The Lumberton Panthers have blazed through their schedule through the first six games of the 2018 season. Besides a slow start against Franklin County, a game the Panthers won by nine, they’re beating teams by an average of 27 points per game.
East Marion was the latest victim, as Lumberton took down its region foe 34-8 Friday. Sophomore running back Robert Henry rushed for 166 yards and two scores – his fifth 100-yard game of the season – and the defense forced four turnovers in an overall dominant effort. Henry now has 933 rushing yards and 11 scores through the first six games, and the defense has picked up 21 turnovers – seven interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries.
Saying all of that, Lumberton coach Zach Jones still believes his team can get better.
“I’ll be honest, I think we have a long ways to go until we’re playing our best,” Jones said. “There are still some things we can shore up. We have to get everybody back healthy. When we get everybody back and we concentrate on taking care of us, making plays and doing our job, I still think we have a long ways to be our best. We’re improving, so I can live with that.”
The Panthers (6-0, 2-0 in Region 4-1A) will take a break from region play to host the defending 2A State Champions, the Taylorsville Tartars (7-0, 1-0 in Region 5-2A). In what’s become a must-see game for lower classification Mississippi football, the home-and-home series came down to the two teams both having an open date at this point of the season.
Jones and former Taylorsville coach Chuck Robertson wanted to have a marquee game on the schedule.
“It kind of fell right for both of us and it’s a good measuring stick to see where we are,” Jones said. “They’re the cream of the crop in 2A and they have quite possibly the best quarterback I’ve ever seen.”
That quarterback Jones mentioned is sophomore Ty Keyes, who busted onto the scene as a freshman with more than 4,500 passing yards 45 touchdowns, more than 543 rushing yards and eight scores. Through seven games in 2018, Keyes has collected 2,135 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions on 66 percent passing.
Jones believes he’s the best quarterback he’s ever seen in his 15 years of coaching, and if you stop him throwing the ball, which no team has yet, he can run the ball effectively. He hasn’t had to run the ball, though, but he’s averaging 5.3 yards on 28 carries.
“It starts with him and he makes them go,” Jones said. “He knows where to throw the football and he gets it out of his hands before the receivers get out of their cuts. He is very well coached, he is very well trained and he knows exactly what he’s doing. His talent is off the charts.”
Defensively, Northeast Jones scored the most points on the Tartars so far this season, with 25 in the season opener. Since that game, Seminary put up 20, but no other team has exceeded 14 points on the 2A favorites.
If there’s one difference from last year’s 15-1 Taylorsville team, Jones believes it’s the improvement it made on defense.
“Their defensive line gets after it, they have a really good middle linebacker who tackles anything that moves, and it’s going to be a challenge for us up front to run the football,” Jones said. “They’re really fast on defense, and if there’s a weakness, I have not found it yet.”
