By Angie Ledbetter

With two division games left before the regular season ends, the South Panola Tigers, 8-1, find themselves in the driver’s seat with a 5-0 undefeated division record. However, they cannot afford not keep their eyes in the rearview mirrors.

As the big picture in the race gets clearer, the Tigers have the Starkville Yellowjackets on their turf tonight and end the season with the Desoto Central Jaguars next Thursday night. The Olive Branch Conquistadors trail the Tigers with a 4-1 record having the Columbus Falcons and Tupelo Golden Wave left on their schedule. The Southaven Chargers are next in line with a 3-2 record with the Desoto Central Jaguars and Horn Lake Eagles on their schedule.

If the Tigers were to lose one of their remaining games and the Conquistadors won both of theirs, then the Tigers would still win the division. Worst case scenario, if the Tigers were to lose both remaining games and the Conquistadors won both of theirs, then the Conquistadors would win the division.

So the Tigers have to take care of business tonight when the Starkville Yellowjackets walk into Robert H. Dunlap Stadium. The Yellowjackets are 3-6 overall and 3-2 district. Southaven knocked them into fourth place after defeating them 27-16 on October 16.

The opening of the 2009 season found the Yellowjackets with a 0-4 start, losing to Noxubee County, Louisville, Meridian and West Point. They started the division off with wins over Desoto Central 9-3, Tupelo 14-7 and Horn Lake 34-6. Southaven defeated them 27-16 and Olive Branch defeated them 23-13 last week.

“We think a lot of Starkville,” said Tiger head coach Lance Pogue. “They are 3-6 but they’ve played teams like Meridian, West Point, Noxubee County and teams like that, so their record is a little bit misleading. They’re playing for a playoff spot. Their record may not look very good but they’re dangerous.”

Offensively Starkville is led by quarterback Jacquez Johnson, 6’, 205 pounds.

“He is an outstanding player that can run and throw the ball,” Pogue said.

Receiver Chuck Tillery is 6’, 185 pounds. Pogue describes him as a “great receiver” who played last year.

“Billy Shed is a good little running back. So they have a good balance of run and pass and capable of putting up a lot of points.”

The Yellowjackets have been outscored by their opponents 182-130. On the other hand, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 355-74.

“Their defense isn’t overly big but fast and very quick. The guys seem to run around and make a lot of plays. They have a lot of speed and quickness all away across the board.”

Does Pogue think they can stay in the driver’s seat in the division?

“Oh yes, we feel good about our chances but we just don’t want to let out guard down. I really want us to carry over where we finished the second half against Southaven. If we can do that then I’ll really feel good about where we’re heading.”

Pogue said he is totally satisfied at this point where the team is.

“I feel good about where we’ve come over the course of nine games,” he said. “We started in August with a lot of new faces and now all of a sudden, we have nine games played. I think one thing that’s really big for us right now is we have everybody healthy. We had a couple of guys out last week for various reasons but now we have everybody back at full speed. That means a lot.”

According to Pogue, the players are playing their best football right now.

“Hopefully we can continue that as we get closer to the playoffs,” he said. “The next two games are very important. You don’t want to lose any of your momentum and that’s our charge right now is to maintain and continue to build on the success that we’ve had the last six games. ”

The challenge for an undefeated division record had been a week-to-week battle, according to Pogue. Waiting for the younger players to gain some experience contributes to that factor.

“You hope not but you know there would be some growing pains along the way but I think we kind of survived that little stretch there,” he said. “We grew up a little bit and they know what we expect out of them now. We shouldn’t be involved in any situation now where we can say there was some youth there and some here. They’ve got the experience now and have overcome that. That’s been our biggest challenge but I feel good about where we stand.”

Kickoff is 7 p.m.