By: Josh Troy, Clarksdale Advocate
9/1/2023
Curtis Kemp Jr. served as the offensive coordinator of Clarksdale High School, while Jeremiah Brassell was the defensive coordinator for several years. Today, Kemp and Brassell are both first-year head coaches at their respective schools. Kemp is the Wildcats’ head coach, and Jeremiah Brassell is leading the Coahoma County High School program.
The two long-time colleagues and friends faced off in the second annual Cat Bowl at Coahoma County High School in Week 2. The Wildcats (1-1) secured a 19-0 victory and are now 2-0 in the Cat Bowl. It was Kemp’s first win leading the program, and his athletes dumped Gatorade on him after the game, though he didn’t feel the same excitement.
“Maybe I’ll feel it in the morning,” Kemp said.
Kemp and Brassell expressed mutual admiration for one another. “I have nothing but respect for Coach Brassell. Coach Brassell, he’s doing a good job over there,” Kemp said. Brassell concurred. “I have nothing but respect for Coach Kemp,” he said. “We talked throughout the week. We’ve been talking anyway. We talk about the build-up to the game. To us, it’s good for the community. We’re both just trying to get ready for the district in the long run.”
Both teams made their share of mistakes throughout the contest, but Clarksdale was able to capitalize and turn them into points. The Wildcats drove the ball inside the Red Panthers’ 30-yard line to open the contest, but a sack from Red Panthers’ sophomore Zechariah Smith led to Clarksdale turning the ball over on downs.
Clarksdale was able to take advantage of opportunities in the second quarter. Wildcats senior Monkreus McGregory opened the second quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run. Senior Fares Moggalli’s PAT gave Clarksdale a 7-0 lead with 11:53 remaining in the first quarter. McGregory had a long run to put Clarksdale in position to score. Junior Jalen Rogers had a sack for Coahoma County with 5:07 remaining in the first half to take a scoring opportunity away from Clarksdale.
Senior Devonta Boyd fumbled a punt return for Coahoma County with 3:02 remaining in the first half. Wildcats senior Kyle Coleman tackled a Red Panther in the end zone for a safety, giving Clarksdale a 9-0 lead. Junior Macos Maiden had a 10-yard rushing touchdown for Clarksdale with 2:19 remaining in the first half, but it was called back on a safety. Moggalli was able to come back and connect on a 27-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining in the half to give the Wildcats a 12-0 halftime lead. Maiden extended Clarksdale’s lead on a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. Moggalli’s PAT made the score 19-0 in favor of Clarksdale. Both of Clarksdale’s touchdowns came on rushes.
“That’s what we were able to do, so we did it,” said Kemp about the running game. Junior D’Mario Stapleton was the quarterback for Clarksdale, while Boyd and senior Harlem Bell split time under center for Coahoma County. Coleman had a sack late in the contest for Clarksdale, while senior Erik Brown intercepted a pass on the final play of the game. Smith also recovered a fumble for Coahoma County.
“In the first half, it was all us because we were in the position a couple of times and we, both offensively and defensively, did not line up right,” said Brassell after the loss. “That’s one thing I’m going to fix next week because this game’s just a stepping stone to the district. We’re not worried about Clarksdale. We’re not worried about this. This is almost a measuring stick to see how my guys could compete against a bigger opponent, but we’re getting ready for district. That’s all I want.”
