Central Girls Take Pontotoc Title; Bears Win Third Straight on the Gridiron

Five Alcorn Central girls finished among the first 17 runners Friday, October 2, turning a tight front pack into a nine-point victory in the Pontotoc Invitational’s Class 1A–3A varsity cross-country race. The Lady Bears scored 47 points to French Camp Academy’s 56 at Cherry Creek Orchard, beginning a day that also brought Central a boys’ runner-up finish and a winning football region opener.

Autry Wilbanks led Central’s girls in fourth place, covering the 5-kilometer course in 22:16.41. Maggie Jones was seventh in 22:57.68, with Raylee Black eighth in 22:58.61—less than a second behind. Harper Moore finished 15th in 23:57.91 and Jackie Nunley 17th in 24:31.81 to complete the scoring five in the official meet results. Nine teams scored.

Parker Price took second in the boys’ 1A–3A 5K in 18:30.59, behind French Camp’s Matthew Simmons (17:37.44). Central finished second among 18 scoring teams with 89 points; Myrtle won with 70. Saul Morales placed 12th in 19:47.17, followed by Chadwick Potter, 24th in 20:43.59; Logan Mcpheters, 26th in 20:59.98; and David Romero, 29th in 21:16.61.

Kossuth’s girls were sixth with 156 points, paced by Abbigail McGee’s ninth-place 23:17.12. Ty Simmons led the Aggie boys in 13th at 20:03.41; Kossuth finished 15th with 389 points. Biggersville had three varsity finishers: Ella Tucker was 35th in the girls’ race (28:12.76), Rhiannon Nguyen 73rd (33:50.41), and Wyatt Brooks 74th in the boys’ race (24:30.72). Neither Lions varsity squad posted a team score.

Central carried its football winning streak to three with a 36–20 road victory at Belmont. The Golden Bears led 14–6 at halftime and 28–20 after three quarters, then scored eight unanswered points in the fourth. Central improved to 4–2 overall and 1–0 in Class 3A Region 1; Belmont fell to 1–4. Mantachie visits Glen October 9 at 7 p.m. Central Time.

Booneville ended Kossuth’s three-game winning streak, beating the host Aggies 44–22. The Blue Devils built a 21–0 first-quarter lead and a 27–7 halftime advantage. Kossuth scored 15 points in the third, but Booneville added 14 in that period and three in the fourth to reach 5–0. The Aggies are 3–3 and 0–1 in region play.

Biggersville lost 47–0 at home to Baldwyn, dropping to 1–5 while the Bearcats improved to 4–2. The Lions visit Walnut October 9 at 7 p.m. Individual statistics were unavailable for Friday’s three football games.

Corinth’s volleyball schedule lists Senatobia in a Class 4A playoff match Saturday, October 3, at 2 p.m. Central Time, with the venue unconfirmed. The Warriors’ football game against South Pontotoc was moved to Thursday, despite Friday listings still appearing on school and MaxPreps calendars, and falls outside this roundup’s coverage date.

Coverage note: No additional October 2 varsity result was verified. Golf and some cross-country schedules remain incomplete; missing reports do not establish that no competition occurred.