By Myra Bean
North Panola’s 2014 football team has accomplished something other teams have found difficult – a way to start the season 3-1, something North Panola has not been able to do since 1990.

With a 34-32 come-from-behind victory over then No. 5-ranked 4A Ripley, North Panola proved that it is a program to be reckoned with.

North Panola tied the game at 32 after a one-yard run by Trai Sanders with 6:30 left in the game. Senior quarterback Jatavious Farmer’s two-point conversion gave North Panola its first lead of the game 34-32. The drive was aided by a 51-yard reception by Sanders from Farmer to the 20. Then Sanders ran for 19 yards and finished off the drive with the touchdown.

It was then up to the Cougar defense.

Ripley got the ball on their own 19 yard line but got stuffed by the Cougars and got only five yards on the possession. On fourth and five from the 24, the Cougars stopped them after a three-yard gain, forcing a turnover on downs.

The Cougar offense got the ball back on the Ripley 27 with 4:56 left in the game, but was not able to move it either. With plenty of time on the clock at 2:48 and two timeouts, Ripley got the ball on its own 18.

On the first play from possession, Ripley quarterback Tucker Childers was dropped for a sack by Cougar Stan Gross, his second of the night, with 2:30 left in the game. Following a reception, a holding call on Ripley and back-to-back pass interference and holding on the Cougars, Ripley was at the 42-yard line.
Childers threw way down the field, but Farmer caught the ball out of bounds. On the next play, Virgil Jones sacked Childers to knock him back to the 32, bringing up third and 14. The next pass was incomplete to bring up fourth and 14.

On the biggest play of the night, senior safety Willie Hibbler flushed Childers from the pocket, chased him down and sacked him to force a turnover on downs with 1:14 remaining.

All that was left was for Farmer to take a knee a couple of times to run out the clock.

Hibbler helped lead the defense with nine solo tackles, four assists, two tackles for loss, one sack and two pass breakups.

Also contributing on defense were Darius Thomas, 10 solo tackles, three assists, one fumble recovery, two pass break ups; Virgil Jones, eight solo tackles, five assists, two tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery; Mike Hollins, nine total tackles, one pass break up; Stan Gross, six total tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

The Cougars will take this 3-1 record as they start a three-game home stand this week with Okolona at 7 p.m. Next week, Friday, September 26, is homecoming with Calhoun City. The week following is district opener with Holly Springs.

Ripley took a 24-0 lead with 11:07 left in the second quarter. North Panola made inroads to the lead on back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter.

On a fake handoff, Farmer ran for a 24-yard touchdown at the 9:34 mark. The five-play, 61-yard drive was aided by a 17-yard pass from Farmer to Robert Oliver. The two-point throw attempt failed.

Ripley fumbled and Darius Thomas recovered with 3:29 left in the half. The Cougars converted that turnover into a 14-yard touchdown pass by Thomas from Farmers. The two-point attempt failed and the score was cut 24-12 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Cougars cut the lead further on a six-yard pass to Thomas with 7:48 on the clock. Again the two-point attempt failed and the score stood 24-18 Ripley. Ripley answerd with 2:21 remaining in the quarter on a 17-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was good to give Ripley a 32-18 lead.

As the quarter was about to end, Jones recovered a fumble with 43 seconds remaining. Going into the fourth quarter, the Cougars started their march to victory.

Oliver capped a five-play, 81-yard drive with a 26-yard catch from Farmer with 10:31 left in the game. The play was also aided by an 11-yard reception by Sanders.

The Cougars had a total of 442 yard including 323 passing and 119 rushing.

Farmer completed 18 of 34 passes for 323 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was the leading rusher with 52 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown.

Thomas was the leading receiver with 120 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns and two yards on one carry, followed by Oliver with 107 yards on four catches and one touchdown. Sanders had 76 yards on five receptions and one touchdown. Sanders also had 40 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown.
Hibbler had 20 yards on two catches.

Justin Connor carried the ball for 17 yards on six carries, followed by Jones with eight yards on one carry.