Look out. Amanda Elzy might be putting it together.
The Panthers rallied in the second half for a 30-20 victory over cross-county rival Leflore County Friday night at Mississippi Valley State’s Rice-Totten Stadium.
One week after ending an 18-game losing skid, the Panthers made it two in a row and got back in the win column in this rivalry. Leflore had won four straight in this rivalry before Friday.
“We just might be turning this thing around,” second-year Elzy coach Sheldon Hodge said with a rye grin. “This was a great win for our kids and our program.”
Led by electrifying junior running back Dephabian Fant, Elzy erased a 24-20 deficit as Fant scored his team’s final two touchdowns — finishing with three of the Panthers’ five scores.
“The line did great, and the coaches put the offense on my shoulders. I just did what I do,” Fant said. “This feels great to finally beat these guys and to win two in a row.”
Fant carried the ball 19 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 57-yard touchdown reception off a screen pass.
That TD reception put Elzy ahead for good at 24-20 with 6:36 to play.
Leflore turned the ball over on downs on its ensuing possession, and Hodge gave Fant a chance to ice the game. And he delivered.
Elzy took over at the Tigers’ 37-yard line and scored in just five plays. Fant accounted for all but three of those yards as he found the end zone from eight yards out with a minute to play.
Fant’s big game came on the heels of an impressive outing in the season-opener when he ran for 215 yards on 13 carries and scored one touchdown.
Elzy went up 6-0 on Leflore (0-2) early in the first quarter on a 25-yard scamper from Fant.
The Tigers quickly answered, needing just one play to tie the game. Running back Willie McCline got around the left end and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown. He proved to be the workhorse for Leflore, finishing with 187 yards on 25 carries.
Elzy quarterback Deontae Neal found the end zone from one yard out on a sneak play to put his team up 12-6 midway through the second quarter.
That’s where the score remained until Neal pulled away from an apparent sack and hit a wide-open Smithdarrious Wright in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers up 18-6 with 9:23 left in the third.
Leflore then began attacking the middle of the Panther defense with runs by McCline and quarterback Maurice Edwards, who capped off a nice scoring drive with a 1-yard plunge. Royce Jackson added the 2-point run to pull the Tigers within four at 18-14 early in the fourth.
The Tigers then put together a seven-play, 67-yard touchdown drive, capped on a 7-yard run by Edwards, who finished with 88 yards and a pair of TDs on 15 rushes.
Trailing for the first time in the game, Elzy responded two possessions later on third-and-18 when Fant got loose on the screen pass.
Hodge loved how his team responded to adversity after letting the lead slip away.
“We’ve got a young team. When you have no plumb line to measure against, you have a tendency to revert back to your old ways,” he said. “But our guys gathered themselves and fought back.”
Elzy (2-0) hosts O’Bannon, while Leflore (0-2) hosts South Delta next Friday night.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
