Yazoo County’s Panthers punched their ticket to the MHSAA 3A football championship on Friday night when they defeated previously undefeated North Panola 59-26 on Friday night in the north half championship.
The win improved Yazoo County’s record to 14-0 and will send them to Oxford.
According to Yazoo County head coach Robert Dobbs, the game was as important to the community as it was to his team.
“This is a very big deal for us,” Dobbs said. “It’s an honor and a privilege, and we’re very excited about it. We want to represent Yazoo County as a community and as a football team. We’ve had so much support from Yazoo County, and we’ve even had support from Yazoo City. This is huge for Yazoo.”
Yazoo County started the game off as well as possible as quarterback Kenny Gainwell took the opening kickoff back 84 yards to give the Panthers an early 6-0 lead.
It would not be that easy, however, as the Cougars struck back with a 13-yard touchdown pass from KJ Jefferson to Carl Robinson. The 2-pt attempt was good, giving North Panola an 8-6 lead.
After a couple of punts, Devarrio Sanders did Devarrio Sanders things, meaning he broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run, allowing the Panthers to regain a 14-8 lead after a successful 2-pt conversion.
But the Cougars struck back with a 45-yard Jefferson touchdown pass to Tyler Shorter, tying the game up at 14-14.
In the second quarter, Gainwell put the Panthers up once again with a 17-yard touchdown run, and after a successful 2-pt conversion, they led 22-14.
North Panola simply wouldn’t go away. Jefferson connected with his third TD pass of the half, this time to Jamarvis Echols to cut Yazoo County’s lead to 22-20.
With 13 seconds left in the half and no timeouts, Gainwell ran a naked bootleg for a score from four yards, and after the extra point, it was a 29-20 game.
Heading into the half, the Panthers led 29-20, a mere two quarters away from their dream.
And in the second half, they played like it.
The Panthers scored a few minutes into the half with a 6-yard run by Cherokee Edwards to make it a 36-20 game.
A huge hit forced a fumble and gave the Panthers the ball at the opposing 20.
Mr. Football in 3A (Gainwell) extended the Panthers’ lead even further a couple minutes later with a 12-yard run to bring the score to 43-20.
Ben Luckett made a tackle in the end zone on the following drive for a safety, making it a 45-20 game at the end of the third quarter.
Gainwell struck again early in the fourth quarter with a 20-yard touchdown run to make it a 52-20 game.
The Cougars found the end zone once more, but so did Cherokee Edwards, bringing the final score to 59-26, sending the Panthers to Oxford.
Dobbs believes the difference between the first half was both mental and physical.
“Our emotions were running high in the first half,” Dobbs said. “It was really back and forth. We were playing too much on emotion. I told them to calm down at halftime, and we came out and played our brand of football in the second half. We got back to downhill running because that’s what we do best. We got back in a 2-back set and made them choose who they wanted to stop. It put North Panola in a tough position.”
Kenneth Gainwell led a strong rushing performance from the Panthers with 20 attempts for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Gainwell also returned a touchdown 84 yards for his fourth score of the night.
Cherokee Edwards was a work horse for Yazoo County, taking a team-high 22 carries for 136 yards and two carries. Edwards also caught two passes for 25 yards.
Dobbs was thrilled to see Edwards return to his form from a year ago as the hammer of the team.
“Cherokee did a great job of running hard and running over people,” Dobbs said. “He reminded me of the Cherokee from last year. He’s a hard-nosed, downhill guy that’s tough to stop once he gets going.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Devarrio Sanders, who Dobbs uses as his bolt of lightning.
“Devarrio is a special kid,” Dobbs said. “He’s not a very big guy at all, but he plays with a lot of heart. He likes to get to the corners and display his speed, but he also like to run him up the middle and get him behind those big linemen. He’s so small that the defense can’t find him until it is too late.”
The explosive Devarrio Sanders made his mark in a big way, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Kenderian Dixon led the Panthers with 14 total tackles, three of which were for loss, a defended pass, and two sacks.
Kory Gainwell had 12 total tackles and a defended pass.
Ben Luckett chipped in 10 total tackles, two of which were for loss, and a sack.
Tredarius Carr had six total tackles, four of which were for loss, six quarterback hurries, and a sack.
Laraveonn Edwards racked up seven tackles, while Shun Demus added five tackles, two of which were for loss, and a sack.
The only remaining stop in the road to immortality for the Panthers is Jefferson Davis County, the newly consolidated school formed from perennial 2A power Bassfield and Prentiss.
JDC went 10-1 in the regular season, and their only loss came against East Central, who will be representing the South in the 4A championship.
In the playoffs, JDC has blown through their competition, defeating St. Andrews 79-38, Kemper County 64-30, Port Gibson 42-13, and Hazlehurst 26-16.
JDC head coach Lance Mancuso understands the challenges Yazoo County will present to them, especially in quarterback Kenny Gainwell.
“We have a huge challenge in front of us in playing one of the top players, Mr. Football in 3A, from Yazoo County,” Mancuso said at the MHSAA press conference on Monday morning. “They do a great job and are undefeated. We’re really excited about the opportunity to play, and we’re looking forward to the ball game on Saturday.”
And on the other side, Dobbs understands the challenges that JDC will present, particularly due to their offense.
“They run the Wing-T Triple-Option,” Dobbs said. “They use a lot of misdirection and hit the gaps hard. They’re a well-coached team and don’t do anything flashy, but we have to be disciplined. That’s a tough offense to prepare for. We saw it last year with Cleveland and then with J.Z. George, but it isn’t something you see every week, so it will be a very difficult challenge.”
Yazoo County and Jefferson Davis County will square off at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
