By Angie Ledbetter

South Panola fans will “paint the stands red” to kick off the 2010 playoff season tonight.

The Tigers will host the Grenada Chargers in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Fans will be wearing a T-shirt that says “You can’t spell playoffs without SP – South Panola.” Tonight marks the ninth straight year for the Tigers to be in the playoffs.

The Grenada Chargers (4-7 overall and 4-3 district) will walk into Robert H. Dunlap Stadium to face some unfamiliar faces this year as they take on the undefeated Tigers, 11-0. The only other undefeated team in 6A in the state is Meridian.

The last time the two teams met in 2008 the Tigers won the match 40-2 in the third game of the regular season and in 2007 the Tigers won 41-3.

Head Tiger coach Lance Pogue said, “Besides getting to the state championship, making the playoffs is the highest level you can achieve.”

To the team and coaches, this time has a different feel and atmosphere, according to Pogue.

“All the kids and coaches get so excited about it,” he said. “If you get beat it’s all over so I think it’s a time to refocus a little bit and try to play your best.”

The Chargers started the season with four straight losses. They beat Vicksburg 54-44 before losing to Clinton 51-30 and Northwest Rankin 37-6. The following week Grenada defeated Greenville Wesson 27-9 and then lost to Madison Central 48-12. Their last two wins came by defeating Murrah 19-0 and Warren Central 15-10. They are the No. 4 team in Region 2-6A. Grenada has been outscored by its opponents 344-216.

Pogue said the Chargers have gotten better lately.

“They won games in their league that they had to win to get in,” he said. “The Chargers are a solid team but lost some close games this year. They played Clinton and Northwest Raking tough and had some bright spots against Madison Central. They’re a team that you just don’t hear a lot about because they get overshadowed by Madison Central and some of those teams.”

With the playoffs starting, the slate is wiped clean for everyone.

“There’s no margin for error and Grenada has just as good of a shot as anyone else,” added Pogue. “We don’t want to take anybody lightly.”

Leading the Chargers will be No. 17 quarterback Payne Horan, a 6’2”/185lb sophomore who has scored 11 touchdowns.

“It’s his first year to start but he can really throw the football and has some good receivers,” Pogue said. “He seems like a guy who is calm under pressure and a good leader on the offense.”

Pogue said he is very impressed with their receivers and running backs. He calls them “very talented and fast.”

“They present some tough challenges for us which I think is good,” he said. “Our defense needs to have some opportunities to get tested because I know it’s coming.”

Leading receiver is No. 4 Cedric Tillman, who had 469 yards on 29 receptions. He has rushed the ball 122 times for 616 yards and six touchdowns.

“He’s a guy that makes a lot of plays for them,” Pogue said.

Another Charger receiver is No. 11 Glenn Parker who has 33 receptions for 462 yards.

On defense No. 19 Marquiz Edget has 85 tackles and No. 61 Charles Gaston has 53 tackles.

Pregame starts at 6 p.m. on 100.5 FM and kickoff is 7 p.m. go to www.panolian.com and in the left hand corner press the South Panola Football live streaming box to see the pregame and game on iHigh.com.

Tickets for the game are $7 and may be purchased at the high school from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The ticket booth will open at 6 p.m. There are no reserved seats for playoff games.

Pogue sent a message to the Tiger fans.

“I’d like to encourage all of the fans to come out and support this team,” he said. “It was a premium to get a home game and you have to win to advance. Every game is big so hopefully we can get a big crowd there to get behind them.”