Quin Bradford carried the ball for South Panola against Greenville last week.

The Panolian photo by Andy Young

By Brad Greer

Fresh off a 19-14 win over Clarksdale last Friday, the South Panola Tigers look to ride the momentum of a modest two-game winning streak as they host the always tough Memphis University School Owls in a 7 p.m kickoff.

Tonight will be the eighth meeting between the two schools, which began in 2009, has South Panola holding a slim 4-3 lead. The Owls took advantage of six Tiger turnovers in route to a 29-0  victory last year in Memphis.

MUS enters the contest at 2-2 on the campaign and is looking to break a streak of its own after falling short in its last two outings.

The Owls breezed through the first two weeks of the season with wins over Ridgeway (37-16) and Kingsbury (46-6) but has since lost to Seminole Ridge, (Fla.) 20-19 and Nashville-based Montgomery Bell Academy 28-21 in overtime last week. MUS will be looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2003.

MUS is led on offense by quarterback Bobby Bell. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Bell has thrown for 494 yards and five touchdowns to go along with three interceptions. Bell also has rushed for 174 yards on 44 carries and a team-leading four touchdowns.

Senior Tide Faleye (5’10”-195) leads MUS in rushing with 339 yards on 60 carries and three touchdowns. Maurice Hampton (6’, 206) is the main receiving threat with 14 catches for 290 yards and two scores. The LSU baseball signee also doubles in the Owl defensive backfield.

A pair of linebackers anchor the MUS defense as junior Dorian Hopkins (5’11”-215) leads the squad with 32 tackles followed by senior Buchanan Dunavant (5’10”-200) with 24 stops. The Owls are averaging 173 yards rushing and 159 yards through the air.

South Panola meanwhile will lean on a defensive unit that held Clarksdale to 75 yards rushing last week. Linebackers Derrick Cunningham, Wade Thornton, Jaqualin Gillespie and Alexander Jordan spearheads the unit. Gillespie has totaled 16 tackles in the last two games. Jameel Thompson will also be thrown into the mix.

The Tiger defensive line includes C. J. Hardrick, Robert Hentz, Terry Bishop and Lakendrick Willingham. The secondary includes  Jordan Strong,  Morris House and Caleb Grayer.

South Panola’s offensive line consists of Brandon Johnson, Terrick Bibbs, Jamaul Lofton, Thomas Turner and Lacory Pegues.