SP Tigers celebrate homecoming with 44-7 win over Southaven

By Brad Greer
If there was one Achilles Heel plaguing South Panola at times this football season it would be getting their sputtering offense into high gear on a consistent basis.
That turned out not to be a problem Friday night as the Tigers celebrated homecoming with a 44-7 rout of Southaven.
Junior quarterback Patrick Shegog threw for a season-high 170 yards  on 8-of-18 passing and a pair of touchdowns as South Panola improved to 4-1 in Region 1-6A play and 5-5 overall.
The Tiger defense was yet again its dominant self by limiting the Chargers to 166 yards of total offense while forcing three turnovers.
“I was really pleased with our offensive production tonight and you just wonder where that been all season. We have known the talent has been there and it is finally good to see things come together,” said Tiger head coach Lance Pogue.
Nine different ball carriers touched the pigskin as the Tigers rushing for 170 yards on 43 attempts. Markel Gleaton scored on two short touchdowns runs while Jamian Johnson led the way in rushing with 36 yards on six carries.
South Panola set the tone early by marching 63 yards on eight plays with  Jamichael Robinson bulldozing his way in from three yards out followed by Blaine Ware’s first of six successful point after attempts.
The Tigers found themselves in business on the next series at the Southaven 24 yard line following the first of two fumble recoveries by Robert Hentz, but could not capitalize on the opportunity as the drive stalled on the Charger 20.
South Panola missed another chance to put points on the board after turning the ball over on the Charger 18 as the second quarter got underway.
Later in the quarter, the Tigers got its offense rolling after Shegog connected with Jordan Strong on a 23-yard touchdown strike to cap off a five-play, 33-yard drive that was set up by a Shegog fumble recovery of a  muffed Charger punt.
South Panola added two more scores in the quarter to take a 28-0 lead at intermission. Gleaton bulldozed his way in from one yard out at the 3:07 mark followed by Quin Bradford’s outstanding 28-yard touchdown reception with three seconds left in the half.
“We stumped our toe a little bit there in the first half with turnovers but I was glad to see our offense break out. Southaven is not a bad team, they are averaging 26 points a game and for our defense to hold them to seven points says a lot about how we are playing on that side of the ball,” said Pogue.
The second half was more of the same as Gleaton added his second touchdown run from two yards out. South Panola’s special teams unit accounted for the next score by adding a safety to make the score 37-0 at the end of three quarters.
Sophomore Kanoda Lewis put the finishing touches on the game with an 11-yard keeper with 9:58 remaining in the game. Lewis also caught one pass for 22 yards.
Southaven avoided the shutout with 4:01 left in the game on a 31-yard touchdown pass against the Tigers second defensive unit.
Shegog followed Johnson in rushing with nine carries for 28 yards. Robinson chipped in with 19 yards on eight carries while D. J. Hall added three carries for 20 yards.
Other rushers included: Gerrian Key two rushes for 15 yards, Derrick Cunningham six carries for 13 yards; Bradford 13 yards on two totes and Lewis two carries for 17 yards.
Strong led the receiving corps with four receptions for 103 yards. O’Bryan Goodson and John Railey both had one catch.
A. J. Polk led the South Panola defense with six tackles. Eriq Kitchen, Randy Hunt and Jeterrion Draper registered three stops each. Hall recorded four passes-broken up while James Johnson deflected three to go along with two tackles.
South Panola can wrap up a playoff spot Friday when they travel to Columbus in a 7 p.m. kickoff.