Rockett, Truss Shine in Water Valley win over Holly Springs

Published 10:13 pm Friday, October 18, 2019

Water Valley’s first two possessions ended in a punt and interception.

The Blue Devils would score on five of their next six drives on their way to a 38-0 win over Holly Springs at Blue Devil Stadium.

“Holly Springs does a lot of different things on the defensive side of the ball,” Water Valley head coach Brad Embry said. “It took some time, and we had to figure out a way to crease them, but we did it.”

The Blue Devils’ first score of the night came from the arm of quarterback Jacob Truss, as he hit Darius Tolbert for a 37-yard touchdown with 7:31 left in the second quarter. Martavious Rockett scampered into the end zone from 24 yards out with under a minute before halftime. Truss led the Blue Devils down the field to begin the second half, taking it straight to the end zone from 30 yards out to push the lead to 21-0.

Rockett picked off Holly Springs on the next possession and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach at 28-0.

“(Rockett) has played for us forever,” Embry said. “He’s done some great things for us, and I hope there’s a lot left in the tank for a long season.”

A Jon Surrette field goal with 46 seconds left in the third quarter would push the lead out to 31-0.

Marion Morgan capped off the scoring with a 52-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 38-0. Water Valley’s defense didn’t let Holly Springs into Blue Devil territory until late in the third quarter, and held them under 150 yards for the contest.

“The defense played great, and that’s what we do,”Embry said. “We played well on that side of the football.”

Water Valley will head to North Panola next Friday night in a game that will go a long way in deciding who wins Region 2 in Class 3A.

The Blue Devils took on North Panola twice last season, falling in the regular season, but avenging the regular season loss in the north half championship game as the Blue Devils went on to win the 3A state championship.

Kickoff is set for 7 pm in Sardis.

“I know that they’ll be a very well-coached football team,” Embry said of North Panola. “It’s going to be a very good high school football game. We’ll enjoy tonight, and then get back in here on Monday and start preparing for them.”