Yazoo County finally cured themselves of their Cleveland High woes on Friday night by defeating the Wildcats 25-19.
Having come so close in recent years to beating Cleveland, the Panthers were pleased to get the win.
To get there, however, was quite the trip.
In the early portion of the game, it looked to be all Cleveland.
The ball control of Cleveland’s option attack allowed them to control the clock.
The Wildcats ended the half up 13-6 with Yazoo County’s only score coming off of a 24-yard fumble return by Keilos Swinney.
Yazoo County head football coach Robert Dobbs felt Cleveland’s slow-burning offense and the Panthers’ inability to sustain a drive were the biggest problems in the first half.
“The biggest issue in the first half was that we only ran like 15 plays,” Dobbs said. “We only had three possessions. We kept going 3-and-out, or we would only have a four play drive. It was a good defensive battle.”
In the second half, Yazoo County stormed back with a Keilos Swinney punt return for a touchdown and a Kenneth Gainwell touchdown pass to Dontrell Green to set up an exciting final few minutes.
With a little over four minutes left and a tie game at 19-19, Yazoo County’s Devarrio Sanders ran a trap and scored, giving the Panthers a 25-19 lead for the defense to protect.
And protect they did, forcing a turnover on downs that effectively ended the game.
Dobbs credits his stellar defense with keeping them in the game.
“The defense finished the game and forced the turnover,” Dobbs said. “They played exceptionally well all night. If they hadn’t played so well, we wouldn’t have won, to be honest. They played lights out.”
Jay Thomas was a monster for the Panthers in the win, racking up 15 tackles, seven of which were for loss, one sack and one quarterback hurry.
Curtis Bullock had another big game with 20 total tackles,
Keilos Swinney was a major cog in the win with eight tackles, two pass break-up, a fumble return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown.
Devarrio Sanders led Yazoo County’s offense, rushing 13 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Kenneth Gainwell went 9-for-11 for 59 yards and a TD through the air, and on the ground, he added 27 yards on 11 carries.
Dontrell Green caught a 34-yard touchdown pass.
The Panthers have their final tune-up game before the start of the conference slate on Friday night when they face Forest Hill.
Dobbs believes Forest Hill’s offense could present his team a unique set of problems.
“Forest Hill runs an up-tempo spread offense,” Dobbs said. “They have a good quarterback that will run a little bit of spread option. They have receivers that can jump up and get the ball. Their defense will be pretty good. We’ll have to come out and play well on offense, defense and special teams.”
Forest Hill is 2-2 on the season after their most recent 40-20 loss to Callaway on Friday night.
Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m.
