By Ike House
A winning streak is a great way to start the season for a young team with a new head coach. North Panola has started a win streak of two games and are looking to extend it this week against Benton Co.
But this week will more challenging than the past two games as the Cougars face a familiar foe in Benton Co. and three year head coach Eric Rice.
Rice is a former North Panola and South Panola assistant coach who is familiar with the team and county. He has turned around a program that is young and turned into contenders in their district.
Cougar head coach Carl Diffee said that Rice will bring a big crowd and the excitement of the game will be huge because of his background.
“We spend a lot of time in the offseason talking and sharing ideas and he is one of my good coaching buddies,” Diffee said. “We know what to expect from them and they know what to expect from us. The opponent is irrelevant no matter who we are playing as long as we do what we have to do week in and week out.”
But even though the Cougars are 2-0, Diffee feels like they have things that need to be fixed and the have not executed to their potential.
He added that every rep matters and that’s where their motto “Brick by Brick” comes from. The Cougars are planning on facing an athletic team like the teams in 3A.
“We have to clean up assignments and make sure our kids make sure they know what they have,” Diffee said. “We are playing a team that is very similar to Rosa Fort.”
 Special teams have been a big factor for the Cougars unlike past seasons and Sylvonta Oliver has been a big key to the success. In the previous two games, Oliver has manufactured 295 return yards on six returns. He has put the Cougars in great field position every time he touches the ball.
“It’s good to know that you have a weapon like that and to know that on any return he can score,” Diffee said. “He flips the field and we are starting drives on our 40 yard line instead of inside the 20.”
Last week against Coahoma AHS the Cougars were able to throw the ball more than in the week before where their rushing game was at its peak. This week they will let the game dictate where the ball goes. Diffee said they will work to bring their entire arsenal into the game and plans to use it.
“They are a much better team than they were 365 days ago,” Diffee said. “We have to be ready to execute on both sides of our attack.”
The Cougars will be kicking off at home Friday at 7 p.m. The Cougars will have a bye week next week due to cancellation between them and Faulkner.