Memphis area high school football takeaways Week 1: Fighting returns and lots of shutouts

Khari Thompson
Memphis Commercial Appeal

Week 1 of the 2019 high school football season is in the books. Here are five takeaways from the action. 

Football is back, so was fighting

Late in the third quarter a fight broke out between MAHS and MASE in their neutral site game at Melrose.

Three players — one from MAHS, two from MASE — were ejected.

In the official's report, the TSSAA commended coaches from both teams for intervening to prevent an escalating situation, saying "Well done." 

Cordova upsets Central

Last year, Central went on the road and eliminated Cordova in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

This year, Cordova picked up a 13-12 road win over Central to open the season.

Joshua Hastings picked off a pass in the Central red zone and his long return set up the go-ahead touchdown for the Wolves. 

Horn Lake falls to West Point

The battle of defending state champs from the MHSAA's highest classifications ended in a 34-6 victory for West Point.

Horn Lake's defense was stout in the first half, but West Point exploded for 21 unanswered points in the second half.  

West Point scored four touchdowns on the ground, two from Brandon Harris, one from quarterback Gray Berry, and one from 95 yards out from Dantaryius Cannon.

It was Horn Lake's first loss since its second-round playoff loss to Starkville in 2017. 

DII-AAA West looking strong

Region DII-AAA West went 4-2 in its opening games.

Defending region champ MUS rolled to a 35-3 victory over Ridgeway. Christian Brothers bested out-of-state opponent Bob Jones (Ala.) with a 34-26 home victory. Briarcrest demolished Madison Academy (Ala.) on the road. Pope John Paul II beat Nashville Overton 45-7. 

St. Benedict lost 41-0 to Senatobia (Miss.), and Montgomery Bell Academy lost 9-6 to Brentwood in overtime. 

There were 11 shutouts

There was some dominant defensive play in Week 1. Here is a list of the local games that ended in shutouts. 

Arlington 32, Halls 0

Bartlett 20, Douglass 0

Covington 35, Munford 0

Dyersburg 62, MLK Prep 0

Fairley 38, Manassas 0

Freedom Prep 24, Bolivar Central 0

Germantown 50, KIPP 0

Kirby 38, Hillcrest 0

Millington 20, Liberty Magnet 0

Northpoint Christian 40, Faulkner (Miss.) 0

Senatobia (Miss.) 41, St. Benedict 0