speed.”

However, with the loss of their wingback and holder, the Rams had to go for two, which they missed.

Back up quarterback Todd Gonda then led the Rams from their own 20 to Claiborne’s 30-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, allowing Claiborne to run the clock out.

WCCA will face Franklin Academy next week.

Huntington 36, CHEF 6

After being crushed by Trinity last week, the Huntington School Hounds were out for redemption. They found it through the Christian Home Educators Fellowship (CHEF).

Huntington dominated CHEF 36-6 with a strong rushing attack. The Hounds had 298 yards on the ground and averaged over 10-yards a carry and were lead by Jeremy Randall, who had 178 yards on the ground.

Huntington started things off with a 24 touchdown run by Josh Lee with 1:13 left in the first. Andreas Swanson ran for the two-point conversion.

CHEF got on the board in the second quarter, but could not match the 16 points the Hounds put up before the end of the half off a 45-yard run by Randall and an 80-yard run by Kevin Brown, both with successful two-point conversions.

Randall got his second touchdown of the night a 46-yard run with 8:40 left in the third and completed the hat trick with a two yard touchdown run with 53 seconds left.

Huntington will face CENLA Christian Academy next week.