By Angie Ledbetter

After wrapping up an 11-0 undefeated season last week, the South Panola Tigers will start a second season tonight when they host the Provine Rams from Jackson for the first round of Region 1-5A playoffs at Robert H. Dunlap Stadium.

South Panola is the defending 5A state champion, five years running and looks to make it six on December 5 in Jackson.

The Tigers are ranked No. 1 in the Clarion-Ledger Super 10, No. 9 by Rivals.Com and No. 10 by USA Today.

Other 5A teams ranked by Clarion-Ledger are Meridian No. 4, Oak Grove No. 5, Olive Branch No. 6, Madison Central No. 7 and Petal No. 8.

Class 4A teams ranked by the Clarion-Ledger include Wayne County No. 2, Noxubee County No. 3, D’Iberville No. 9 and Picayune No. 10.

In Region 2-5A action, Madison Central won the division followed by Northwest Rankin, Clinton and Provine.

Provine knocked off Murray for fourth place finishing with a 6-5 overall record and 3-4 division record. They started the season defeating Jim Hill 24-14 followed by a 22-20 loss to Callaway.

They won the next three games defeating Lanier 20-0, Wingfield 33-6 and Grenada 27-3. Northwest Rankin shut them out 14-0 on October 3.

They bounced back and defeated Greenville-Weston 8-0 the following week.

Madison Central handed them a 28-7 loss on October 17 followed by a 13-12 loss to Murrah. The next week Provine handed Warren Central an 18-9 loss and last week lost to Clinton 15-12.

Head Coach Lance Pogue said his team is looking forward to going into the playoffs.

“It’s going to be fun but tough also. There are no givens out there but we’ve got a good football team, as a lot of others do, but we’re just glad to be in that bunch. We’re looking forward to the challenge this week.”

Historically, Provine is always a contender in 5A and a solid football team, according to Pogue, but they struggled after losing its starting quarterback to a preseason inury. Pogue said the quarterback was an outstanding player.

South Panola expects more of a run game from the Provine Rams.

“After losing their quarterback, it sort of handicapped them somewhat,” Pogue said. “Coach Willie Collins has been there a long time and I have a lot of respect for him. He believes in playing good defense and running the football with a physical style of play. That’s what we expect out of them.”

Collins will bring a team of 17 seniors, 17 juniors, 23 sophomores and seven freshmen. Leading the team is senior quarterback Derrick Ishman, a 5’11”-155-pound. Running back is 5’7”-150 senior Jeremy Wilson, sophomores 5’9”-175 Antonio Wilson and 5’7”-165 Aaron McClinton. Other key players to watch are Jonathan Martin, Dondrego Cooper and Jadarius Hicks.

The Rams are no strangers when it comes to the Tigers. For the last two years, the Tigers have hosted the Rams in the first round of Region 5A playoffs.

Last year the Tigers hosted them on November 16, knocking them out of the playoffs with a 42-13 victory.

“We played them in the first round of playoffs last year and I thought they had a really good team coming back. They struggled throughout the season some, but lately they got things going and put a little of momentum together which got them a fourth place seed in the playoffs.”

On November 10, 2006 the Tigers played the Rams in the first round and defeated them in a much closer game 28-21.

“Until you win this game, it doesn’t matter. That is going to be our focus and I thought we did a good job of that last year. There is no need of looking ahead because if you do win, you don’t even know who you would be playing. What is over us right now is Provine and trying to play as good as we can against them and finding a way to win. After it’s over, we can see maybe where we stand then.”

The pregame show will be at 6:30 p.m. on FM 100.5 with Pogue. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Tickets will be available at the South Panola School District central office on Boothe Street from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Today. The ticket booth opens at 6 p.m. All seats are general admission.