Amanda Elzy High School started slowly against Ruleville on Friday night, but once the Panthers opened up their passing game, they were able to cruise to a 28-12 win on homecoming night.
Elzy's record is now 5-2; Ruleville drops to 2-5.
Neither team scored in the first quarter, although
Ruleville threatened. On the Tigers' first drive, with the help of three offsides penalties and one illegal-procedure call against Elzy, Ruleville advanced inside the Elzy 5-yard line - but the drive stalled on fourth down when quarterback Octavius Caldwell was sacked by Travis Johnson.
Another sack by Johnson, followed by an interception by Robert Phillips, stopped the Tigers' next drive inside the 20.
Elzy broke through early in the second quarter, propelled by two long runs by Thomas Moore and a reception by Cordell Miller. On first down on the Ruleville 31, quarterback Oscar Martin dumped the ball to Moore, who stiff-armed two defenders away to move to the 15. Three plays later, Martin scrambled away from the rush and lofted the ball to Phillips for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Elzy's lead at 6-0 with 10:19 left in the half.
The Panthers started their next possession inside their own 5, but it didn't take them long to get out of the hole. After two passes to Phillips, they reached the 24, and a run by Moore two plays later took them into Ruleville territory. On second-and-5, Martin gunned the ball over the middle to Phillips, who outran the Ruleville defenders for a touchdown. The two-point conversion gave the home team a 14-0 advantage with 5:16 remaining before halftime.
Elzy continued passing at will against the Ruleville defense, and with 1:28 left in the half, the Panthers built the lead to 20-0 on a 13-yard touchdown catch by Quame Jennings.
Ruleville took advantage of an Elzy penalty in the third quarter for its first score. Elzy's Travis Johnson was penalized for running into Ruleville's punter, giving the Tigers possession near midfield.
From there, the Tigers moved inside the 10, largely on the strength of runs by Manuel Brand. Then, on fourth-and-1, Brand scored from 6 yards out to make the score 20-6.
But the visitors could get no closer. Elzy added one more touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a reception by Phillips, and Ruleville tacked on a score near the end on a 4-yard run by Brand for the final margin.
Elzy coach Henry Fant said it can be hard to focus sometimes during homecoming, when so many things are going on. But the last thing people remember about homecoming is who won the game, and Elzy has had trouble in homecoming games in recent years, he said.
He said his team threw the ball better than it had in the previous two games, after the running game stalled. Ruleville "came prepared to stop the run and gave us the pass," he said.
Fant compared his team to an old car. Sometimes you can work on the car and fix a problem, but it still needs regular ongoing work. The team needs ongoing attention, too, he said.
Defensively, he was concerned that Ruleville was able to get outside on several plays. Elzy's next opponent, Charleston, has a good running back, and "they're going to come full force," he said.
Fant said the Panthers need to win at least two of their next three games to have a shot in the region.
"We can't rest right here," he said.
