Despite forcing seven fumbles, Yazoo County could not put away the Bernard Euell-led Velma Jackson Falcons and fell 23-22, giving them a third place finish in the district.
Yazoo County head football coach Robert Dobbs struggled to understand how the Panthers could not put up more points with all of the opportunities they had, but he was proud of the effort, nonetheless.
“They had a good team,” Dobbs said. “Coming into the game, I never would have expected so many turnovers. We had three turnovers, and they had seven. We just couldn’t capitalize on those turnovers. I’m proud of how the kids played. We just fell short.”
The Panthers started off hot, stopping Velma Jackson on a 4th down conversion attempt to take over at their own 30.
Kenneth Gainwell took off on Yazoo County’s first play for a 70-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers up 7-0.
On the ensuing drive, a bad snap by Velma Jackson led to a fumble, which was recovered by Terry Seay.
The Panthers capitalized with a 37-yard field goal by Jamie Ortiz to put them up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Velma Jackson’s next drive, which got into the red zone, also ended in a fumble, but the Panthers committed an offensive facemask, a hold and two false starts to kill the drive.
The Falcons finally got on the board with a long touchdown run to cut the score to 10-7 with 6:34 left in the second quarter.
Two more fumbles by Velma Jackson and a fumble by Yazoo County led to a 10-7 score at the half.
After a rather uneventful early part of the third quarter, Velma Jackson took their first lead of the game on another long touchdown run. After a successful 2-point conversion, they led the Panthers 15-10.
The Panthers, however, would not go quietly into the night. They responded with an 8-yard touchdown run by Cherokee Edwards to go up 16-15 in the final second of the third quarter.
The Falcons responded with a 23-yard touchdown run to regain a 23-16 lead.
After a failed drive by Yazoo County, the Falcons began working on the clock with 4:38 remaining in the game.
Yazoo County’s defense stepped up and made a play, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Panthers, giving them what seemed to be a final shot.
Unfortunately for Yazoo County, a fumble gave it right back to Velma Jackson.
It seemed that all the Falcons had to do was run the clock out.
With 1:00 remaining in the game, they fumbled one more time, breathing new life into the Panthers.
Yazoo County took advantage of the gift with a touchdown pass from Gainwell to Terrance Milsap to cut the score to 23-22.
The Panthers were on the verge of a miraculous comeback.
But in heart-breaking fashion, the PAT was missed, leaving the Panthers a point down.
Yazoo County then attempted an onside kick, but they were unable to recover it.
The Panthers fell 23-22 to the Falcons.
While they lost the game, Dobbs believes the fumbles were a result of the physical play of the Panthers, which should help them moving forward into the playoffs.
“I just told the guys going into it that we needed to be as physical as we could possibly be,” Dobbs said. “From what I had gathered on film, they hadn’t played anyone as physical as us this year. We forced a lot of turnovers because of it, but like I said, we just couldn’t capitalize.”
Kenneth Gainwell was highly effective against the Falcons.
He rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, and he passed for 148 yards and a touchdown.
Milsap hauled in four passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Cherokee Edwards rushed 12 times for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Jamari Brown had two catches for 45 yards on offense, and on defense, he racked up six total tackles to go with one fumble recovery.
Senior safety Malik Hicks had 10 total tackles with two forced fumbles.
Curtis Bullock racked up 13 tackles, two of which were for loss, and a fumble recovery.
Kenderian Dixon had 11 total tackles in the loss.
The loss placed the Panthers third in their district, pitting them against Mooreville in the first round of the MHSAA playoffs.
Mooreville (6-4) finished the regular season with a 27-6 win over Hatley.
Dobbs believes that if the Panthers want a win, they will have to earn it.
“Mooreville will be coached up very well,” Dobbs said. “They’re not very big, but they’re scrappy, tough kids. They play the game of football like it should be played. They play hard every play. They never give up. They’ll play us hard for four quarters. It will be a challenge, but we’ll come out and take care of business.”
Kickoff at Mooreville is set for 7 p.m.
