Tickets will be on sale at the South Panola Central Office, Boothe Street, on Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.  for $7. Gates will open at 6 p.m.

By Angie Ledbetter

Defense was the key to the Tiger’s victory in the 55-0 win over Desoto Central Thursday night with five interceptions and a fumble recovery.

The South Panola Tigers ended the 2008 regular season 11-0 and took the win streak to 86.

The Tigers took care of business early in the game against the Jaguars with a 35-0 halftime lead.

Senior JaPeri Mitchell intercepted the Jaguar’s pass on the Tiger’s 30 with 8:57 on the clock. That set up the first score of the night by Nicholas Parker on a 70-yard run. David Renfroe’s PAT was good to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

Senior linebacker Marvin Burdette intercepted a Jaguar pass on their 24 with 3:82 on the clock but the Tigers fumbled the ball a few minutes later and the Jaguars recovered it on their own 14.

The Tiger defense squashed that drive when Draylon Sanford intercepted a pass on the Jaguar’s 16 with 34 seconds on the clock. On the next play, Parker took the ball from 16 yards out into the endzone for another touchdown. Renfroe’s PAT was good for the 14-0 lead.

A few seconds into the second quarter, Kendrick Market intercepted a pass and the Tigers started on their own 36 with 10:54 on the clock. Five plays later, Qyendairs Griffin scored on a nine-yard run. With the PAT by Renfroe, the Tigers went up 21-0.

Domonique Carothers scored on a 26-yard run. The Tigers took a 28-0 lead with 3:45 left in the half on Renfroe’s PAT.

Senior dandy dozen linebacker David Conner had the fifth pick of the game on an interception with 2:19 left in the first half. Parker scored on a one-yard run with 27 seconds left on the clock.  Renfroe’s PAT put the Tigers up 35-0.

The only scoring in the third was a Renfroe 31-yard keeper with the PAT for a 42-0 lead.

New Tigers entered the game in the third quarter when Tiger head coach Lance Pogue started substituting. Lee Self relieved Renfroe as quarterback.

In the fourth quarter, Ira Perry scored on a one-yard run. The Tigers were penalized, calling for a rekick of the PAT.  The second PAT was no good but the Tigers led 48-0.

A few minutes later, Tiger Lakendrick Moten recovered a fumble. At the 5:46 mark, Haven McGee scored on a five-yard run and the PAT was good to give the Tigers a 55-0 victory.

The Tigers ended the game with 320 rushing yards on 30 plays and 172 passing yards on 13 completions for a total offense of 492. They had 20 first downs, one fumble and three penalties for 35 yards.

Parker had four carries for 88 yards and three touchdowns. Renfroe had three carries for 65 yards with one touchdown. Griffin had five carries for 63 yards with one touchdown. McGee had 10 carries for 56 yards with one touchdown. Carothers had five carries for 38 yards with one touchdown. Perry had two carries for three yards with one touchdown.

Renfroe completed 10 of 18 pasing for 126 yards. Self completed three of five passes for 46 yards.

Xavier Lee had five receptions for 83 yards and one kickoff return for 28 yards. Draylon Sanford had one interception return for 31 yards. Burdette had one interception return for 7 yards.

The Tiger defense held the Jaguars to 69 yards total offense and four first downs. The Jaguars had two penalties for 10 yards and lost one fumble.

“Obviously it’s a great accomplishment when you go undefeated in regular season,” said Pogue. “I was really proud of our team. I thought from start to finish we got better throughout the season. We’ve been very fortunate to stay healthy which is critical in developing team maturity. I feel we’re a better team that has improved throughout and we’re really looking forward to going into the playoffs.”

Pogue told team after the game, “Good job guys.  Now it is playoff time. Seniors, here it is. We have got to go one round at a time. We’ve got to run it out four weeks in a row. We’ve got to have good senior leadership and practice good. Let’s get ourselves ready to play for a championship. We made it this far. It’s too late to turn back now. Finish the job.  Seniors, this is your last shot so let’s get ready to roll. This is a fun time now.”

The undefeated Tigers ended the regular season scoring 374 points and only allowing 85 by their opponents.

Nicholas Parker ended the regular season with 1,742 points on 208 carries with 19 touchdowns.

David Renfroe ended with 1,584 passing yards with 12 touchdowns and he completed 101 of 175 passes.

The Tigers will host Provine High School this Friday night at 7. Provine was the fourth place team in Region 2.

Other updates in 5A from Friday night were Olive Branch defeated Tupelo 45-34. Olive Branch, No. 2 seed in Region 1, will host Clinton, the No. 3 seed from Region 2 this Friday night and Tupelo, the No. 3 seed in Region 2, will travel to play Northwest Rankin, the No. 2 seed in Region 2. Southaven, the No. 4 seed in Region 1, will travel to Madison Central, the No. 1 seed in Region 2.