By Angie Ledbetter

Over 12,000 fans are expected to pack Robert H. Dunlap Stadium to see a clash of the Tigers and the Quistors tonight in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

It is expected to be a heated battle as one of the biggest all time high school football rivalries take place when No. 5 South Panola (2-2, 1-0) hosts the No. 2 Olive Branch (5-0, 1-0) in the Great American Rivalries Series game sponsored by the United States Air Force.

The Conquistadors are at the top of the leader board in Mississippi division 6A while the Tigers stand at No. 4.  On the national scale the Conquistadors are ranked No. 64 and the Tigers are down the list at No. 316.

The US Air Force will present the winning team a trophy and a Student Athlete Award will be presented to one player from each team based on their grade point average.

For several years the Tigers and Conquistadors have been the team to beat in the north. Dating back to 1972 the Tigers lead the series 27-9-0 over the Conquistadors. The last time the Conquistadors beat the Tigers was in 2000, 17-16.

It has also been a long time since Olive Branch has been ranked above South Panola this late in the polls.
Having one of the best teams they have had in several years, the Conquistadors will ride into town tonight with a lot of momentum due to an undefeated record and 33 seniors on the roster.
Head Coach Lance Pogue said they are a lot like South Panola last year.

“We didn’t have very much experience coming back this year but they did. Being 5-0 proves those guys are leading their team. They’re doing what they should do when you have that kind of experience. Winning three games at the end when they were kind of behind gives you an idea of them having experience and staying calm.”

Olive Branch opened the season with a 28-24 road win over Madison Central. The second week, Olive Branch shut out Trezevant 55-0.

Week three they edged past Smyrna 26-24. They handed Memphis University School a 21-17 loss. Last week they opened division play at Southaven and won 49-41.

In five games they’ve averaged 35.8 points, 223.8 rushing yards and 196.8 passing yards. 
Pogue said the Conquistadors have a great football team.

“They’re a heck of a football team and very confident. They’ve won three games this season within the last minute. When you’re making plays like that you obviously have confidence.”

“I knew coming into the season they were going to have an opportunity to be really good and they’ve done every bit of that with being undefeated after five games when they’ve played some good teams.”
The bulk of the Conquistador senior leadership lies with quarterback Todd Mays,  6-0/210.       

“He’s everything you’d like to have in a quarterback,” Pogue said. “If there is a guy out there that does more for his team single-handidly I don’t know where he is. He’s such an important piece of their offense making up a heavy percentage of their offense production and he’s vastly underrated. He’s been starting since about mid way of his freshman year and we’ve been knowing how talented he was. ”

Mays has completed 59 of 100 passes for 909 yards with 10 touchdowns.

“He is very illusive and has a strong arm. But beyond that he’s a guy that’s very heady, and by that I mean he never panics and is always looking down the field. He can make plays when things break down and he’s always a threat.”

Carrying the ball is another trait for Mays. He has rushed 74 times for 445 yards adding four more touchdowns to his record.

“Mays is a two dimensional guy that can run and throw the ball and he can hurt you with either one. His unbelievable athletic abilities come with great speed. He’s very dangerous and leading his team by putting up big numbers.”

Another key player for Olive Branch is senior wide receiver D’Arthur Cowan, 6-2/175. He has 25 receptions for 498 yards with seven touchdowns.

“Cowan is a Dandy Dozen player that’s got great speed and a big play receiver. Mays looks for him during tough times. He’s committed to Arkansas.”

Also on the Quistor roster is senior running back Jaylen Miller, 5-10/165.

“Miller is a threat running the ball and pass receiving,” Pogue said. “That’s why you can’t just say let’s stop Cowan because they have some more weapons and Miller is one of them.”

On defense Olive Branch leans heavily on senior linebacker Leonard Pegues,  6-0/220, who has family ties to Batesville. He and Issac Gross are cousins. Pegues has 55 total tackles and two interceptions on his record already.

“We’ve been real high on Pegues for three years. He’s another one of their leaders who’s a three-year starter that’s played safety and linebacker and always involved in the plays.”

Another player on defense helping out is Wynton McManis, 6-2/220 senior linebacker. He has 40 tackles to his credit.

The Tigers have been practicing hard this week to get better in preparation for Olive Branch, Pogue said.

“Practice has been good all week,” he said. “Anytime you win you feel good about yourself and we’ve just been building on it all week. Come tonight we want to just enjoy the atmosphere and the opportunity, have fun and play as hard as we can. I think our kids will do that.”

Pogue is well aware of what lies ahead tonight.

“We know we have our hands full with them but we’ve played them several times in the past so we know what to expect from the intensity stand point,” he said. “Hopefully we made some things happen in the second half of the Horn Lake game offensively that gave us a little confidence. Four quarters and every play has got to be all out.”

Pogue sends a message to the fans.

“We want to encourage all of our loyal fans to show up, be loud, root for us hard and get behind us. This team needs that. I want to encourage a full house tonight.”

Tiger fans are asked to “white out” the stadium tonight in white t-shirts.

Tickets are on sale at the high school office today during school hours. The ticket booth will open at 6:15 p.m.