Winona High School’s bid for an elusive state championship came to a halt as North Panola knocked off the Tigers 52-20 in the third round of the North 3A playoffs last Friday night in Sardis.
The Tigers end their season with an 11-2 record, while the Cougars (10-1) advance to play Amory in the North State title game Friday night.
“I said they (North Panola) were the best team in the North, but we played our worst game of the season,” said WHS head coach Joey Tompkins. “The game was closer than the score. We missed an extra point after our second touchdown in the first quarter, and it was like everything went down hill from there.
“We had a sure-fire interception, and we tipped the ball up in the air and their receiver caught it for a touchdown. We dropped another interception, and we had two turnovers and numerous penalties. It just wasn’t our night.”
The Tigers, the Region 3 champs, led 13-6 after the first quarter, but were outscored 46-7 the rest of the way.
“We weren’t at 100 percent. Deriaun (Townsend) played only 10 snaps. We watched him in warmups, and he just didn’t have the speed or cut ability on that sprained ankle. He gave it his best, but he just couldn’t do it.,” Tompkins added.
Townsend suffered his injury in Winona’s 36-8 second-round playoff win over Noxubee County on Nov. 12. He ran for 22 yards on six carries before exiting the game.
Townsend, a senior running back, has offers from Mississippi Delta, Coahoma Community College and Holmes Community College. He finished the season with 2,017 yards and 28 touchdowns on 209 carries.
“We couldn’t move the ball on offense,” Tompkins said. “Some of that was North Panola’s defense, but we shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers and penalties.
“I feel like we are a better team than them, but this loss falls back on me and the coaches. We have to figure out what we’re doing wrong and put these kids in the best situation to win. We’re going to get back to work next week. We didn’t play well in all three phases of the game. It all boils down to the fact we just didn’t play well.”
Senior quarterback Jekeyvion Burnley got the Tigers going as he scored from a yard out. Noah Durham booted the PAT for a 7-0 lead. However, the Cougars scored on a five-yard run to trail 7-6 after failing on the 2-point conversion. Winona led 13-6 after one as Burnley hit Chase Richardson with a 30-yard pass.
In the second frame, North Panola, the Region 2 top seed, scored on pass plays of 38 and 59 yards and got two 2-point conversions to lead 22-13 at the half.
The Cougars went in front 30-13 on a six-yard run and 2-point conversion in the third period. The Tigers got a 67-yard TD pass from Burnley to Richardson later in the quarter. Durham made the PAT to pull Winona to within 10 at 30-20.
North Panola scored on runs of two and five yards and got a 38-yard touchdown reception in the fourth period.
The Cougars outgained Winona 390-339 in total yardage. North Panola had 178 yards passing on 7-of-16 attempts. The Cougars had 212 yards rushing.
Burnley threw for 167 yards on 10-of-24 attempts with two TDs and two interceptions. He also ran for 85 yards on 30 carries. Burnley finished with 1,344 yards passing and 17 TDs on 92-of-153 pass attempts. He ran for 797 yards and 15 scores on 147 carries. He has offers from MDCC and Coahoma.
Danarius Robinson, a sophomore who replaced Townsend in the backfield, finished with 64 yards on six carries.
Richardson had six receptions for 121 yards, while Tristan Purnell had one reception for 26 yards. JJ Burt had two catches for 20 yards.
Fred Clark had five solo tackles and three assists, and Eric Boone and Marlonzo Small had nine assisted tackles each. Irvie Bays finished with three solos and four assists, and Khristian Williams had one solo and five assists.
Tompkins said that he’s losing four starters on offense and three on defense, and he feels confident with the players returning the Tigers will be back next season.
