Football Recap: Garret Hopkins' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Mantachie over Booneville

Mantachie extended their losing streak to six on Friday, dropping them down to 2-6. They took a 35-28 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Booneville Blue Devils. The Mustangs were not able to make up for their loss to the Blue Devils from their previous meeting back in October of 2024.

Garret Hopkins

Rushing Yards

10/17/25 @ Booneville	150
10/10/25 vs Alcorn Central	221
10/02/25 vs West Lowndes	163

Mantachie's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Garret Hopkins, who rushed for 150 yards and two TDs. Hopkins' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 150 rushing yards. Joshua McDonald was another key rusher, rushing for 86 yards and one touchdown on only 12 carries.

Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 1.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Jase Michael for the heroic effort on defense: he. Mantachie didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.1.

As for Booneville, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5. Those wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 33.5 points over those games.

Leading Booneville to victory were Tony Ogden and Kydon Smith. Ogden rushed for 13 yards and three scores, while Smith picked up 142 receiving yards. Those 142 receiving yards gave Smith a new career-high. Jack Sandlin also helped out by tossing the rock for 273 yards.

Looking ahead, Mantachie will take on Kossuth at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Booneville, they will challenge Alcorn Central at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Blue Devils will be up against the Bears' rather soft defense (which has allowed 30.25 points per game), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.