Tigers played well in Woods’ first game back

By Brad Greer
Not even a tire blowout carrying their  team equipment could slow down  South Panola as the Tigers put the finishing touches on Spring practice with a 26-6 win over  homestanding Hattiesburg Monday at  D.I Patrick Stadium.
The Tiger offense looked to be game ready after posting 223 yards of total offense in the span of two-12 minute quarters. Senior quarterback Patrick Shegog tossed four touchdowns to three  different receivers on 13-of-15 passing for 215 yards and no interceptions.
“One of the main objectives was to evaluate our personnel and see who can play and who can not. We will have to go back and look at the film to get a read on our overall performance, but this was a really good contest for us because we needed to go up against somebody else. You can evaluate your team better versus a quality opponent  like Hattiesburg. I do think some of the kids played very well, but as I stated we need to review the game film to see where we stand,” said South Panola head coach Ricky Woods.
South Panola found the endzone on four of its five possessions with the only hiccup coming on the third series when a long pass completion turned into a fumble that mark the only turnover in the contest.
Starting at their own 30-yard line, the Tigers marched 17 plays on their opening possession as Shegog connected with Quin Bradford for a 11-yard touchdown pass at the four minute mark to grab a 6-0 lead after point after attempt failed. The scoring drive was set up by an outstanding shoetip reception from Kanoda Lewis on third down.
After halting Hattiesburg on downs, South Panola stuck again as Shegog hit a wide-open John Railey for a 52-yard touchdown pass at the 2:12 mark to extend the Tiger lead to 13-0 after Blaine Ware’s point after.
Following Hattiesburg’s lone touchdown early in the second quarter, South Panola went to work again with a six-play; 70-yard scoring drive capped  off by a Shegog-to-Bradford six yard pass  to increase the margin  to 19-6.
The Tigers added their final score with 32 seconds remaining on Jordan Strong’s four-yard strike from Shegog followed by Ware’s successful PAT.
South Panola rushed the ball 14 times for eight yards with Shegog being sacked twice for (-minus) 19 yards. Derrick Cunningham registered four carries for 16 yards while Bradford posted 11 yards on six carries.
The Tiger defense held an Hattiesburg offense that averaged 47 points per game last season to 174 yards on 31 plays.
Railey led the South Panola receiving corps with four catches for 128 yards while Strong followed with three receptions for 39 yards. Lewis and Bradford both hauled in three passes each for 28 and 20 yards each.
South Panola’s ‘B’ team also came away successful with a 22-0 victory sophomore-to-be signal caller Bowen Williams threw a pair of touchdowns while Teo Collins added a five yard run. Jordan Middleton reeled in a scoring pass also.
Nadarrious Harris ran in a two-point conversion while Ricky Farmer was on the receiving end of a conversion pass from Williams.
The Tiger defense got into the act as Quin Benson registered two quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery  while Bryen Robinson and Demetri Jones also added quarterback sacks. Darrell Gee chipped in with a interception.
South Panola opens up the 2017 football season Aug.18 at defending state champion Clinton.