The Petal Panthers had to wait two weeks before taking the field after their first win of the season. At times, the product on the field wasn’t pretty, but they put everything together two weeks ago against Laurel.
Petal took down the Tornadoes 27-0 in a total team effort. Prior to the game, Petal coach Marcus Boyles wanted to see his defense get off the field on third down more. On the flip side, the offense had to convert more third downs to allow the defense to rest.
The team’s mindset was different, too, Boyles said. For the first time all season, he thought his team had four really good days of practice.
“(The offense) moved the ball and were able to convert some third downs, which kept our defense off the field,” Boyles said. “I thought that helped our defense because they’ve played a lot of snaps the previous two games. I think our defense did a good job on third down getting off the field. You have to help the defense out, but at the same times, the defense has to help itself out by getting off the field on third down. I think it’s a combination of both.”
Juniors Micah McGowan and Rashad Handford continue to split time at running back, as both have shown flashes of success this season. Handford had the big night against Laurel, though, rushing for more than 200 yards.
“(Handford) looked good,” Boyles said. “We were able to run the football, and I’m definitely pleased with the whole running game. (Handford) and Micah are still alternating there and both are doing a good job. Both had really good runs, but Rashad had the big night.”
After a bye week of getting back to the basics and introducing their next opponent, the Panthers are back in action Friday at the defending 6A State Champions, the Pearl Pirates.
Pearl began the season with wins over Brookhaven and Warren Central before falling to Northwest Rankin and Madison Central. It graduated a ton of seniors off the state championship team, but Boyles sees the same Pearl team.
“Offensively, very similar to the same thing,” he said. “They want to run power, counter and run the football at you. That’s what they do. Honestly, you’ve got to make them one-dimensional. We have to stop the run. It’s the same thing every week. You have to stop the run.”
The Pirates are only averaging 56 passing yards per game, as sophomore Shade Foster is 22-for-32 for 168 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Junior running back Kenyatta Terrell leads the offense with 269 yards and four touchdowns on 71 carries – 47 more carries than anybody else on the team.
Defensively, Pearl hasn’t recorded an interception yet, but it has picked up four fumbles and it’s collected 16 tackles for a loss. It held opponents to just 21 points in the two wins, but Northwest Rankin scored 42 and Madison Central put up 35 points.
“It’s a team that is dangerous at home,” Boyles said. “On defense, you see a team that’s really flying around to the football.”
