Crunch time has arrived for the Thomas E. Edwards High Tigers football team of Ruleville.
For they have now reached the Region 3-3A portion of their 2019 schedule and will open by taking on the visiting Amanda Elzy Panthers of Greenwood.
“This is why we loaded our early-season schedule with top-notch teams,” said Edwards High Head Coach Damaris Mitchell of his 3-3 squad. “We wanted to challenge the team early to prepare for this run toward the playoffs.”
In their final preparation for this next month of regional play, the Tigers earned a dominating 48-0 road victory last Saturday over the now 1-5 Leland High School Cubs.
With a 7 p.m. kickoff on this Friday’s schedule, the Tigers will do battle with a team of Panthers which also brings a 3-3 record into both teams’ regional opener.
After opening their 2019 season with three consecutive wins, the Panthers have hit upon hard times the past three weeks as three consecutive losses have been absorbed.
Their most recent defeat occurred last Friday night as they fell by a 44-20 margin to South Delta High of Rolling Fork.
This Friday’s game holds the promise of being a hotly contested affair as to date, the only common opponent shared with Edwards High has been O’Bannon High of Greenville.
While Elzy High claimed a 44-0 win over the Green Wave, one week later the Tigers earned a 48-7 victory over the Greenville team.
Historically, the Tigers own a four game winning streak over the Panthers; a string which includes last season’s 38-20 Edwards High victory.
Last season, the loss to the Tigers added to the final 5-7 record earned by the Panthers.
In last week’s win over Leland High, the Tigers did not score until the second quarter but the points came in torrents from that point on.
A 12-0 halftime lead was earned when a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Joseph Perez to wide receiver Ja’Kell Allen covered 10 and 45 yards.
The pair would then connect on their third touchdown pass of the evening early in the third period with a 15 yard connection.
Runningback Deshawn Smith then broke free moments later and sprinted 54 yards for another Tiger touchdown. With Perez crashing over for his second of three two point conversion runs, the Tigers then owned a 28-0 lead over the Cubs.
The Edwards High defense added to the scoring frenzy as they closed out the third period by recording a safety on the Cubs offensive unit.
Excitement then came from Akyri Lewis when the fourth quarter opened with the junior gathering in the ensuing Leland High kickoff and racing 70 yards for the score.
The final touchdown of the evening occurred when Wilson closed out a drive with a five yard burst into the end zone.
Offensively in this game, the Tigers bruised the Cubs’ defense for 129 yards rushing on only 15 carries.
Smith paced this attack as his three rushes garnered 62 yards.
Through the air, Perez completed a dozen passes on 16 attempts for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
Allen had a huge night as his six catches accumulated 120 yards and three touchdowns.
Phabian Carter was also productive as his four receptions netted another 40 yards of offense for the Tigers.
