For the second straight week, the step up in competition proved too much for the West Lowndes High School football team.
West Lowndes managed only 86 yards of offense and four first downs Friday night in a 50-14 loss to Class 4A Shannon.
Panthers” leading rusher Antonio Wilson was held to minus-31 yards on 10 carries, while quarterback Justin Stephenson was 4 of 9 for 34 yards and an interception.
“Shannon came in with a lot of speed and was real strong,” West Lowndes first-year coach Anthony King said, “and it had my guys scared to death.
“We were just overmatched. It wasn”t a good showing, but the guys played four quarters. We were just overmatched. It wasn”t a good showing, but the guys played four quarters.”
West Lowndes (1-2) has lost two straight games following a 29-15 loss last week at Caledonia.
Without injured linebackers Jevontrae Williams and Phytrel Williams, the Panthers struggled to slow the Raiders” ground game.
Running back Marcus Thornton finished with a game-high 113 rushing yards on seven carries. Diamante Pounds added 80 yards on seven carries, as seven Raiders scored.
Short scoring runs from Juwan Beeks and John Thomas Peugh gave the Raiders a 34-6 halftime lead.
Despite the dominance, Shannon was sloppy out of the gate. The Raiders (2-1) had three dropped passes and six false start/offsides penalties in the first quarter. They started the game with two procedural penalties on the first drive, then watched West Lowndes” Trevor Stowers scoop up a fumbled shotgun snap and return it 20 yards for the opening score.
Shannon had a fumble returned for a touchdown in a loss against Aberdeen last week.
“I thought we made too many silly mistakes. I blame myself,” Shannon coach Chad Cook said. “In three-and-a-half games, our offense has given up three touchdowns. I”ve never in my life witnessed anything like that.
“We”ve got a lot of work to do. It”s a lot better to come back to work after a win. We”ve got Tupelo and Lafayette (coming up), the two best teams in north Mississippi we can play.”
West Lowndes built momentum late in the second half with a goal-line stand and a 61-yard touchdown run by Dominique Kelly.
King hopes the late effort doesn”t get overlooked when preparing for their district opener against Ethel next week.
“I think we started to gel in that second half,” King said. “We”ve got a lot of young guys who played and hopefully they took a lot away from this game. We”re already working to keep our guys” heads up.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.