VICTORIOUS: The Cherokee Braves celebrate their win in the Battle of the Nations over the Choctaw Warriors in Philadelphia, Miss. on Friday, Aug. 25. (SALLY DAVIS/One Feather)
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. – The Cherokee Braves (2-0) put up almost 500 yards of offense as they won the Battle of the Nations game for the second consecutive year over the Choctaw Central Warriors (0-2) on Friday, Aug. 25. The Braves’ high-powered offense, which gained a total of 472 yards on the night, was led by junior running back Isaiah Evans who rushed 9 times for 153 yards – a whopping 17 yards per rush average – and three touchdowns. Tye Mintz, senior quarterback, rushed 8 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns and completed 3 of 8 passes for 110 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Cherokee gained an average of 12.8 yards per play while holding the Warriors to a 5.4 per play average. Isaiah Armachain, junior defensive lineman, and Byron Locust, senior defensive lineman, led the Braves with 7 tackles each. They were followed by Will Davis 4.5, Damian Blanton 4.5, Mintz 2.5, and Holden Straughan 2.
Both teams had two turnovers, a fumble and an interception each. Cherokee had 17 first downs in the game and Choctaw had 14. Choctaw had 274 total yards of offense on the night, most of which was due to quarterback Alex Ben who went 8 of 19 for 212 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The Warriors’ top rusher was Tristan Gibson who ran 19 times for 38 yards.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
6:08 – Graviel Velasco (Choc) 22-yard field goal; Choctaw 3 Cherokee 0
5:47 – Mintz (Cher) 67-yard run, two-point failed; Cherokee 6 Choctaw 3
2:08 – Mintz (Cher) 5-yard run, Mintz two-point run; Cherokee 14, Choctaw 3
2nd Quarter
7:34 – Evans (Cher) 4-yard run, Mintz pass to Sterling Santa Maria for two-point conversion; Cherokee 22 Choctaw 3
2:42 – Evans (Cher) 84-yard run, Mintz pass to Evans for two-point conversion; Cherokee 30 Choctaw 3
3rd Quarter
4:21 – Alex Ben (Choc) 45-yard pass to Braydon Ben, point-after kick by Velasco; Cherokee 30 Choctaw 10
3:37 – Mintz (Cher) 32-yard pass to Santa Maria, point-after kick failed; Cherokee 36 Choctaw 10
2:43 – Evans (Cher) 39-yard run, point-after kick by Tino Pete; Cherokee 43 Choctaw 10
4th Quarter
10:56 – Ben (Choc) 38-yard pass to Gerald Isom Jr., point-after kick by Velasco; Cherokee 43 Choctaw 17
1:19 – Isom Jr. (Choc) 45-yard punt return, point-after kick by Velasco; Cherokee 43 Choctaw 24
1:10 – Terence Ledford (Cher) 35-yard run, two-point failed; Cherokee 49 Choctaw 24
0:02 – Ben (Choc) 11-yard pass to Canaan “Storm” Nickey, point-after kick by Velasco; Cherokee 49 Choctaw 31
– One Feather staff report
