2009 MHSAA District 1-6A Champions
South Panola Tigers

Tickets for Friday’s game are $6 and will be sold at the high school only Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reserve seating is not allowed at playoff games. Ticket booth opens Friday at 5:30 p.m.

By Angie Ledbetter

The regular season came to an end for the South Panola Tigers  on Thursday night at Robert H. Dunlap Stadium finishing 10-1 overall and 7-0 in district after handing the Desoto Central Jaguars a 38-0 shutout.

With the district championship in hand, the Tigers will host a first round playoff against Northwest Rankin Friday night. The Tigers defeated Northwest Rankin 34-13 in the second game of the regular season this year.

Qyen Griffin got the Tigers on the scoreboard with 8:00 left in first half when he recovered a fumble and raced 76 yards for the touchdown. The PAT by Nolan Parker failed.

Donnell Chapman followed with a five-yard pass from Self and the two-point conversion by Cassell Armstrong was good to put the Tigers up 14-0 at the half.

Dononique Carothers started the third quarter with a nine-yard touchdown with 10:25 left on the clock. The PAT by Nolan Parker was good for the 21-0 lead. A few minutes later Montez Griffin scored on a 15-yard reception. Nolan Parker kicked a 27-yard field goal with four seconds left in the third.

Ledarius Strong scored on a four-yard run with 3:06 left in game to cap off the scoring.

Quarterback Lee Self was 14 of 18 in passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Leading recievers were Nicklos Brassell with five receptions for 67 yards, followed by Griffin with four catches for 66 yards, one touchdown; Donnell Chapman one catch, five yards, one touchdown; and Nick Parker, one reception for 48 yards.

Carrying the ball for the Tigers were Nick Parker, five carries, 63 yards, Carothers, 49 yards, one touchdown; and Ledaruis Strong, four carries, 33 yards and one touchdown.

Leading in tackles was Issac Gross with seven, two for loss and half a sack. Also on the defense were Justin Wright, seven tackles, one for loss; Timothy Gleaton, five, one for loss and one fumble recovery; Josepf Pope, five tackles, one for a loss and one interception; Devin Clark, Taylor Rotenberry, Temario Strong, Dennis Draper and Antonio Conner had four tackles each.

Head Coach Lance Pogue told the team after the game, “Good job. You’ve got to continue to play good ball. You got to always play good defense in the playoffs and run the football. Obviously the kicking game is critical. We’re playing good football right now but we’ve got to continue to do that.”

Self said, “This championship means a lot to us. We’re going to carry some great momentum into the playoffs. We have a lot of respect for Desoto Central because they came out here and played hard tonight. We’ve been practicing really hard and everything has just been coming together. Now we have to keep playing the way we’ve been.”

The Tigers had 419 total yards, with 226 rushing and 193 passing. Desoto Central had 187 total yards, 43 rushing, 144 passing.

The Tigers take a 113-3 eight-year record into the playoffs this year. The Tigers have been in some national polls but have not broken into the top 25 this year. The Clarion-Ledger ranks them No. 2 behind Madison Central.