Taylor Mitchell Sports EditorLet’s be honest with ourselves for one moment.
Who would have thought after beginning the season 0-5 and 0-4, both Yazoo County and Benton Academy would have punched their ticket to the playoffs before the regular season came to a close?
Not many people outside of those two programs thought of that, myself included.
However, I’m sitting here writing about it and you’re reading about it.
To make things even more head scratching, who thought Yazoo City would be fighting for its playoff spot right now?
I know I didn’t. That’s why they play the game, I suppose.
(Before I get those angry calls, I do expect the Indians to be in the post season. They just have to work a little harder for it.)
The Panthers have made the playoffs despite starting the season with five straight losses. Luckily, their district isn’t the toughest in the state. That’s not to take away anything from Yazoo County. In order to make the playoffs, a team has to take advantage of every opportunity presented. That’s all the Panthers did. They took advantage of a weak district.
On the other hand, Benton Academy doesn’t play in a weak district. Both Tri-County and Winona are undefeated and are contenders for a state championship.
The Raiders didn’t play horribly during the 0-4 run to start the season. However, they did turn the ball over 22 times in those games. Turning the ball over that much generally leads to four losses, but Benton has fixed that problem.
“That was a problem we had to fix to win some games,” Raiders head coach Wayman Grantham said.
The Raiders problem is the same one plaguing Yazoo County. In my opinion, a 3-6 overall record isn’t indicative to how talented the Panthers are, but they have left many points on the scoreboard because of turnovers.
Neither Benton or Yazoo County will be considered favorites to win a state championship. If I’ve learned one thing in my 23 years of watching football (yes, I was born watching football literally) it’s that anything can happen in the playoffs.