By Angie Ledbetter

Whether it was revenge from last year’s game or erasing the previous Friday’s loss, it didn’t take but a week for the South Panola Tigers (2-1) to make a complete turnaround as they downed the visiting Gulfport Admirals (1-2) 34-6 Friday night.

And there are not many Tiger fans around who remember so many pass attempts as starting quarterback Rip Kirk was 16-26 with 199 yards.

Tiger fans enjoyed the game as cool temperatures rolled in at Robert H. Dunlap Stadium while seeing improvements in every area of their team.

Head coach Lance Pogue said they were proud to win.

“It was good to win tonight and get some momentum back. We got beat fair and square last week but we started on Monday which was a holiday with a great attitude and built on it all week. Offensively we hit some big plays tonight and you can see that beginning to come. We played good defense also. There are some mistakes that we have to get better at but there’s a lot of  promise in front of us.”

The Tigers took care of business early in the game jumping to a 21-6 lead over the Admirals in the first quarter.

The Admirals fumbled a few seconds into the game and South Panola’s defensive lineman Javon Norris recovered on the Admiral 46. That set up the first score of the game when Darrell Henderson took the ball from 37 yards out and Clayton Sibley topped it off with his PAT.

The Admirals answered with their only points of the night when Christian Williams scored on a two yard run followed by a failed PAT.

Kirk found Jaylen Lee on a 30-yard pass play and Sibley’s PAT put the Tigers up 14-6.

DeAndrea Harris had 11 receptions for 131 yards.

Kirk said, “We threw the ball a lot more tonight. We got Conner involved more in the offense and incorporated Bailey Lawrence at quarterback and that’s good because he can run because I’m not the swiftest at foot. His run just added another dimension to our offense.

“This win got us back on the right road,” added Kirk. “The past is the past and we came back and proved a point against Gulfport. This win will help us a lot going on the road to Bentonville.”

“Kirk had some big throws and touchdown plays and that’s what we’ve got to get to be explosive,” Pogue said. “The offensive line did good and I don’t think Kirk got hit. I thought the receivers did some good things. At times we ran the ball good but we’ve got to continue to get better in that area. They just need some confidence.”

Tevis Flowers intercepted Chandler Malley’s pass on the Tiger’s 28 with 2:48 left in the half. The Tigers struck again as the clock ran out when Henderson took the ball all the way from the 40 and Sibley’s kick went through the middle to give the Tiger’s a 21-6 at the end of the first half.

Capping a 50-yard drive on 12 plays, the Tigers increased the lead to begin the third quarter to 28-6 with 5:13 on the clock after Ryan Lee marched in from the five and Sibley added the PAT for the only score of the quarter.

The Admirals had worked their way to mid field with 9:07 left in the game but the Tigers sealed it when Dashawn Lindsay intercepted Malley’s pass returning it 51 yards for the last touchdown. Sibley missed his first PAT of the season.

South Panola rolled up 185 total yards on the ground. Henderson lead with 98 yards on 13 carries. Lee had 46 on 12 carries.

The Tiger’s defense held the Admirals to 74 rushing yards and 97 passing for a total of 171.
Gulfport’s key running back Christian Williams was held to 52 yards on 25 carries.

“Defensively I thought we did some good things creating a lot of turnovers tonight,” said Pogue.

Tony Conner racked up eight tackles and two pass deflections. LaKeddrick Flowers and Ephraim Kitchens had five each. Norris had two fumble recoveries and Lindsay had one. Tevis Flowers and Lindsay had one interception each.

South Panola had 17 first downs, one fumble, and seven penalties for 65 yards and punted once.

Gulfport punted four times, had six penalties for 47 yards, nine first downs and three fumbles.

South Panola will be on the road Friday to take on Arkansas’ number one ranked team, Bentonville, with the kickoff at 7 p.m.