By Angie Ledbetter
South Panola kicked off its district season with a sound beating of Horn Lake 63-26.

Both 1-6A teams entered the contest 4-0, but the Tigers came out offensively explosive on the ground and in the air for 606 total yards on 63 plays.

Tiger head coach Lance Pogue said since day in the spring he thought the team could be real explosive on offense.

“Sometimes it takes time,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts to it but we’re starting to get comfortable.”

A lot of credit goes to the offensive line.

“They’re playing really well together and that’s a big key for us,” Pogue said. 

In the rushing game, South Panola had 359 yards from four different Tigers scoring. Senior running back Darrell Henderson scored twice on runs of three and 26 yards. Tyler Pogue scored on a nine-yard quarterback keeper. Donald Twilley scored from 45 yards out and Markel Gleaton had a four-yard touchdown.

Pogue completed eight of 16 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns. He connected with Twilley twice for 42 yards and touchdown passes of 20 and 22. Pogue hit Demetrius Market for 102 yards that included a 71-yard touchdown pass.

Oluwain Hoskins caught a 65-yard touchdown pass for another Tiger touchdown.

Other receivers include Jamien Johnson, one pass for 22 yards; Henderson, one for 11 yards; and Cole Rotenberry, one for five yards.

“I think after five games Tyler is starting to get comfortable and have confidence,” coach Pogue said. “People see that he can throw the football and throw it deep at times. People have to be honest when they play our offense and can’t just gang up on any one thing. If we continue to do that, I think the explosive stuff will continue to be there.”  
                 
The Eagles were held to 71 yards rushing by the Tigers. Ephraim Kitchen led the defense with six tackles, two interceptions, three pass deflections and one fumble recovery. D. J. Hall had four tackles. John Ellis had three tackles, one interception return for 20 yards and eight pass deflections. Turner Rotenberry had three tackles, one interception return for 22 yards and three pass deflections. O’Bryan Goodson and Mario Love each had three tackles.

Anfernee Benson had two tackles and one sack. Twilley had one interception return for 20 yards and one pass deflection. Josh Short had two tackles and two pass deflections.

Eagle’s quarterback Dalton Minton ended the game with 17 of 46 passes for 178 yards, three touchdowns, five interceptions and one sack.

The Tigers took an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter after Henderson scored on a three-yard run but the extra point attempt failed. With 6:25 on the clock, Pogue scored on a nine-yard keeper and Henderson the two-point conversion.

After forcing Horn Lake to punt, South Panola fumbled and Horn Lake recovered on South Panola’s 35. That set up a seven-yard touchdown by Kameron Coleman but the two-point attempt failed with the first quarter ending with South Panola, 14-6.

South Panola went through the second quarter in high gear scoring five times on runs of 26 yards by Henderson and 45 yard by Twilley. The Tigers also scored on passes of  20 yards by Twilley, 65 by Hoskins and 71 by Market.

Horn Lake scored when Minton connected with KSaivon Mooney on a 15-yard pass. With the PAT by David Medina, South Panola led 49-13 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Twilley scored on a 22-yard pass from Pogue, his third touchdown of the night. With the PAT by Steven Collins, the Tigers led 56-13 with 8:31 remaining.

Gleaton scored from the four and Collins kicked his seventh extra point of the night giving the Tigers a 63-13 lead.

The younger players then took the field.

“We’ve got some good young players and every chance you get you let them get some experience,” Pogue said. “One player is Gleaton who’s a running back. He reminds me of Nick Parker at that age. He’s inexperienced but has great speed and is learning on the job.”

Pogue said they have some young offensive linemen who are getting some playing time.
“Jayln Galmore is a kid that rotates in,” Pogue said. “Coach Danny Robertson is doing a great job with those guys. We’re playing a lot of young kids in different spots and gaining some depth. On the other side of the ball on defense I’ve been really pleased with sophomore lineman O’Bryan Goodson. He’s come a long ways and kind of reminds me of Isaac Gross. He’s just going to keep getting better at every game.”

Horn Lake scored twice before the third quarter ended. Ketron Singleton connected with Todd Wilson on a 27-yard pass and the PAT by Medina was good.

Minton hit Singleton with a 17-yard touchdown pass and Medina ended it with his PAT. The Tigers held on to their 63-26 lead in the fourth quarter when neither team scored.
The Tigers will travel to Olive Branch Friday for another district showdown at 7 p.m.