Linden steamrolls Chickasaw, sets up date with Brantley

LINDEN — The Patriots did most of their damage in the middle portion of the game, but remained steady throughout Friday night in a 42-0 squashing of the Chickasaw Chieftains to open Class 1A playoff action.

Linden ran the ball 43 times for 308 yards and held Chickasaw to -8 yards on 23 carries. The Patriots also passed for 145 yards on the night and only had to punt once.

“I thought our kids came out and executed our gameplan. I’m really proud of the fact that we had to play the game and make adjustments,” Linden coach Andro Williams said. “I was real pleased with the fact that we made the adjustments we had to make up front. We scored on every drive except one.”

More importantly, Williams noted, his team did not appear to struggle with a lack of focus at any point in the contest; something that has plagued the Patriots in the past.

“We didn’t have any void areas in the game where we lost focus,” Williams said. “We’ve got a young football team. We know we do. I’m real pleased with the experience that we’re getting. We’ve seen a lot of football and played a lot of it. We’ve got to continue to work at practice and get better.”

Linden got a pair of touchdown passes from D.J. Charleston. The senior quarterback hooked up with his brother and with Davonte Poole on scoring strikes. The Pats added touchdowns from Steve Edwards, Cordarius Scruggs, Keishaun Scott and Tywan Smith in the game.

The win moves Linden to 7-3 and sets up a second round clash at Brantley next week.