Offense averaging 424 yards a contest,  good air/ground balance

By Brad Greer

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the No. 4 ranked South Panola Tigers will look to wrap up a runner-up spot in Region 2-6A as they host Warren Central tonight at 7 p.m on Senior Night.

A Warren Central win however would muddy the playoff picture like the Tallahatchie River. Should the Vikings beat South Panola by three points or less and Madison Central defeats Greenville, Warren Central would be the No. 4 seed while South Panola claiming the No. 3 spot.

If Warren Central beats the Tigers by seven or more points, the Vikings will finish No. 3 and South Panola would slip to the No.4 seed.

Got all of that?

Warren Central rides into Batesville sporting a 6-4 overall record and 4-2 in district play after a 50-24 loss to Starkville last week. The Vikings are averaging 18 points per game while giving up 17.

Senior signal-caller Parker Kivett (6’4”,160) leads the Warren Central offense. Kivett on the season has passed for 1,397 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing four interceptions.

Junior running back Kentrick Thompson (5’7”,165) is the Viking leading rusher with 536 yards and five touchdown. Thompson is also the teams second-leading receiver with 23 catches for 209 yards.

Demond Patton (6’,162) leads Warren Central with 36 receptions for 588 yards and four touchdowns.

Darius Smothers is the Vikings leading tackler with 84 stops while middle linebacker Malik Sims has 82 on the season. Junior outside linebacker Taylen Smith (6’1”,195) has 17 tackles-for-loss and six quarterback sacks.

South Panola is riding a five-game winning streak after disposing of Murrah 35-8 last week. Nate Harris ran for three touchdowns while sophomore James Scott caught his first varsity touchdown pass.

The Tigers are averaging 424 yards per game with 287 of that via the ground game.

This will be the sixth meeting between the two schools with South Panola leading the series 3-2.

Warren Central won the last meeting 28-23 in a 2016 first round playoff game.