Claiborne Christian running back Chris Dickerson, center, is dragged to the turf by Tallulah Academy defenders William King, top, and Craig Clark during the Rebels’ 14-12 victory over Tallulah on Friday night. (Brian LodenThe Vicksburg Post)

[8/21/04]TALLULAH One long pass erased a spirited effort by the Tallulah Academy Trojans Friday night on a soggy Farmers Field.

Quarterback Hunter Heckel connected on a 51-yard pass to Josh Legendre midway through the fourth quarter, then Heckel hit Chris Dickerson for a 2-point conversion to lead Claiborne Christian to a 14-12 win in the season opener for both teams.

“He outran his man, I laid it up there and he made the play,” said Heckel, who completed only three passes on the night. “That’s all I can ask for, a good receiver.”

The touchdown came less than two minutes after the Trojans (0-1) took a 12-6 lead on a William King 1-yard touchdown run.

The touchdown was set up by a 32-yard completion on fourth-and-9 from quarterback Matt Roberson to Jonathan Dukes to the Claiborne 1-yard line.

“We figured (the pass) was going to be there, because we didn’t pass that much,” Roberson said. “It was there.”

Roberson completed only one pass, but a tandem of Tallulah backs ground down Claiborne. Dukes led all rushers with 102 yards on 23 carries, and King rushed for 96 yards on 20 carries and he scored a pair of touchdowns.

Both teams, though, struggled holding onto the ball. Each team lost three fumbles and Claiborne was intercepted once.

Heavy rains pelted the area for most of Friday, but by kickoff the rain had stopped, leaving the field saturated.

“We’ve always thought around here that bad weather kind of neutralizes things,” said Tallulah coach Jacky Thames, whose team defeated Claiborne in the playoffs last year. “We knew they had a pretty good squad, they tore us up in the spring, but we’ve improved a lot and showed a lot of improvement tonight.”

Tallulah held standout running back Dederick Ridley to 71 yards on 13 carries and forced the junior to fumble three times two of which set up Tallulah touchdowns.

King capped a 14-play, 87-yard drive with 7 minutes, 12 seconds to play in the second quarter with a 1-yard plunge for a score to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.

Claiborne took the next possession 50 yards on 10 plays. Heckel capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 6 with five minutes to play in the first half.

“We were in the game until the last play,” Thames said. “… We feel like we have the kind of squad that will get better as the season goes along. We have a lot of room for improvement, but we have a real good bunch.”

Tallulah will be home on Friday night against Riverfield at 7 p.m.