It’s pretty simple for the Petal Panthers. Win and they’re in the 6A playoffs.
After losing to Meridian two weeks ago, the Panthers (6-4, 4-2 in Region 3-6A) are forced to sweep their final games of the season to make the postseason. Petal took care of business last week against George County, but a road game with Terry (7-4, 3-3) looms Thursday night.
Petal isn’t technically eliminated from the postseason with a loss, but Meridian would have to lose to George County for it to have a chance. The Bulldogs would be eliminated with a loss, however.
“The kids understand what’s at stake and we just need to have a great week of practice and come out ready to play Thursday night,” Petal head coach Marcus Boyles said.
The Panthers were in cruise control prior to the Meridian loss, with wins over Oak Grove, Brandon and Jim Hill, but the setback to the Wildcats forced the team to take a long look into a mirror.
“We went out against Meridian and put ourselves in a bind by losing that game, so we had to win against George County and now this week we have to win against Terry,” Boyles said. “I thought we were really focused and had a great week of practice. We went out Friday night and took care of business and really did what we had to do.”
The Bulldogs’ offense features a playmaker who can play all over the field. Senior Tyler McDaniel will line up at quarterback, receiver and running back. He began the season as the quarterback, mostly running the ball from the position. With the statistics only missing last week’s loss to Meridian, he’s tallied 645 passing yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions on 51-of-90 passing.
Running the ball, he has 1,124 yards and 11 touchdowns on 145 rushing attempts. In late September, Terry moved him out wide in losses to Brandon and Pearl, but it wasn’t until the 28-27 win over Oak Grove when he had a breakout game at receiver. He had 117 yards and a score on 10 receptions in that contest.
Senior Tyrek Pegues has been taking over quarterback duties when it’s not McDaniel, and he has completed 68 percent of his passes (30-for-44) for 340 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
“You have to understand who’s in the backfield, and they will throw the ball if (McDaniel) is at quarterback,” Boyles said. “If he’s at quarterback, look for a lot of quarterback runs and that kind of stuff, then if the other kid is at quarterback, then they kind of run their whole offense.”
On the other side of the ball, Terry’s defense has had some great performances, but also it has allowed some points in other games. The defense allowed less than 10 points in five games this season, two in region play, and opponents are averaging 16 points a game when playing Terry.
Junior Keshaun Blackmon leads the unit with14 tackles for a loss and he’s second on the team with six sacks. Senior Albert Spires has 6.5 sacks to lead the team.
“They’re really good up front,” Boyles said. “Their defensive line is really strong and physical, so they get after it, the linebackers run well and they have some big kids. We have our work cut out for us.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Thursday in Terry.
