By Angie Ledbetter

A big defensive play on the Quistors’ final drive when Devin Clark caused a fumble recovered by Tiger linebacker Marvin Burdette sealed win number 81 for South Panola’s nation longest winning streak.

The nationally-ranked Tigers held off the second half push by the Olive Branch Conquistadors to remain undefeated downing the Quistors 21-13.

The battle between South Panola and Olive Branch turned out to be the contest fans and others had come to expect.

In a high-spirited atmosphere before an estimated crowd of 10,000, the 5A powerhouse teams from north Mississippi went to battle at the Leslie Pool Field in Olive Branch Friday night.

Improving to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in region 1-5A, the Tigers gave Head Coach Lance Pogue his 21st straight victory. The team celebrated by giving Pogue a Gatorade shower after the game.

The Tigers received the opening kickoff and never looked back in the first half of the game. On their first possession of the game, they drove the ball 71 yards in little over four minutes. On a third down and six, Tiger quarterback David Renfroe found wide receiver Xavier Lee for a 17-yard touchdown. Renfroe added the PAT to put the Tigers up 7-0 with 7:41 on the clock.

The Tiger defense held the Quistors to a 33-yard field goal by Taylor Earhart, cutting the Tiger lead 7-3, with 5:52 left in the first quarter. Draylon Sanford broke up a pass to bring up fourth down.

Running back Nicholas Parker answered with a one-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Tigers a 14-3 lead with 2:55 left on clock after Renfroe’s PAT. The touchdown capped a seven-play, 65-yard  drive.

An onside kick by Renfroe on the ensuing kick-off surprised the Conquistadors and paid off for the Tigers who recovered it at midfield.

Renfroe was on a roll as he connected with wide receiver Anthony Ladd for 23 yards for a first down. A few plays later, Parker went airborne into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown giving Parker 101 yards in the game and the Tigers a 21-3 lead with 8:57 left in the quarter.

“We worked on the onside kick all week,” said Pogue. “We thought that it was a situation to where we would have a good chance of getting the ball.  It was a surprise thing and they weren’t ready for it. At the same time, we have got a lot of respect for their offense. We thought if we could get that onside kick and steal a possession form them, the bonus would be to take that ball and score with it and we did. Sometimes it’s a gamble you take. If it doesn’t work, you give them the ball right there at midfield.  If it does, you get the opportunity we had. Fortunately for us, it worked out.”  

With 44.3 seconds left in the half, Quistors’ Earhart attempted a 34 -yard field goal but missed, his first miss of the season.

Renfroe took a knee to taking the Tigers into halftime leading 21-3.

When it looked like the Tigers might have the game in the basket, the Conquistadors came out a different team and owned the third quarter.

Going 62 yards on seven plays on the first possession that included a 33-yard touchdown by Keyshun Shipp, the Conquistadors got their momentum back. The Tiger lead was cut 21-10 with 8:54 on clock.

Earhart’s 25-yard field goal with 43.5 seconds left on the clock put the Conquistadors within eight points of the Tigers.

The Tigers’ defense roared back and took control of the fourth quarter. However, the offense was not able to put up any points in the second half. Facing a 4th and two on the Conquistador five-yard line, the Tigers decided not to kick a field goal.

After faking it, Renfroe kept the ball going to the far right corner but came up inches short of a touchdown. The ball went to the Conquistadors on downs with 3:42 left in the game.

“That play was again a gamble we took with not kicking the field goal,” Pogue said. “If we had known up front that it was no question it wasn’t going to work, we wouldn’t have called it. We thought it was there but we came up about a yard short.

“If I had known right now that it wasn’t going to work, I would have rather had the three points but again you could have gotten it blocked and run back for a touchdown,” Pogue continued. “It was one of those things that if you call it and it doesn’t work, you live with it. It was solely my responsibility and on that one deal, we came up a little short. I had confidence in my defense that if we didn’t make it, the ball would be on the two yard line.”

The Conquistadors were driving the ball down the field as quarterback Wilson was sacked by Clark causing the fumble and Burdette recovery that sealed it for the Tigers at the Conquistador 39 with 3:06 left in game.

“At times, we had some really good pressure on their quarterback,” said Pogue. “We had four or five sacks and that one was a real big play there at midfield with about two minutes to go. Devin got loose and got the quarterback and forced the fumble and Marvin fell on it. It saved the game for us.”

The Tigers won the battle for the 11th straight game in this series between these teams.

“Our guys are happy, although we’ve got a long way to go to get where we want to be,” said Pogue. “That is a good football team. To win on this road in this environment is big for us. We hoped to start fast. We’re getting to the point of the season where we want to play our best.”

Pogue said the offensive line has constantly improved throughout the year.

It is one of the strong points of the football team, he said along with Nicholas Parker. The offensive line started off with four new members this year.

“Nicholas has had a great year especially these last three games,” Pogue said. “I don’t think Nicholas showed any fatigue either. I thought he was really strong in the fourth quarter, too. He has been a work horse for us. You put that with the offensive line and then the ability to still throw the ball to some of our guys like Xavier Lee, Nicholas Brassell, and Anthony Ladd, and tightends Taylor Rotenberry and Reuben Corley; some of that helps keeps the defense honest. I think it’s just a mixture of all over in one.”

Another major concern was the defensive secondary. According to Pogue, the secondary has done a “great” job up to this point.

Pogue mentioned a standout player in senior Draylon Sanford.

“Draylon Sanford is a senior and his first year to start,” he said. “He is a kid who has hung with us in the program. I’ve been really pleased with him. He has waited his time and taken full advantage of it.”

The Tigers finished the game with 17 first downs. They had 172 yards rushing and 97 passing for total of 269 on 65 plays.

Parker had 169 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns. Renfroe was 10 of 16 on passing for 97 yards. Xavier Lee had seven receptions for 62 yards with one touchdown. Anthony Ladd had one reception for 22 yards. Renfroe punted three times for 107 yards. Nicholas Brassell had three kickoff returns for 78 yards and Anthony Ladd had one for six yards.

The Conquistadors had 13 first downs, 80 yards on rushing and 153 on passing for total of 233 on 42 plays.

Eric Watson had 10 carries for 44 yards. Keyshun Shipp had 40 yards on three carries and one touchdown. Clint Wilson was 9 of 15 for 153 yards passing. Taylor Earhart had three field goals.

“It was a great atmosphere for high school football,” Pogue said. “A big time crowd on CSS TV and they were really fired up. We got off to a good start. It was a big win for us just for the main reason is we have the opportunity now hopefully to take control of the division. There are some more big games left to play but to go on the road and beat them at their place was big. We are proud of it.”

Olive Branch came out fighting hard because they did not want the game to get away from them, according to Pogue. He admitted the Tigers may have lost a shade of their intensity.

“We didn’t plan on that happening,” Pogue said. “We wanted to come out and finish the same level we started the game. I thought we regained control in the fourth quarter.  We kept the ball for about seven or eight minutes in the fourth quarter offensively. They showed a lot of intensity and didn’t let up.”