Blackmon, defense put charge in St. Andrew's

Will Smith/The Madison County Herald St. Andrew's senior running back Bradford Blackmon, who rushed for 215 yards and five TDs on 18 carries, breaks through Hinds AHS defenders Tyrone Heard (left) and Dave Sims during Friday's Region 6-2A game in Ridgeland.

RIDGELAND — Bradford Blackmon hasn't been scoring touchdowns at his usual pace, but if Friday night's performance is any indication, the St. Andrew's senior running back might be ready for a serious run at the state record.

Blackmon rushed for 215 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries to lead the Saints to a 41-6 Region 6-2A victory over Hinds AHS before a homecoming crowd of 1,200 at Roger Stribling Field.

St. Andrew's improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the region. Hinds AHS is 4-2 and 0-1.

Blackmon scored on runs of 9, 44, 1 and 26 yards in the first half and capped his night with an 18-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

His 14 TDs this season have pushed his career mark to 90, 28 shy of the state record of 118 set by Weir's Dicenzo Miller.

"This was my best game of the year, but we just had a total team effort," said Blackmon, who also had one reception for 10 yards.

"We had great blocking from the word go and the defense came out very excited and intense. This win has boosted our morale going into district play. It feels a lot better starting 1-0 than 0-1."

Equally impressive as Blackmon's offensive exploits was the performance of the Saints' defense that allowed 221 yards and stopped the Bulldogs four times on fourth down.

"Our defensive front has played well all year," said Saints coach David Bradberry. "Our linebackers played better tonight. Hinds is a physical bunch and you better be able to toe the line and we did. Bradford had a phenomenal game, but we had a lot of guys play exceptionally well."

William Mayfield's 18-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter gave the Saints a commanding 35-6 lead.

Hinds AHS' only points came on a 73-yard pass from Derrick Steele to Joshua King in the second quarter.

Bradberry cited the defensive play of Jake Brannan, William Patrick and Corbett Senter for keeping the Bulldogs in check.

"Coach Bradberry did a great job this week to fire us up for a good football team,"said Patrick, a senior lineman. "Our defense has improved a lot and gave a great effort tonight on multiple occasions."

Hinds has allowed 40-plus points in its two straight losses.

"We've had some key injuries, but we're going to have to get it together or we're going to have problems," said Hinds coach Michael Fields. "We've got to find some leaders out there. (St. Andrew's) had a good game plan, and they wanted it more than we did."