SP Tiger football off to good start 4/4/2014
Published 12:00 am Friday, April 4, 2014
By Angie Ledbetter
After 14 days of grinding against each other, it was time for the South Panola Tigers to present the fans a glimpse of the upcoming 2014 football team.
Monday night in front of a supportive crowd in the Southaven spring jamboree against district foes Desoto Central and Southaven, the Tigers put on a show.
In the first game, the Tigers took on the Desoto Central Jaguars for two quarters shutting them down 41-0. The Jaguars started on offense but the Tiger defense stopped them quick to get the ball. Facing third down and 19 after a holding penalty was called, Darrell Henderson took the ball 70 yards to score. The PAT (point after touchdown) was good by Steven Collins.
At the 8:16 mark, junior quarterback Tyler Pogue passed the ball to Henderson who took it 75 yards to the five yard line. The next play Roosevelt Jones made his way into the endzone and Collins added his PAT putting the Tigers up 14-0.
Ryan Lee sacked the Jaguar’s quarterback sending them back to their own 25 on third and 14. The Jaguars weren’t able to pick up a first down so the Tigers took possession at their own 49. Henderson wasted no time on the next play taking the ball 51 yards to the endzone, but the PAT failed.
A few minutes later Desoto Central fumbled and Drelan Porter recovered on the Tiger’s 31. Pogue picked up 15 yards on a keeper and Jones took them down to the 11. Marquis Gleaton scored on an 11 yard run and Collins kicked the PAT giving Tigers a 27-0 lead.
Starting the second quarter Henderson went 70 yards on a quarterback keeper. After Collin’s PAT the Tigers took a 34-0 lead. The Jaguars had a 4th and 7 and went for a first down but Kasey Hankins sacked the quarterback.
With 3:50 left in the game Jones took the ball home from five yards out and Collins added the PAT to give the Tigers the 41-0 victory.
Henderson finished the game with 219 total yards.
Southaven
The Tigers defeated the Southaven Chargers 21-6 in the second game. They started the game on offense but could not move the ball down the field.
Southaven took over at their own 38 yard line. With 9:52 left in the first half they fumbled and Turner Rotenberry recovered for South Panola. The Tigers were not able to capitalize so Southaven took over with 6:33 on the clock.
Jones scored on a 31-yard run that was called back due to a holding penalty. With the clock ticking down to 35 seconds, Henderson took the ball from the eight yard line for the first score of the game.
Collins added his PAT to give South Panola a 7-0 lead.
Southaven started on offense the second half of the game and scored on a long run with 10:32 left in the game. South Panola led 7-6 after the two-point version attempt failed.
Pogue started South Panola’s possession with a keeper to get the Tigers to their own 30. Henderson took it from there, scoring on a 70-yard run passing several Southaven players. With Collins’ PAT, South Panola led 14-6.
Southaven was moving down field on South Panola and facing second down on South Panola’s five, Demetrius Market intercepted for South Panola. With 2:48 left in the contest, South Panola fumbled and Pogue recovered. Southaven took over with 1:54 left but South Panola’s defense prevailed.
For the last score of the game, Henderson cleared a Southaven defender (see photo page B1) from 10 yards out and then proceeded to score. The PAT gave South Panola the 21-6 win.
Henderson had 173 total yards against Southaven for a total of 386 yards on the night. He saw time at running back, quarterback, wide receiver, safety and cornerback.
On defense Lee had eight tackles and three sacks.
“Tonight we had to show everybody how we’re going to be next season and show them we haven’t lost anything,” Henderson said. “We plan to be back on top and win state this year. I think Tyler did great tonight but in the off season he’s going to get a lot better.”
Tyler Pogue said, “In the Southaven game, we came out and executed all of our plays like we were in practice and everything just went our way. Henderson is basically the heart and soul of our offense and we feed off him. He played a heck of a game.
“Southaven fought us a little bit tougher and we didn’t execute our plays on offense but the defense played a very good game,” he continued. “We’ve got to learn from this, come back in the fall and hopefully build off these two games.”
Pogue said he has lots of room for improvement at the quarterback position but he was some pleased with his performance here and there.
Tiger head coach Lance Pogue said he thought in the game with Desoto Central, the team had a lot of intensity.
“We were sharp offensively,” the eight-year South Panola coach said. “Henderson had a big night along with Jones. I thought we threw and caught the ball well. We played good defense at times.”
Coach Pogue said that against Southaven they let their guard down a little.
“I am not taking anything away from them,” he said. “We responded when we had to but overall I’m pleased with it.”
Pogue said he told the players after the games were over that they are not a defending championship team.
“We have the makings of a team to be in that position but we’ve got to be hungry, work, get in the weight room, take care of school work and state tests,” Pogue said. “Good thing about how we did spring this year is we have four months now of basically another second off season going into August. What we do between now and August will tell the tale and I think this group has that.”
As far as the quarterback, Pogue said he thought he had a good night.
“He scrambled a little bit and got out of trouble,” Pogue said of his son. “He threw the ball at times and one time had a big third down conversion against Desoto Central that was third and long. He got out of trouble and found somebody on the sideline. He just needs to play like the whole football team. The only way to get experience is to play and I think he’s put himself in position to be ready to do that. Now it’s just get out there and play, relax and have fun. I’m excited about our whole team with that heading into August.”
South Panola opens the season at home August 22, hosting White Station.