By Myra Bean
There is not much history between South Panola and Clinton but where there is has been explosive.

The teams enter the second round of playoffs with identical 11-1 records and have a mutual foe in Madison Central.

In 2000 Clinton retired South Panola from the playoffs in the second round. South Panola returned the favor in 2006.

South Panola, by virtue of its “dynasty” heritage, remains a top contender for the state title. Clinton flies under the radar of the nationally-ranked team 25 miles away.

 Clinton started the season with a 4-0 non-conference schedule defeating Brandon, Ridgeland, Brookhaven and Provine. The loss to Madison Central came in the first game of the district season, September 25. Since then, the Arrows are on a seven-game win streak.

 “Clinton is an outstanding team,“ said Tiger head coach Lance Pogue. “They had some chances against Madison, just didn’t make a few plays. They have a lot of confidence coming in. When you get to the second round, it seems like the competition gets better and better.  You just got to be ready to play. We have a lot of respect for them.”

Clinton escaped a defeat by Southaven last week, staging a comeback to win 31-23.

“You know Southaven’s good,“ Pogue said. “They just happen to make a couple of plays in the second half. That didn’t surprise me at all. I knew Southaven’s capabilities. So that kind of shows you what type team they are.”

Clinton will bring a “well-rounded” team to Robert H. Dunlap Stadium tonight, according to Pogue. Clinton’s strong point is its defensive line, Pogue said.

 “They have a lot of athletic guys on defense,” he said. “Offensively they run and throw well. They are dangerous. They have some big, tall receivers that are dangerous, good solid quarterbacks, good running backs and a solid offensive line.”

South Panola has a loss on its record against Memphis University School in early September.

“You say adjustments. We  have grown up a lot,” Pogue said. “We had a lot of young guys and they finally got some experience and are playing well together and got a lot of confidence. That’s  big right now, having confidence and they believe they can win.

 “We just have to continue to do what we are doing,” he added. “We are moving the ball, scoring points offensively, which is what you have to do in the playoffs. Defensively, we have to continue to play good defense and create some turnovers. That leads to success this time of year. We have to continue to play on the path we have been playing on.”

Pogue reported no serious injuries and everybody’s ready to play. He did ask for more fan participation at the game tonight. The wet conditions, along with health concerns, have caused many loyal fans to forego the ballgames this season. Pogue said the team needs the physical support of the fans at the game.

“We want to encourage all our fans to get out and support this team,“ he said. “We are proud we got a home game and we feel good about how we are playing. We want to fill the stands up and get behind this team because we are a fun team to watch and they want to do well. We all pull together.”

Tickets for tonight’s game are $7 and will be on sale at the high school from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The ticket booth will open at 5:30 p.m. Children five and under are free. 6A t-shirts are also on sale a the high school.

Pregame show on WBLE, FM 100.5 will begin at 6:15 tonight instead of 6:30. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Tickets for next week’s game upon a win tonight, will be sold at the South Panola visitor’s booth next Friday from 9 a.m. To 2 p.m. The winner will play the winner of the Olive Branch- Madison Central game for north half championship.

If Olive Branch wins, the game will be in Olive Branch. If Madison Central wins, the game will be at South Panola. Tickets for the north half game only will be $8.