By Angie Ledbetter

The South Panola Tigers earned their ninth straight North State Championship title with a decisive 43-7 whipping of the Madison Central Jaguars Friday night.

That matchup was tabbed the premier, must-see game-of-the-year, as witnessed by the 8,000 plus fans who piled into Jaguar stadium, despite freezing temperatures.

The Tigers will be looking to win their ninth state championship title in Veterans Memorial Stadium next Friday night against an old nemesis, the Meridian Wildcats.

Both teams enter the contest with 14-0 records. Meridian shutout Oak Grove 34-0 for the South State Championship.

Meridian stopped South Panola’s 89-game win streak in 2008 with a 26-20 overtime win in the state championship.

However, South Panola has started another streak which stands at 26.

It took just six seconds for the Tigers to deflate the excitement of the Jaguar team and fans as South Panola’s sophomore running back/safety Tony Conner, playing on special teams, recovered the opening kickoff on the Madison Central two. Senior running back Qyen Griffin took the ball in for the first touchdown of the night and the 6-0 lead as Clayton Sibley’s extra point bounced off the left upright.

The next blow for the Jaguars came when South Panola surprised their opponents and kicked an onside kick with Ladarius Strong recovering.

Four plays and 49 yards later, Griffin took a handoff from quarterback Lee Self and scored from 31 yards out. The Tiger lead stood at 12-0 after the two-point conversion run failed with 10:31 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Madison Central fumbled with Temario Strong recovering on Madison Central’s 45.

The Tigers were unable to convert on that series. Self connected later with wide receiver Marcus Henry for a nine-yard touchdown and the two point conversion pass from Kendrick Market to Taylor Rotenberry was good to give the Tigers a 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The touchdown capped an  eight-play, 96 yard drive taking almost four minutes off the clock.

Griffin scored his third touchdownearly in the second quarter on a 39-yard run. The two point conversion pass from Self to JaTerrian Wren gave the Tigers a 28-0 lead, capping a three-play, 46-yard drive.

The lone touchdown for the Jaguars came with the 6:53 left in the first half when Connor Goodspeed scored on a two-yard run. Mitch Huff’s PAT was good to cut the score 28-7. The drive was aided by 35 yards in Tiger penalties.

Before the half, Griffin scored his final touchdown on a 24-yard run. Sibley’s PAT was good for 35-7 Tiger lead at the half.

 The Jaguars kicked to the Tigers to start the second half before Self found senior wide receiver Nickolas Brassell on a 32-yard touchdown pass, for the 41-7 lead.

The drive was aided by a pass to Rotenberry, two carries by Conner, two carries by Griffin and one carry by Market. The touchdown  capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive in 3:14.

Later Jaguar Dandy Dozen wide receiver Tobias Singleton took an 11-yard loss when defensive lineman Nico Agate tackled him in the end zone for a safety on an attempted double reverse for the 43-7 lead.

“I couldn’t ask for this team to come down here and do a better showing,” said Tiger head football coach Lance Pogue. “I’m really proud of them. I wish I could take some penalties back though.”

As far as setting the tone early in the game, Pogue said it was a gamble.

“We saw it in preparation but obviously it was a high risk gamble,” he said speaking of the first quarter onside kick. “We thought we had a high percentage of getting it. We thought if we found a way to pull it off, then we would capture the momentum early and it worked well.”

Pogue said he respects Madison Central.

“They’ve got a lot of great players. Coach (Bobby) Hall does an outstanding job.”

Madison Central head coach Bobby Hall said, “My guys plays hard but we needed some good things to happen to us. We just got beat by a better football team and we shot ourselves in the foot, too. Boy, they’ve got a great football team. My group of seniors has only lost five games and three of them have been to South Panola. They’re a special group.”

South Panola assistant coach Arnie Oakes said, “It was a great game and we came well prepared. The guys did exactly what we asked them to do and now we’re headed to Jackson next week. I fully expected this. Our guys have worked hard and they deserve it.”

Self said, “This game was really special and these guys were a great team. We’re just really happy we came down here and got the win but they played hard. We knew if we worked hard and played hard, we’d get here. I’m real pleased with the way our team is playing.”

Griffin had a big night with 2oo yards on 29 carries with four touchdowns.

“I practiced hard all week and came out focused. The offensive line was with me all through the week. I knew we’d play Madison Central for the north half and we just got ready for them. I was ready for them also.

Griffin passed Tig Barksdale with his 37 touchdowns but still trails Kevin Jones with 41 from 1996. Griffin does not really compare himself to Barksdale.

“The people say I’m better but I won’t say I’m better,” he said. “I’ll just say we’re even and we’re going to keep it like that.”

Brassell finished the game with three receptions for 56 yards with one touchdown.

“Tonight was different from last week because we just all played together,” Brassell said. “We just got frustrated last week how Olive Branch was playing so we just came with a clean head this week and threw out all of the negativity. This game means a lot to me being a senior. To make it this far my senior year and now the number one and number two teams getting to play each other is a great way to end. We’re looking for a shutout and we’ve got a point to prove.”

Newly elected Sheriff Otis Griffin said it was a marvelous game.

“I did think we were going to win,” he said. “This is one of the best teams that we’ve had. I think we’ve got a very good chance of winning the state championship also.

“This does a lot for our county,” Griffin continued. “If you look up in the stands, you’ll see that South Panola has brought a community together.”

The Tigers controlled the game and finished with 427 total yards, 17 first downs and 10 penalties for 90 yards.

Market had five carries for 109 yards and was one of two on passing for 19 yards. Self was five of 11 for 96 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Henry had one reception for nine yards with one touchdown and Rotenberry had two receptions for 50 yards.

Rotenberry punted four times for 157 yards. His longest was 45 yards. Conner had one kickoff return for 16 yards.

On the defense, Conner led with eight tackles. Dennis Draper and Lakedrick Flowers had four tackles each. Market, Kendall Carr, Issac Gross and Darrell Davis each had three tackles. Temario Strong, Brassell and James Gray had two tackles each. Nick Johnson, Keunte Turner and Nick Bland each had a tackle. Al Hentz and Temario Strong each recovered a fumble.

The Jaguars were held to 97 total yards with seven first downs and one penalty for five yards.