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Ronde Baker TD VS MDCC
Chuck Barnes

Ronde Baker booms for 227 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns in win over Delta

| By: By Cody Junkin
Ronde Baker rushing touchdown
Box Score On Thursday, September 10th Southwest Football hosted the Mississippi Delta Trojans in Summit for game three of the young football season.

Southwest won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.

Mississippi Delta came out swinging with an 8 play 71-yard scoring drive on their first possession to go up 7-0 over the Bears.

Kainen Rush returned the following kickoff 30 yards for Southwest, but a quick 3 and out led to a Bear punt.


Both teams exchanged six straight punts with one being returned by Zay Martin for 59 yards.

The Bears got the ball with 9:46 left in the second quarter but were quickly cut short after an interception thrown by Southwest.

Mississippi Delta took advantage of the interception to kick a 37-yard field goal and go up 10-0 over Southwest with 7:14 left in the first half.

Southwest answered back immediately with a 6 play 75-yard scoring drive led by QB Jakhari Williams.

A 37-yard pass from Williams to WR Bryhsen Smith put the Bears into Delta territory followed by a few rushes to move the chains.

With 4:18 left in the half, Williams connected with WR Tahj Williby for a 29-yard Bear touchdown to make the score 7-10 following the extra point.

The remainder of the first half was scoreless as Mississippi Delta went into halftime leading 10-7 over Southwest.

The Bears opened up the second half with a 50-yard kick return by WR KJ Galloway Jr to the Trojan 42-yard line.

On the very next play, freshman RB Ronde Baker rushed 42 yards to the house for a Bear touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.

This gave Southwest a 14-10 lead over the Trojans just 20 seconds into the half.

Mississippi Delta answered back quickly with a touchdown of their own on the following drive to retake a 17-14 lead over the Bears.

When the Bears got the ball back, Ronde picked up right where he left off with another 42-yard rush.

Southwest worked their way all the way down to a 2nd and goal situation before another untimely interception gave Mississippi Delta the ball back on their own 14-yard line.

The Trojans worked their way down the field before eventually missing a 35-yard field goal that hit the left upright and giving the ball back to the Bears on their own 20-yard line.

With 2:25 left in the third quarter, Southwest found themselves down 14-17.

Ronde Baker answered the call.

After an 11-yard pass to Bryhsen Smith and 3-yard rush by Will Smith, Ronde Baker rushed 66-yards to the house for his second touchdown of the third quarter and put the Bears back in front with a 21-17 lead over the Trojans.

Merely 20 seconds after the offense gave them the lead, the Bear defense decided to join in on the fun.

After a holding penalty backed Mississippi Delta up to 10-yard line, the Bear defense swarmed leading to a Trojan fumble recovered by defensive lineman Caleb Bryant in the endzone for a Southwest defensive touchdown, their first of the season.

This put the Bears up 27-17 going into the 4th quarter after a missed extra point.

Mississippi Delta found a quick answer on the next possession with a 4th down touchdown that closed the Bear lead down to 27-24 with 13:21 remaining in the game.

A quick 3 and out from Southwest gave the Trojans the ball back at their own 11-yard line after a 42-yard punt from Alan Long.

The Bear defense forced a 3 and out of their own ending with a sack by Caleb Bryant that pinned the Trojans at the 5-yard line.

Southwest got the ball back in enemy territory at Mississippi Delta's 42-yard line.

After 5 straight Ronde Baker rushes, RB Nyrikius Johnson carried the ball for 6 yards and then a 13-yard touchdown with 5:20 left in the game to push the Bear lead back to 10 points at 34-24.

The Bears kept their foot on the gas as LB Jordan Magee forced a fumble just three plays later that led to another Nyrikius Johnson rushing touchdown with 3:26 left in the game.

Now leading 41-24, Southwest stayed focused until the end.

The Trojans started their final drive with 3:26 remaining after a touchback by Simon Naylor.

Mississippi Delta began working down the field when DE Demarcus Johnson got the QB for yet another Bear sack.

Just two plays later, the Trojans fumbled for a third time and Bear LB Fred Nicholson recovered it for the third turnover of the night for the Southwest defense.

Freshman RB Toney Scott III came in to run out the clock for the Bears.

As the clocks hit 0:00, Southwest locked in their first win of the season with a 41-24 victory over Mississippi Delta.

The Bears had 19 first downs in the game, went 5/14 on third downs, and 3/3 on fourth downs.

The Bears had 392 yards of total offense.

QB Jakhari Williams had 142 passing yards with 1 passing touchdown.

RB Ronde Baker had 212 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on 18 carries as well as 2 receptions for 15 yards.

RB Nyrikius Johnson had 36 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on 6 carries.

WR Bryhsen Smith had 53 receiving yards on 4 catches.

WR Tahj Williby had 33 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown on 2 catches.

P Alan Long had 5 punts for 206 yards with 4 punts inside the 20.

The Bear defense had 3 fumble recoveries with 1 fumble recovery touchdown.

Jordan Magee had 1 force fumble.

Fred Nicholson, Miles Adam, and Caleb Bryant each had 1 fumble recovery.

Demarcus Johnson led with 2.5 sacks. Ryshawn Perry had 1 sack. Bernard Lackey, Keviyon Lamons, and Zay Lowery each had 0.5 sacks.

"I feel great. You know, just trusting the O-line. The offense was clicking, and we just dominated," said Ronde Baker on his 212 yard and 2 touchdown performance.

"When we were in halftime, I was like 'I got to pick it up' and when I came out there, I just had to score the ball you know. I felt everything. I saw the hole, and I hit it. And it was a touchdown," said Ronde about his 42-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half.

"It was just really more about us as a team and not beating ourselves like we did the first two games. I thought in the first half we still had some self-imposed limitations, but I was just proud of the team and how they stayed resilient and came out in the second half and pushed through," said Head Coach Les George.

"He's definitely a special talent. He's a bigger back that's got speed," said Coach George on the kind of player Ronde Baker is, "he was battling through some injuries, but it was good to see him come out and showcase his talent and ability last night."

"Those guys keep staying consistent. It's going to be the key and staying healthy. The defense has always played with a lot of energy, and they're very competitive," said Coach George on the defensive performance against Mississippi Delta, "they don't like giving up a yard. So, I'm very proud of the defensive line, linebackers, and secondary. They kept battling through last night against a pretty good offense."

When asked about getting the first win on the board, Coach George said, "Happy but not content. I don't feel like we're playing anywhere close to what we are capable of at this point. So, we've just got to continue to keep cleaning up the little things. It was nice to get a win at home, and for the kids to gain some confidence off of it. So, we just have to build off of that win going into the future."

The Bears (1-2) will host Hinds on Thursday, September 17th in Summit for game four.
 
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