LUMBERTON – The Lumberton Panthers are right where they want to be. They’ve posted a 3-1 record through the first four games, and the Panthers start their quest for another district title Friday night at home against Mount Olive.
Coming off a bye, coach Zach Jones said his team did everything he wanted them to do during the off week.
“I thought we got better,” Jones said. “We practice some things we weren’t doing as well as we probably should, and we got the chance to heel up and rest a little bit. Hopefully, it’ll set us up for a good run in divisional play.”
Jones said his team also got back to his well-known mantra.
“We got back to our motto of just take care of us, and let’s be the best we can be every day,” he said. “That motto is what we’ll take from here on out. Every week is going to be a battle. We know that because our division is very good, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Mount Olive won its season-opener over West Lincoln 26-20, but it has since dropped four straight. To make matters worse, the Pirates have only averaged seven points per game in those four losses.
Their four losses have come from Mize, St. Patrick, Bogue Chitto and Pelahatchie, and losses have come by an average 21.5 points. The closest loss was a 10-8 defeat to Bogue Chitto.
“We better not overlook anybody,” Jones said. “We have to come out and play. Their record is a little deceiving. They’ve played some good football at times and their quarterback has been out. He played a little bit last week, so I look for him to play and them to be a lot different of a team with him. We’ll have to play well, no doubt.”
Senior quarterback La’Travious McNair makes the Pirates go, according to Jones. He’s passed for 464 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions on 40 percent passing. He also has a couple of rushing scores, too.
He didn’t play two weeks ago against Bogue Chitto, but he returned to the field last week.
“He definitely makes them go,” Jones said. “He’s a playmaker so we have to make sure we can contain him. He can throw it and he can run it, so he adds a difference that they do have if he’s not playing. We have to know where he is at all times.”
McNair’s top two targets, seniors Denzel Magee and Zavier Tatum, have caught Jones’ attention, too. If his defense can get to McNair quickly, both his running and his ability to get the ball to his receivers will be shut down.
Defensively, teams have been able to score a ton of points on the Pirates, and Lumberton is averaging slightly more than 24 points per game, and the Panthers are averaging 220 yards on the ground per game.
“(Mount Olive has) kind of a similar defense to what we run,” Jones said. “I think the defensive line plays hard and their linebackers really get after it. We have to be sure we have those guys accounted and get a hat on a hat, get them blocked and give our skill guys a chance to make plays.”
