By Angie Ledbetter

The South Panola Tigers hosted the Provine Rams from Jackson in the first round action of Class 5A playoffs on Friday night and won the battle 20-8 in what seemed like hurricane force weather.

The Tigers battled the hard rain, strong winds and Rams for the victory to continue the winning streak to 87 and advanced to the north semifinals Friday against Northwest Rankin.

With a drizzling rain at kickoff, both teams got off to a sluggish start. The Rams received the opening kickoff but could not advance down the field. The Tigers took over first and 10 on their own 40 with 10:40 on the clock. The Rams got on the scoreboard first when quarterback David Renfroe was sacked in the endzone for a Ram safety with 3:01 on the clock to lead 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The fast and furious running back Nicholas Parker put the Tigers on the board with 6:20 in the second quarter when he scored on a three-yard run. The Tigers led 6-2 after Renfroe’s PAT (point after touchdowm) was blocked. That touchdown capped a 12-play, 99 yard drive.

After Parker’s touchdown, the weather came in from all sides. The wind blew from left to right and north to south and the rain came down fast, dropping the temperature quickly. It continued until the game ended, making it harder to play a mistake free game.

A few plays later, the Rams fumbled and JaPeri Mitchell recovered it on the Ram’s 10. The Tigers scored on a four-yard pass from Renfroe to fullback Reuben Corley with 2:52 left in the first half. The two-point conversion failed. The Tigers led 12-2 at the half.

The Rams came back in the third and gave the Tigers a run. After a snap over Renfroe’s head, the ball went to the one yard line where the Rams recovered it. With 8:45 on the clock, quarterback Devonte Manuel scored on a one-yard keeper but the two-point conversion failed as the Tiger lead was cut 12-8.

The Tigers answered on a Parker one-yard run. The two-point conversion pass from Renfroe to Corley was good to give the Tigers a 20-8 lead.

On the defensive side of the ball, David Conner and Marvin Burdette led with seven tackles. Marjarvin Chapman and Devin Clark each had six. Recovering fumbles were Mitchell and Taylor Rotenberry.

The Tigers had 260 yards of total offense and held the Rams to 59. South Panola had 16 first downs, fumbled once, two penalties for 10 yards and one punt return for 27 yards.

Parker lead the offense with 232 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns. Renfroe was five of eight in passing for 68 yards.

“We’re happy to win,” said Head Coach Lance Pogue. “We’re not happy with the way we played. I’m not going to say anything about the field conditions because it is what it is.”

 Though the new artificial turf at Dunlap Stadium prevented a muddy situation, the Tigers did not get off to a good start before the rain and wind moved in, according to Pogue.

“You couldn’t kick in the wind and all those sorts of things,” he said. “This time of the year, you have to be ready for those kinds of things. We just had to grind it out and hang on to win. We fought through all those things and came out with a win.”

Pogue said he thought at times they made some big plays defensively.  

“To me, it’s all about winning and getting to move on to the next round and I’m proud of that. We’ve got some things to work on this week.”

It does not matter to Pogue who he plays next week because everybody has a good football team.

“I just told the players that every time you advance a round, the competition level grows. We still have everybody healthy and that’s critical right now. Our focus is on us to improve this week in some areas.”

The Tigers will host Northwest Rankin Friday night at 7 p.m. for the second playoff round.

Other results from Class 5A playoff action are Olive Branch defeated Clinton 25-17, Northwest Rankin defeated Tupelo in overtime 19-16, Madison Central defeated Southaven 14-9, Meridian defeated George County 55-24, Hattiesburg defeated Ocean Springs 28-7, Natchez defeated Petal 25-21 and Oak Grove defeated Harrison Central 27-20.