A full moon lit up the cool night sky over Pascagoula’s War Memorial Stadium on Friday making for a perfect setting to watch a high school football game.
The Pascagoula Panthers made the evening perfect as they overpowered the Terry Bulldogs 41-0 in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs.
The victory advances the 9-2 Panthers to the second round next Friday on the road against the 11-0 Hattiesburg Tigers, who swamped Hancock 48-14 on Friday.
The Panthers used big plays to produce 18 first-half points, scoring on an 87-yard pass and two interception returns. During 59 seconds of the second quarter, the Panthers put two scores on the board for a 21-0 lead. If not for a missed extra point near the end of the first half, the final 24 minutes would have been played with a running clock.
Terry (6-4) outplayed the Panthers in the third quarter and it wasn’t until nine minutes were left in the game that Goula scored its final points.
Junior linebacker Jarrad Loper was the star of the night, scoring twice on interception returns of 30 to 35 yards and then capped the night with a 1-yard TD plunge.
“We’ve got our hands full against Hattiesburg,” Pascagoula coach Lewis Sims said after addressing his team. “Quarterback Deuce Vance is the 6A Player of the Year. My good friend Tony Vance is one of the best coaches in the state. Otis, their defensive lineman, is one of the best in the state. All of their receivers are long, tall and fast. Their defensive line is one of the best in the state.”
Loper’s first pick 6 came on a throw into the flat by quarterback Brady Busby and the other was on an overthrown middle screen.
“I was reading the quarterback’s eyes and doing what we are taught at practice,” said Loper, who also plays catcher for the Panthers. “I credit my defense on the screen. His (the quarterback’s) eyes went somewhere else and I went there.”
Loper said he had no doubt he would score on both interceptions.
“Hey, I played offensive first. I know the drill,” he said.
Sims had high praise for No. 7.
“He used to be a quarterback,” Sims said. “He can still sling it 70 yards. He can catch, he can run. He’s a five-tool player. He does whatever we ask him to do. He’s strong in the weight room. He comes in early and works out. He watches a ton of film.
“He’s a consummate team player. All he needs is to finish up what he’s doing here and he’ll get an opportunity to play at the next level.”
Sims wasn’t surprised at the effort Terry gave in the third quarter. Down 34-0, the Bulldogs could have rolled over and raised the white flag. But the Dogs didn’t, showing spunk that Sims said he knew they had.
“They mentally outplayed us, physically outplayed us. They were tougher than we were in the third quarter,” Sims said. “They are a fine football team and well-coached.
“They gave us some different looks in the third quarter. Our guys regathered themselves and were ready in the fourth quarter and put a score on the board.”
Pascagoula took the opening kickoff and needed only seven plays to go 81 yards for a touchdown, which came on a 25-yard scamper by running back Amarie Jackson. Placekicker and punter Mason Cramer made the first of his four extra points for a 7-0 lead.
The drive appeared easy as senior quarterback Silas Corder got the Panthers in position for Jackson’s score by completing 4-of-5 passes for 51 yards.
Pascagoula’s second touchdown was a thing of beauty. Corder lofted a perfectly thrown pass down the left sideline in front of the Terry bench and wide receiver Darrius Carter, under close coverage, snagged the ball with his left hand and strolled to pay dirt.
Fifty-nine seconds later, Loper scored his first touchdown when he stepped in front of a pass in the flat, broke one tackle and scooted to pay dirt with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter.
Loper scored again midway through the second quarter with his second interception. A few minutes later, the Panthers had the ball on the Bulldogs 1-yard line and Sims sent in his goal-line offensive team, meaning Loper was in at running back and he plowed in for the TD for a 34-0 lead with 1:17 showing on the clock.
Terry had several opportunities to score but came up empty-handed each time. Busby overthrew a wide-open receiver on one possession and had a receiver drop an uncontested pass in the end zone on another. Two Corder passes were sure defensive touchdowns if the balls hadn’t been dropped with nothing but green grass in front of the defenders.
Corder and Carter completed the scoring late in the fourth quarter with a perfect 13-yard slant pass. Corder finished with 11 completions on 20 attempts for 203 yards and the two scored.
Sims had this message for his team as they quietly kneeled after the victory.
“Enjoy your playoff win for 24 hours,” he said. “We got to prep, take care of the classroom, take care of our bodies and take care of the hallway. Enjoy this because winning is hard. Winning is so stinkin’ hard.
“The longer you are around the game you understand the hardest thing to do is to win. So don’t choke up on no sugar. Tomorrow at 7 o’clock, click on that Huddle (game replay) and watch Hattiesburg.”
