Panthers invade Mendenhall

Published 5:00 am Thursday, September 29, 2005

The Ole Brook Panthers have a rare opportunity to win twofootball games in one week. Fresh from beating McComb 21-14 Mondaynight, the Panthers (1-2, 1-0) invade Mendenhall (1-3, 0-1) Fridayfor another Region 6-4A contest. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

The McComb-Brookhaven game was moved from the previous Fridaynight, due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Rita. Rain andwind buffeted the area before the sun began shining again Sundayafternoon.

Ole Brook head coach Tucker Peavey had expressed concern as tohow quickly his Panthers would recover from the bruising battlewith McComb. In most cases, the players have a weekend to recoverbefore resuming practice on Monday.

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“We have a little soreness but we don’t have much time torecover,” said Peavey. He said there were no serious injuries inthe McComb game.

Asked about Mendenhall, Peavey said, “Mendenhall has morevariety on offense than they did last year. They run no-huddle andspread the field out. They also have some two-back stuff.

“They’re very athletic and their quarterback (James Walker) hasa great arm.”

Peavey said game films of Mendenhall revealed some outstandingathletes. “On defense, their linebackers are very good players.Overall, they play very good defense.”

Peavey’s Panthers played well against McComb, intercepting threepasses in their first victory of the season. Marlon Dixon, R.J.Jenkins and Jerome Avery accounted for the pass thefts.

“Mendenhall throws the ball a lot,” said Ole Brook defensivecoordinator Rod Henderson. “We will really have to be on ourhorses.”

On defense, cornerback Orlandas Chapman led the Panthers with 11tackles. Virgil Stewart, T.J. Qualls and Dixon each had 5 tackles.Anthony Caffie had 4 stops.

Offensively, sophomore quarterback Charles (Bobo) Rancifer ranfor 2 touchdowns and passed for another in the win over McComb. Hecompleted 6 of 11 passes for 115 yards and rushed 11 times for 33yards.

Tight end Simmie Yarborough caught 4 passes for 83 yards,including a 57-yard TD reception.

Running back Charles Wilson gained 65 yards on 15 carries.Ta’virus Lewis replaced Wilson in the third quarter when heaggravated an ankle injury and gained 55 yards on 13 rushes.

Mendenhall Heart-Broken

According to Mendenhall coach Chris Peterson, his Tigers havegood reason to display a downcast look. “We are coming off threestraight heart-breaking losses. We lost two games by a combinedtotal of five points.”

Peterson, 33, is in his third year as Mendenhall’s headcoach.

Looking at last week’s 28-18 loss to Region 6-4A foe Terry,Peterson said, “We actually led Terry in the fourth quarter. It’sbeen frustrating and heart-breaking for our team.”

However, his team is improving. “We need to catch a break,” saidPeterson. “I doubt if Brookhaven is going to give us any.”

Peterson said he was impressed by Rancifer’s running and passingskills. “Rancifer is going to be a good quarterback. He made somepretty good plays the other night, to just be a 10th grader.

“Wilson and Lewis do a good job running the football for them,”added Peterson. “They showed a lot of quickness on defense,especially their defensive line.”

Walker (6-0, 175, jr.) directs Mendenhall’s attack. At runningback Kentrell Cleveland (5-9, 175, sr.) and Willie Bass (5-11, 190,jr.) are the main movers.

On defense, linebacker Darron Dampier (5-9, 175, sr.) has beenmaking some big plays for Mendenhall. There are four seniors andseven juniors on Mendenhall’s defense.

Steven Gowan handles the placekicking and punting duties. Basskicks off for the Tigers.

Mendenhall opened the season with a 39-14 win over Quitman. TheTigers absorbed losses to Forest 16-14 and Collins 17-14.

Panther Paws: Last year, when Mendenhall was inRegion 5-4A, the Tigers absorbed a 42-0 loss to the Panthers in theopening round of the state playoffs. Ole Brook quarterback JimmyJohns passed for 4 touchdowns and ran for another. Jenkinsintercepted 2 passes.