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MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — After trailing Newton County High School at the half last week, 9-0, Northeast Lauderdale High School roared back to take a 10-9 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when A.J. Thomas scampered into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown run.
However, the Trojans were unable to hang on to its lead, as the Cougars drilled a field goal in the final seconds to claim a 12-9 win.
"I expect them to put the loss behind them," Northeast Lauderdale coach Curt Blackburn said. "They have a short memory, so that will be a good the good thing."
The loss puts the Trojans (3-5, 1-1) one game off the pace for the lead in District 5-4A. With a win last week, Northeast would have been in sole possession of first place.
"I let (the players) know about that once I found out the scores of the other games," Blackburn said. "We kind of lost it and let it slip out of our hands. It's going to be a fight (to reach the playoffs) the rest of the way."
The rebound from the final-second loss starts Friday when Northeast hosts Forrest County Agricultural High School.
"We're going to have to contain their running game," Blackburn said. "They like to hit the edges with sweeps. We have to put them in passing downs."
Blackburn said it's imperative for his squad to take control of the line of scrimmage in the district tilt.
"I told the offensive line before the (last week's game) that our night would be determined how well we move the ball," Blackburn said. "We've just got to get back to our run first mentality and keep the defense off the field, and we're going to have to establish the line of scrimmage."
Meanwhile, after tallying 63 points against Choctaw Central High School two weeks ago in its district opener, Southeast Lauderdale High School was shutout 21-0 last week against Forest High School.
"We just didn't execute on either side of the ball the way we are capable of," Southeast Lauderdale coach Charles Black said. "We made too many mistakes, and we are going to correct them. Forest was a physical team and executed a lot better than we did."
Southeast (5-3, 1-1) has now lost two of its last three contests after starting the year 4-0 and will look to reverse its bad fortune when it hosts Choctaw County High School Friday night.
"We have to be more physical and execute on both sides of the ball," Black said. "We have to secure tackles, make the tough catches and stay on blocks."
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
At Collinsville, West Lauderdale High School entered the fourth of last week's contest against Caledonia High seemingly in control, 28-13.
However, over the next 12 minutes of the game, the Knights would steadily see their lead slip away, and eventually fall to the Confederates, 34-28.
"We didn't score in the fourth quarter, and we couldn't stop them," West Lauderdale coach Stan McCain said. "We just didn't finish the game. We did a lot of good things, but we didn't take control of the game. It's disappointing."
The slate won't get any easier for the Knights (3-5, 0-2) as they get set to host Noxubee County High School (6-2, 2-0).
"We're playing one of the best teams in 4A," McCain said. "As long as I've been here, I can't ever remember a time when our guys weren't up to the challenge. Our guys tend to rise to the occasion when our backs are against the wall. I expect our guys to come out and play hard."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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Information from: The Meridian Star, http://www.meridianstar.com
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