By Angie Ledbetter

Round one of the playoffs went to the South Panola Tigers as they crushed the Murrah Mustangs 42-14 Friday night.

The Tigers advance to the quarterfinals Friday when they travel to Madison Central to take on the Jaguars who defeated Tupelo 38-21.

Other 6A north playoffs finals included Olive Branch over Clinton 49-14 and Northwest Rankin edging Southaven 28-20.  

Wide receiver Tony Conner was the difference maker for the Tigers as he rushed for 167 yards and scored three touchdowns while completing one pass for a touchdown. Conner also had three touchdowns negated in the first half on penalties.

Tiger head coach Lance Pogue has never been involved in a game with three touchdowns called back in one half.

“Our guys were playing so hard with a lot of energy and I was proud of the way they bounced back after not letting that affect them. ”

The Tigers opened the game with a 7-0 lead against the Mustangs on a 10-yard pass over the middle from Conner to Ron Taylor. Clayton Sibley’s PAT (point after touchdown) capped it with 10:48 on the clock.

After forcing a Mustang punt from the Tiger 30,  Temario Strong blocked the kick and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 4:39 remaining in the second quarter.

A few minutes later Murrah’s Chris Webster threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Damarius Brown for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7 after the kick.

The Tigers increased their lead with 2:53 left in the first half on a 67-yard touchdown run by Conner. Sibley’s PAT gave the Tigers a 21-7 lead.

After receiving the kickoff the Mustangs took the ball on their own 19. On an 81-yard pass from Webster to Fred Franklin, Murrah scored and cut the lead 21-14 after Wallace’s PAT with 2:28 remaining in the second quarter.

Conner scored the last Tiger touchdown of the half with 42 seconds to go, capping a seven-play, 55-yard drive. Sibley’s PAT gave the Tigers a 28-14 halftime lead.

Conner scored his last touchdown on a 26-yard run after the Mustangs punted the ball out of bounds at their own 43. Sibley’s PAT gave the Tigers a 35-14 lead.

The Tigers last score of the night was a 15-yard touchdown from Darrell Henderson to Taylor with 3:35 left in the game.

The PAT by Sibley capped a three-play 28-yard drive with 3:35 left in the game.

Webster was sacked six times by the Tigers in the form of Kendall Carr with two, Temario Strong, Dashawn Lindsay, Nick Johnson and Issac Gross with one sack each.

“The defense played great tonight other than a couple of big plays on a couple of breakdowns,” Pogue said.

Gross led the defense with seven tackles while Lindsay and LaKeddrick Flowers had five each. Carr had four followed by Conner with three and two interceptions. Strong recorded three tackles and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, his second of the season. Johnson and Javarius Taylor had two tackles each.

The Tigers out gained the Mustangs 332-291 in total offensive yards.

Bailey Lawrence was three of six for 17 yards passing while Henderson was one of one for 15 yards with one touchdown. Conner was one of one for 10 yards with one touchdown.

“I was proud of Bailey Lawrence’s first time in action with a playoff game on the line,” Pogue said. “Darrell Henderson had an extended role offensively tonight and I’m proud of him.”

Taylor had two receptions for 25 yards with two touchdowns. Harris had two for 11 yards and Hunter Lawrence had one for six yards.     

Another area Pogue was pleased with was the kicking game.

“We’ve put a lot of work into our kicking game. The kickoff team has really done a great job being more physical and really sound. They’re not really giving up any returns and in return that really helps our defense.”