This isn’t a situation the Petal Panthers are not used to by any means. After a 0-3 start to the season, Petal now turns its attention to Laurel in an attempt to earn its first win of the season, which will be a tall task for Petal coach Marcus Boyles and his team.
Even though the players and coaches are in an unfamiliar situation, Boyles says everybody in the program is plugging away trying to get better.
“Obviously, I wouldn’t say good, but nobody has hit the panic button,” Boyles said when asked about the team’s mindset. “We had a great day (Monday). They came to work hard and we’re just trying to build off what positives we had and correct the mistakes we’re making.”
Last week against Brother Martin (New Orleans), the Crusaders jumped up 28-0 before Petal scored twice to bring it to a two-score game. Brother Martin ended up winning 35-14.
Boyles was happy with his players for not giving up, but there are still areas the Panthers need to improve to get better on the field.
“Offensively, we have to sustain drives,” he said. “We’re struggling right now on third down. We have to sustain those drives and keep the chains moving. Right now, our defense is on the field way too much, and again, that’s part of our offense not sustaining drives. Of course, our defense can do a better job of getting off the field on third down. It’s just a combination of both.”
For the most part, Petal hasn’t been bitten by the injury bug after playing Hattiesburg, Gulfport and Brother Martin to begin the year. Sure, some players are a little banged up, but Petal doesn’t have a key player who will miss significant playing time.
It’ll need all hands on deck to stop Laurel’s offense, though. The Golden Tornadoes have two big running backs who have broken off big runs the last two weeks against Hattiesburg and Oak Grove. Although they lost those two games, seniors Michael Terrell and Zias Perryman have been a force to bring down.
Perryman has 309 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries so far in 2018, and Terrell is second on the team with 245 yards and three scores on 36 attempts. The running backs aren’t the only ones Petal has to stop either. Senior receiver Jontarious Henderson has 210 receiving yards on just seven receptions.
“We have to put enough guys in the box to stop the run because they’re really good,” Boyles said. “They’re an explosive offense that can make some big plays, but they can also grind out the yardage they need.”
Defensively, Laurel has allowed 36 or more points in losses the last two weeks. Senior Levi Walker leads the group with 33 tackles through the first three games, and Laurel has collected eight sacks as a team.
“They’ve had a couple of guys out who have been hurt,” Boyles said. “I’m not sure if those guys will be back or not, but defensively, they look like a Laurel team. They’re not really big, but they’re extremely fast. The defensive line gets off on the snap count and does a good job of getting penetration.”
