When it happened, no one could have guessed it’d be the difference in the game.
It was the Shaw High School football team’s first play from scrimmage, and what looked like early game jitters — a fumbled snap — turned into a game-breaker: a 67-yard run by quarterback Shontarius Wright that set up an 8-yard run and the only score.
West Lowndes managed only five first downs and 99 yards in a 6-0 loss to the Hawks. The loss ended the Panthers’ season at 8-3, a round short of a rematch against reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 1A State champion Simmons.
“The end knifed in, they got to the outside, and their quarterback had pretty good speed,” West Lowndes coach Anthony King said.
The play was the only real busted assignment or play King could lament. His defense held Shaw to 120 yards on 39 carries. Zack Williams had three sacks and five tackles for a loss. Tyrese Wells added two sacks.
But noticeably absent, particularly on offense, were lineman Reggie Wilburn and backs and receivers Kemario Evans and Marcus Farmer. King said he had five starters out due to injury, but when he was asked the nature of the injuries and when they occurred, he said “no comment.”
“It hurt the chemistry,” King said. “That’s the first time we’ve been shut out in forever. That’s just the way it bounces sometimes. You got guys going both ways, and you ain’t got but about five linemen. It hurts to lose one or two. It played a part at the worst time of the season. I hate it for our seniors.”
While penalties put the Panthers behind the chains on two first-half drives that showed life, the Panthers’ inability to run the football was in stark contrast to their last four games. West Lowndes entered the game on a four-game winning streak in which it scored 42 or more points in each game. Shaw (5-7) had lost four of its last five, and had been shut out four times. The Hawks had scored only 16 points in their last five games.
But Shaw’s defense has been stout in spite of its offense. The matchup, with West Lowndes missing five starters on offense, played into Shaw’s game plan.
“It really hurt us up front,” King said. “We didn’t have the chemistry. It’s the same thing a lot of teams have been doing against us defensively … We couldn’t pass like what wanted to or set up our screens. The guys we plugged in just didn’t know the plays in that short period of time. We had too many young guys.
“They had a good defense, though, and caught us at a bad time.”
West Lowndes only crossed midfield once — its lone possession of the third quarter. After a 20-yard punt return, the Panthers built an 11-play drive to get to the Shaw 49-yard line before Casey Smith Jr. threw the first of two interceptions on a third-and-14 after a false start set the Panthers behind the chains. The Panthers went three-and-out on their only possession of the fourth quarter.
“We pride ourselves on being an explosive offense,” King said. “Even if a team stops the Wing-T and misdirection game, we can normally get to the spread and pass a little bit.
“I just hate it for our seniors. The guys played hard tonight.”
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