At Winona
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 11, 2011
North Panola backup freshman quarterback Jatavius Farmer (center) hands the ball to senior running back Chris Conner who sprints for 70 yards and a touchdown against Winona Friday night. He ran behind the blocking of center Aaron Kimmons, (far right). North Panola fell to Winona 47-6 and will be on the road Friday to face another tough division foe Charleston at 7 p.m.
“When we get one problem solved, another one crops up,” said North Panola head coach Robert Hunter.
After Friday night’s 47-6 loss to Winona, the first year coach fell to 0-7 on the season. Hunter was pleased with the offensive improvement on the Cougar team, but noted there was now a problem with the defensive line.
“We don’t have enough players and we wear down after a couple of quarters,” Hunter said. “We have to find some time to get in the weight room and get stronger.”
North Panola avoided its sixth shutout of the year after senior running back Chris Conner broke for a 70-yard run with 9.9 seconds left in the first quarter. The PAT failed. The touchdown capped a three-play 80-yard drive and was aided by two carries for a first down by Tony Hibbler of 10 yards.
North Panola took the opening drive and drove it into Winona territory but fumbled it away with 8:26 left. The second Cougar possession ended in an interception with 3:57 left in the first quarter. North Panola punted its third possession away and Winona scored on a 65-yard punt return.
Winona capitalized on the fumble and the interception, along with the punt return, to take a 20-0 lead before the Cougars scored.
The rest of the game belonged to Winona as they scored three more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 40-6 halftime lead. Winona scored one touchdown in the third to finish scoring.
Leading tacklers for the Cougars were Tony Hibbler with eight tackles, three assists and one sack; Izear Farmer, six tackles, four assists with four for lost yards; and Aaron Kimmons, six tackles and seven assists.
Jatavious Farmer was in at quarterback for an injured Martavius Butler. Farmer completed three of six passes for six yards and one interception.
Leading rusher was Conner with 107 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.
The Cougars had 174 total yards of offense, including 168 rushing. Winona had 320 yards of offense, including 224 rushing.
The Cougars have three games remaining in the regular season. Next week, the team travels to Charleston for its final road game of the season at 7 p.m. The last two games at home will be against Independence and Byhalia.
