‘They dogged us out.’ Pascagoula earns revenge vs. George Co. and its 3-headed monster
After failing to finish above .500 the last four seasons, the Pascagoula High School football team showed Friday night in a 24-21 victory over George County that it may finally be ready to get back in the championship hunt in Class 5A.
Pascagoula was trounced a year ago by George County in a 42-14 game that had the Class 6A Rebels celebrating midway through the fourth quarter in Lucedale.
With George County up 21-8 at the end of the third quarter on Friday, it appeared that the Rebels were ready to ride their three-headed monster on offense to a convincing road victory over those same Panthers. Senior quarterback M.J. Daniels and a pair of gifted juniors, receiver Marquez Dortch and running back Trent Howell, gave the socially distanced crowd at War Memorial Stadium good reason to believe that the Rebels are capable of big things on offense this season.
After Pascagoula sputtered on offense on its first three possessions of the second half, the rushing attack found new life and the Panthers got the stops they needed on defense to mount a rally.
With a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs by senior running back Kayvon Barnes, the celebration flipped to Panthers’ sideline Friday night to open the 2020 season for both teams.
Barnes scampered 9 yards for a TD with 10:28 remaining and gave the Panthers the lead for good with 11.2 seconds left when he punched it in the end zone from 1 yard out.
“It felt amazing. We needed it,” Barnes said with a grin. “George County dogged us out last year. We had come back and finish it.”
Barnes’ last TD capped off about a 3-minute, 55-yard drive that ran enough time off the clock to give little chance for George County to answer.
“We did a great job of managing the clock,” Pascagoula coach Lewis Sims said. “We took it down to where they had one shot. It’s a credit to the defense for coming out and getting the stop.”
The Panthers earned 2-point conversions following all three of its touchdowns, including a run by junior Houston Johnson following the final score.
Barnes led a three-pronged attack at running back with 14 carries for 70 yards and two scores. Senior Keonta Stewart ran 12 times for 52 yards and sophomore Isaiah Benn provided a late lift with five carries for 33 yards.
“We’ve got three running backs. All three are workhorses and we all come in with fresh legs,” Barnes said.
Pascagoula sophomore quarterback Keilon Parnell, a Mississippi State baseball commit who connected with Johnson on an 80-yard touchdown toss in the second quarter, finished 6-of-11 passing for 116 yards and a TD. He also ran 12 times for 45 yards.
Most of George County’s production came on the ground with Howell running 17 times for 104 yards. Daniels, who completed 8 of 16 passes for 81 yards, had 11 carries for 81 yards.
If the Rebels can build on Friday night’s performance, they have a chance to make a run at the postseason in James Ray’s first season as head coach.
Ray said his young defense began to wear down in the fourth quarter as Pascagoula continually kept the ball on the ground.
“They don’t know how to stop bleeding,” Ray said. “Last year we had so many experienced guys up there that they would have got lined up quicker, got the calls better. This team will get there too. They’ve got to get this experience, go home and feel this hurt. We’ll work on our mistakes. They’re going to grow up and we’re going to be better.”
Both teams will be on the road next week with George County traveling to Ocean Springs (1-0) and Pascagoula taking the trip to Harrison Central (1-0).
After falling shy of expectations the last four years, Sims feels good about his Panthers’ chances of putting together a solid season.
He has reason to be encouraged after his team showed up strong to start the season amid all the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It says a lot about work ethic and a lot about our maturity,” Sims said. “It’s been a long time of training — over three months without a game and not knowing if we’re going to have a season or not. Kudos to the players and parents. The helped keep these guys motivated. We were able to keep them locked in to be able to play football.”
The Panthers are setting the bar high for themselves after just one game.
“We can win a state championship if we work hard enough,” senior cornerback/receiver Tavion Evans said.
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 1:12 AM.
