NEW ALBANY – After such an emotional, hard-fought win against Pontotoc in a battle of the unbeatens, Chad Cook wasn’t sure if his team would experience any type of a letdown against New Albany.

Any concerns he had in those regards were quickly erased Friday night as the Red Raiders kept their unblemished record intact with a convincing 30-7 win against the Bulldogs.

Shannon, which ran its record to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in Division 1-4A play, bolted out to a 6-0 lead in the opening quarter on 39-yard scoring strike from Legilbert Bogan to Donovan Rogers before adding three more touchdowns in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.

“I thought this was big for us, especially coming off the Pontotoc win,” Cook said. “I was anxious to see how we would respond on the road. We came out and executed, and when you win on the road, it’s always good.”

Two of Shannon’s touchdowns in the second quarter were the result of Keon McGaughy’s legs.

The senior running back first found the end zone from 3 yards out to extend the lead to 12-0.

Comfortable lead

After Bodarius Taylor scored from the 1 to make it an 18-0 affair, McGaughy dove in from the 2 to put his team comfortably ahead at 24-0 befoe the break.

In the third quarter, Shannon’s final points came on another Taylor run, this time from the 3.

But in the fourth, New Albany denied the Red Raiders’ shutout attempt when Kareem Brown hauled in an 82-yard pass from Tyler Basil.

“You never know how kids are going to respond,” said Cook, whose team battles undefeated Itawamba AHS on Friday in Fulton in what will be a marquee matchup. “I thought we did pretty good tonight. We fought, played hard and got the W. That’s about all you can ask for.”

New Albany, which fell to 5-5, 1-3, closes out the regular season on Friday at Tishomingo County. The Bulldogs need a win to have any chance of making the playoffs.