By By Tony Krausz/assistant sports editor
December 6, 2003
JACKSON South Panola's third touchdown of the Class 5A football championship game pretty much summed up Oak Grove's night at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Facing fourth-and-one from the Warriors' seven-yard line, Tigers quarterback Derek Pegues fumbled the snap, picked up the loose ball and scored for a 21-0 lead, with 6:59 to play in the first half.
South Panola (15-0), which entered the game ranked 13th in the nation, went on to score two more touchdowns for a 33-14 over Oak Grove (14-1) to claim the 5A state title Friday night.
The Tigers scored on four of their five positions in the first half to build a 27-0 lead at the break. Pegues took a knee on his five-yard line with 11 seconds left in the half on the team's final position in the second quarter.
South Panola finished the game gaining 467 total yards of offense, 381 rushing and 86 passing, and 20 first downs.
Griffin led the charge on offense gaining 238 yards on 33 carries, with two touchdowns.
Pegues carried the ball 19 times for 53 yards and completed 4-of-6 passes for 86 yards. He finished the game with one rushing touchdown and two passing.
Oak Grove was held to 129 yards in the game's opening 24 minutes, and the Warriors finished with 236 yards in the contest and seven first downs Oak Grove quarterback Kyle Sellers completed 13-of-25 passes for 103 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he ran nine times for 74 yards.
South Panola filled a virtual highlight reel in the opening half, posting 20 first downs en route to the large lead at the break.
Griffin started the high-scoring affair with a five-yard touchdown run to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive, with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers took a 7-0 lead after Russ Belk connected on the point-after kick.
Pegues tossed his first touchdown pass of the game with 1:33 left in the first half for South Panola's second score of the game. The quarterback connected on a fade-route to receiver Travis Sanford for an 11-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Pegues scored the third touchdown of the opening half with 6:59 left in the second quarter on a seven-yard run, and the Tigers built their lead to 27-0 on a 35-yard touchdown reception by Sanford, with 2:59 left in the opening half. The extra-point attempt was no good.
Oak Grove got on the board in the second half scoring on a 21-yard touchdown reception by Chase Carey from Sellers.
The score cut the Tigers' lead down to 27-7, with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter.
South Panola answered the touchdown with a five-play, 69-yard drive to extend its lead to 33-7, with 2:41 left in the third. Griffin scored on a four-yard run, but the Tigers missed a two-point conversion attempt.
Oak Grove capped the scoring in the contest with a six-yard touchdown pass from Sellers to Grant Hogue, who finished the game with 58 receiving yards.