By ADAM WELCH
pressbox1.com

DYER - Coming off a tough region loss against Greenfield last week, not many people were giving West Carroll a chance Friday night against 2A Gibson County. The Eagles led midway through the second quarter after Travis Myles touchdown before the tide turned.

West Carroll’s valiant effort came up short, however, after a 39-22 loss to the Pioneers, which was closer than the score indicated. It was Gibson County's homecoming s well.

Both offenses come out firing on all cylinders early. Gibson County's Sherrod Johnson bolted 22 yards for a touchdown to start thing. West Carroll then then answered back behind the strong running of Myles with runs of 26 and 7 yards. This set up quarterback Cody Nelson's play-action pass to tight end Brandt Cowan for a 28-yard touchdown.

After West Carroll’s defense held, this put them in good field position. Myles went off left guard, 39 yards into the end zone. Colby Cooper's two-point try was good to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead mid way through the second quarter.

“I thought West Carroll played good. The line blocked," said Gibson County coach Jason Dyer. "They’ve got some big backs that come downhill.”

After exchanging possesions, back come the Pioneers. An Eagle sack by Richard Patterson set the Pioneers back. But on 2nd and 20 Pioneer Cody Carpenter went 13-yards on the reverse left. Two plays later Jake Hill two-yard touchdown plunge tied the score at 14.

After a West Carroll punt, Gibson County went to the air right before the half. Quarterback Matt Smith completed passes to Sherrod Johnson and Casey Ivey for 10 and 15 yards. The Pioneers then had mass confusion before their next play and was penalized. Fortunately, they had six second left where Sherrod Johnson broke free 23 yards out for the touchdown to close out the half leading West Carroll 20-14.

The Eagles tried to step up their play defensively to start the second half, but the Pioneers Sherod Johnson two-yard touchdown run gave the Pioneers a 26-14 advantage.

“Offensively I thought we had a pretty decent game," Dyer said. "Our team stayed in there and played hard.”

The Eagles tried desperately to start a comeback to start the fourth quarter. West Carroll then utilized the option on its next series with Nelson and Myles. Cooper kept the drive going on several occasions with runs of 5, 6, and 7 yards. This set up a 6-yard Nelson bootleg for a score to cut the Pioneer lead to four, 26-22. But the Eagles ran out of steam late as Gibson County added two scores to defeat West Carroll 39-22.

“West Carroll’s a good team," Dyer said. "They are going to win some games."

Up next for West Carroll (0-5) is a trip to Tiptonville to take on the Lake County Falcons (1-4) next Friday night. Gibson County will entertain county rival Trenton-Peabody.