Tupelo rolls over Germantown with dominant rushing attack
Oct. 12—TUPELO — Tupelo's offense had sputtered in the last two weeks, but it reverted back to its usual high-octane self on Thursday night against Germantown.
The Golden Wave scored a touchdown on each of their first four drives in the first half. The only first-half drive they didn't score a touchdown on was when they lined up in victory formation to kneel the clock out for halftime.
Tupelo continued to pull away early in the second half and cruised to a 42-3 home win over the Mavericks.
"Our offense did what they're supposed to, played like we're supposed to play," Tupelo head coach Ty Hardin said. "We had a great week of practice, made it hard on them. We felt good coming in. We played like we're supposed to play. I ain't seen us play like that, and we play well at home, that helps."
On Tupelo's opening drive, quarterback Jeremiah Harrell found Tyreke Darden deep down the sideline on a third and long, and he capped off the drive by dodging a few defenders on a 34-yard touchdown scamper.
"I told Coach, 'If I see it, I'm taking off running," Harrell said. "I did what I did."
JJ Hill doubled the Tupelo (6-2, 2-0 Region 2-7A) lead on a 47-yard rushing touchdown, and then Harrell added another touchdown pass following a Germantown (4-4, 1-1) field goal. A Tristan Jernigan interception and ensuing return set up a Harrell touchdown pass to Darden to bookend a strong first half for Harrell and Tupelo's offense.
"It was super big," Harrell said. "It was a big surprise. We just came out and just knew."
Qua Middlebrooks started the second half by running away from the Germantown defense on a 65-yard touchdown run and then added another rushing touchdown. Middlebrooks finished the night with three total touchdowns. The Tupelo ground game as a whole dominated, with Middlebrooks and Hill combining for 220 yards and three rushing touchdowns on just 12 carries.
"We did our job up front, blocked those guys," Hardin said. "We were physical, got after them. Our running backs, they just need a little seam and they're good."
Extra Points
Turning Point: Jernigan hauled in an interception and returned it deep into Germantown territory to set up a Tupelo touchdown on the next play that made it 28-3 late in the second quarter.
Point Man: Harrell threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and ran for another.
Talking Point: "I know (Harrell) hadn't been pleased with himself some weeks and stuff like that, and he finally played like he's supposed to play. He was confident this week and he's had a chip on his shoulder and he's playing with a chip on his shoulder." — Hardin on Harrell
Notes
— Harrell threw just 10 passes, but he completed seven of them for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
— Middlebrooks and Hill both averaged over 18 yards per carry
— Tupelo outgained Germantown 417-260
