Yazoo County opened the Class 3A playoffs on the road at powerful Kossuth and struck first blood with a first quarter score.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Aggies shut them out for the rest of the way and cruised to a 21-8 victory, ending the Panthers season.
Kavontae Jones scored the first quarter’s only touchdown on a one-yard run, followed by a two-point conversion run from Jarrett Jasper.
Kossuth went on to outscore the Panthers 21-0 the rest of the way to advance to the next round.
“The kids played hard and we played well for as long as we could against a very good Kossuth team,” said YCHS head coach Robert Dobbs. “The wet conditions caused our skill guys to struggle offensively and we just couldn’t make any plays. We hung with them for a half and were pleased with that. They had been blowing their opponents out by about 28 points so we were proud of the effort we put forth defensively.
We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. We only had four possessions in the first half and couldn’t sustain a drive to put the ball in the endzone. The defense played well enough to give us a chance but we just didn’t capitalize on the scoring opportunities we had.”
Jones led the Panther offense with 16 carries for 98 yards and a TD. Jasper also had 87 rushing yards for YCHS.
Quarterback T.J. Rials was 9-of-18 for 40 yards and Jasper was 3-for-5 with 29 yards.
Cameron Williams was the leading receiver with 39 yards.
Said Dobbs, “We had a good group of seniors that we are going to miss. Brayden Jones, Jacari Watson, Kavontae Jones, Tayshun Simmons and Timothy Grant we’re definitely going to miss their leadership. As for this season, it was a disappointment. We had high expectations and played well early but we just kinda hit a slump. After the Yazoo City game we were just up and down all year and just couldn’t stay consistent. I had high expectations and thought we would make a deep run in the playoffs but sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned. We’ll regroup and get ready for next year.”
