By Myra Bean

No matter what North Panola head coach Derek King tried, Desoto Central had an answer in a 49-6 homecoming rout Friday night.

North Panola avoided the shutout on an one-yard run by senior running back Cedric Clay with 10:29 left in the game. The touchdown capped a nine-play, 64-yard drive. The PAT attempt by Quen Harris failed.
The drive was aided by a 20-yard run by sophomore starting quarterback Jatavius Farmer and a  23-yard pass reception from Farmer to senior wide receiver Jaquay Daniels.

Clay led the team in rushing with 36 yards on 14 carries. Farmer had 20 yards on nine carries.

Daniels led in receptions with 43 yards on three catches, followed by Willie Hibbler who caught four passes for 38 yards. Farmer had two catches for 32 yards and completed two of five pass attempts for 17 yards.

Martavious Butler came in as quarterback and completed seven of 16 pass attempts for 96 yards and three interceptions.

Following the game, King had a very long talk with the team about the actions on the field. Desoto Central head coach Matt Wallace had some words of encouragement for the team.

“I do not know Coach King. This is my first time meeting him. I have been doing this for 17 years and I have been where you are.

“I have been watching film from last year to this year and you are on the right track. If you will continue to do what he says, you will be where you want to be,” Wallace said.

 King had high expectations for the team against Desoto Central but nothing went right for the Cougars from the start. On North Panola’s very first play from scrimmage, Desoto Central got one safety, then another after a blocked punt with 5:33 left in the first quarter.  With two touchdowns in the mix, Desoto Central led 18-0 at the end of the first quarter. It was 28-0 at halftime.

“I was expecting a lot more discipline,” King said. “I was expecting a lot better execution on things we spent a lot of time on this week.”

North Panola ended the game with 157 yards of total offense with 113 passing yards and 44 rushing yards. Desoto Central had 286 total yards including 259 rushing and 27 passing.

North Panola returns home for the next two weeks for the final non-conference games of the season.
Friday, the Cougars will host South Pontotoc and on September 21 welcomes Benton County, head coached by former assistant coach Eric Rice, in homecoming.