By Angie Ledbetter

The 7 & 8 year old Batesville Steelers team ended their football season with a Turkey Bowl Championship at North Panola on Saturday, November 21 after shutting out the Sardis Falcons 12-0.

Janani Dean scored a 70 yard touchdown run and a 35 touchdown run to help his team win.

Another key player on the offense was Kenneth Jefferson who had a 30 yard run.  On the defense side of the ball, Terrick Bibbs caused two fumbles and recovered one. Ryan Whitehead had 5 tackles.

Head Coach James Dean was excited about his team. “This is my second year to coach them and it’s the best group I’ve had. They played seven games and were undefeated going into the semi finals but lost before a trip to the Superbowl.”

“These kids will be ready to play football when they get to South Panola. The next thirteen or fourteen years will be in good condition as far as football.”

The Turkey Bowl is a season ending game that was put together for the kids to end the season. In the past it was played at Horn Lake but this year they wanted to do something different, landing it in Sardis.

Fred Hentz, the coordinator thanked the entire community for its support for all of the kids during the season.

“I appreciate all the support that we got from the community and the kids do also. The future is bright for these kids.”