Pride throws for

4 TDs in road win

By Brad Greer

Senior quarterback Cadarrius Pride accounted for 295  total yards and five touchdowns to help guide the North Panola Cougars to a 37-13 road victory over Byhalia High School Thursday night.

North Panola picked up its first District 2-3A win of the season while improving to 6-1 overall. The Cougars return home Friday to host Independence High School, who lost a 21-17 thriller to Water Valley Thursday.

Byhalia meanwhile fell to 4-4 and 0-2 in district play.

Pride finished the night with 6-of-10 passing for 171 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 124 yards on 13 carries.

After a scoreless first quarter, Pride’s two-yard scoring run followed by Carl Robinson’s successful point after gave North Panola  7-0 lead with 8:38 remaining in the half.

After Byhaila knotted the score at 7-7, the Cougars regained the lead at the 1:38 mark as Pride connected with Robinson on a 45-yard scoring strike to give North Panola 13-7 advantage going into halftime.

The second half was all Cougars as Pride tossed touchdowns passes of 22 and 27 yards to Guicci Mabry and Roderick Taylor to extend the North Panola cushion to 29-13 over three quarters of play.

The Cougars iced the game on the first play of the fourth quarter as once again Pride found Taylor on a 40-yard touchdown reception followed by Robinson’s two-point conversion.

North Panola rolled up 435 yards of total offense that included 223 yards rushing and 212 through the air. Robinson showed off his versatility with 134 all-purpose yards.

The junior playmaker registered two catches for 65 yards while gaining 28 yards rushing and also completed a pass for 41 yards.

Devonte Pratcher chipped in with 11 carries for 34 yards while Lamekin Walls added 18 yards on four carries. Alex Gross provided 10 yards  on four totes while Jamarcus Nelson had nine yards.

On the receiving end, it was Taylor leading the way with two catches for 67 yards. Alteon Cooley had one catch for 30 yards while Stephen Edwards caught one pass for 28 yards.