With two games left on the schedule, Petal coach Marcus Boyles said his team has to play with a sense of urgency.
The Panthers (5-4, 3-2 in Region 3-6A) travel to George County (2-8, 1-4) this week then finish the season with a road game to Terry, and they could still very well miss out on the playoffs if things shake out against them. There are six teams vying for four playoff spots, while only Brandon and Pearl can claim the region title.
“Here’s the thing, we have to win out,” Boyles said. “We have to win the next two ballgames to make the playoffs. Bottom line.”
Petal came out of the gate with a touchdown in last week’s loss to Meridian, but Boyles said Meridian came out of the locker room more ready to play.
“Meridian came in here having to win to keep its playoff chances alive, and I think they came out of the locker room with a little bit more sense of urgency than we did,” Boyles said. “The first half, we opened with a first-drive touchdown, then on offense, we really didn’t get a whole lot else going in the first half.”
In the second half, Boyles said he didn’t make many adjustments at the break, but instead needed his players to play with more passion, and they did. Boyles gave credit to Meridian, though, for stopping his offense on fourth down late in the game with a chance to tie it.
The Wildcats didn’t have an impressive win-loss record going into the game, and neither does this week’s opponent, George County.
“For us, it’s take care of your opponent,” Boyles said. “Treat your opponent with great respect, come out ready to play and quit overlooking people for whatever reason.”
The Red Rebels began the year with a wing-T offense, but they quickly moved away from it a few games into the season. Now, they just try to get the ball in the hands of their best players. They’ve been held to less than 40 rushing yards in four of their five region games this season, as George County gained 162 yards against a winless Jim Hill team.
Sophomore Jonathan Howard played quarterback last week, and he passed for 139 yards on 12-of-30 passing with two interceptions. Passing statistics were not made available for the two games prior.
“They’ve played a couple of different quarterbacks,” Boyles said. “One is a really good athlete and it kind of makes them go when he’s in there at quarterback. They move him around, though, to try and get him the ball in open field, and they do different things on offense.”
Defensively, teams have scored some points on George County this year. Pearl put up 49, Brandon scored 49 and Terry had 23, but the Red Rebels held Jim Hill to a goose egg, and Oak Grove only scored 17.
Highly touted defensive recruit, sophomore McKinnely Jackson, has been a nuisance to every offense George County has played. The 6-foot-3, a 275-pound lineman has six sacks, 30 tackles for a loss and 16 quarterback hurries.
Still, though, it’s up to Petal if it wants to see success on offense.
“They have good linebackers, one really and really good defensive lineman,” Boyles said. “It’s really not about George County, it’s about us and us getting ready to play, going out, playing with a sense of urgency and with great passion.”
