Commentary by Myra Bean

 Panolian Sports Editor

There may have been a few doubts concerning how far the rebuilding South Panola Tiger football team would go this year, but all doubts were put aside as the Tigers claimed the first-ever 6A State Football Championship trophy Friday night.

The Tigers also made history by playing in the first-ever “Snow Bowl Championship.”

Snow began falling on the opening kickoff and had covered the field during the second half.

It was not an easy season, as third year head coach Lance Pogue would tell anyone, but staff and fans alike watched the team mature as the season progressed.

After graduating two-year starting quarterback David Renfroe last year, coaches had to come up with a new scheme at the quarterback position.

That new plan included swapping two quarterbacks and employing the famous “wild tiger” formation to add another dimension for opposing defenses to consider.

The Sept. 4 game against Memphis University School (who went undefeated and won the Tennessee state championship last week, 27-10, over Brentwood) was a turning point, Pogue agreed.

MUS holds a 26-game winning streak and taught the Tigers a lesson early in the season by handing South Panola its only loss, 21-19.

That lesson was not lost on the Tigers who looked forward game after game as the plan and the team came together with a package that kept defenses off balance.

South Panola gave up 21 points both to MUS and to Madison Central in the north half championship. No other opponent scored more than 14 per game.

Five times this season, the Tigers shut out their opponents. In three other games opponents were held to single digit scoring with five others scoring between 10 and 14.

The Tigers scored 624 points and only allowed 126, averaging 8.4 points per game.

Tiger fans were out in full force last Friday despite the drive to Jackson and foul weather, with banners waving and posters supporting favorite players.

A sign by the cheerleaders said simply, “Earning our stripes, one championship at a time.”