By Angie Ledbetter

 Penalties and turnovers doomed South Panola in the 6A quarterfinal game against Madison Central Friday night.

Madison Central defeated South Panola (9-4) 28-14 and earned a north half showdown with Olive Branch Friday night. Olive Branch handily defeated Northwest Rankin 34-3 to set up the rematch.

South Panola’s nine straight trips to the state championship streak came to an end Friday night. It was the year 2001, the last time the Tigers did not make the trip south to Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“We’ve had such a long run and won a lot of championships,” said South Panola head coach Lance Pogue. “It’s like life sometimes – it goes the other way. It just ran out on us tonight.”

The last time Madison Central defeated the Tigers was 1999, the years they went on and won the state championship.

“I’ve been coaching a long time and been through a lot of ups and downs but tonight wasn’t our night.

We’ve had a lot of success but it came to an end tonight but I’m giving Madison Central a lot of credit and wish them well.”

No. 4 Madison Central jumped out quickly against the No. 6 Tigers taking advantage of an interception with less than two minutes gone in the game.

Madison Central’s defensive back Shauntez Ball intercepted Bailey Lawrence’s pass on the opening drive and Drew Rowell capped the play with a one-yard touchdown keeper.  Chris Cooper added the PAT for the 7-0 lead with 10:37 on the clock.

South Panola got a glimpse into the future when junior running back Ladarius Strong found a way around the Jaguar defense and scored on two long runs of 85 and 76 yards, respectively.

With 9:16 left in the first half, Strong scored on an 85-yard run. Clayton Sibley kicked the PAT to cut the lead 21-7.

In the first half, Madison Central scored on a 54-yard pass and an 11-yard run. Madison Central missed a 42-yard field goal attempt with 1:30 left in the first half.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers were flagged for illegal substitution putting them on their own 15. Bailey Lawrence completed a pass to Ron Taylor at their own 24. Lawrence handed off to Strong who scored on a 76-yard touchdown with 9:28 left in the game.  The Tigers were flagged for illegal procedure so Sibley had to kick the PAT from the eight, but it was good for the final score of the night and season. 

Madison Central scored its last touchdown on a one-yard run with one minute left in the third quarter.
A few seconds before the quarter ended Jaguar’s defensive back Jayron Harness intercepted Darryl Henderson’s pass on South Panola’s 40. Madison Central tried to turn the interception into a 52-yard field goal but missed.

Madison Central had 290 total offensive yards, had 15 first downs, two penalties for 10 yards, two interception returns for 10 yards, two sacks and was eight of 14 on third down conversions.

The Tigers had 253 total yards, seven first downs, five penalties for 25 yards, was two of 11 on third down conversions and one of three on fourth down conversions.

Strong led the Tiger’s offense with 177 yards on 10 carries that averaged 17.7 yards per carry with two touchdowns.

On the defense Dashawn Lindsay lead the Tigers with nine tackles followed by Kendall Carr with eight.

Other tacklers include Temario Strong, six; Nick Johnson, five; and Issac Gross and Tony Conner, four each.

“We have 17 starters coming back… We’re not happy about it but we’ll have another day and we’ll come back strong.”