NP to play district newcomer Lewisburg in homecoming

By Brad Greer

Homecomming is a special time of year.

It is a time to name a queen, see old friends and is then capped off on Friday night by beating the stuffing out of a unwilling opponent.

The North Panola Cougars will celebrate homecomming 2007 tonight by taking on the Lewisburg Patriots in a Region 3 -3A contest.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron as this is Lewisburg’s first year of varsity football.North Panola enters the game 2-0 in district play and 3-2 overall while the Patriots are 1-4 and 0-2.

For the second straight week, the Cougars will face a pass-oriented team in Lewisburg. Last week, North Panola’s defensive secondary picked off four passes  in route to a 47-12 thumping of Byhalia. Bruce Willbourn intercepted three passes while Trey Tucker registered a 48-yard return to set up one yard a Cougar touchdown. Curtis Arnold and Chris Davis each had fumble recoveries. Arnold’s return was 60 yards for a touchdown.

“Lewisburg presents the same problem as Byhalia. They run a spread offense and will throw the ball 80 to 90 percent of the time,” said Cougar head coach Clifton Davis Jr. “They will line up in the ‘I’ backfield with an open set with the tight end. We will basically have the same game plan we did last week by using ball control and use the clock. We want to keep their offense off the field because their quarterback is an accurate passer.”

Injuries took a toll in North Panola’s victory last week as tailback Vernon Lewis and fullback Darryel Burdette left in the first quarter with injuries. Both players will miss tonight’s game. Davis said sophomore tight end Tyrus Mack has been working at the running back position during the week. Davis also said defensive end Brandon Williams, who missed last week’s game, will be in the starting lineup tonight.

The Patriots are led by quarterback Aaron Greenwood and tailback Tavius Johnson. Lewisburg’s lone victory came against 2A Strayhorn (41-14) while losing to Hernando (53-0), Byhalia (66-28) and Southern Baptist 49-6 last week.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The homecoming queen was announced at Wednesday’s coronation and will be presented at homecoming.