Leflore County head coach Eric House has a message for those doubting his football team.
“Don’t count us out just yet. We lost our first game last season to Greenwood and got on a roll after it. We play two meaningful games to our fans in the first two weeks, so we know how much this one means,” said House, whose Tigers will entertain Amanda Elzy Friday at 7 p.m. at Mississippi Valley State University.
Leflore opened the season with a 44-0 loss to Greenwood, while Elzy started with an 18-12 triumph over Leland. That win snapped an 18-game losing skid for the Panthers.
“Coach (Sheldon) Hodge has his team built on character and discipline. I believe he has made the turn in getting this program headed in the right direction,” added House, who is in his third season at the helm of the Tiger program after leading Elzy as head coach for seven years.
Hodge is a veteran coach with 40 years on the sidelines. He understands what this game means.
“Our kids will be up for them. It’s really a community thing. When you’re on the field against another team, your mind is on competing. Our job this week has been to clean up the mistakes we made against Leland and be prepared for a test from Leflore. I know Coach House is going to have his team ready,” said Hodge.
Hodge hit Leland with three different quarterbacks last week. Starter Smithdarrious Wright ran for 73 yards on eight carries. When he moved to receiver, he caught a 33-yard scoring strike.
Hodge also went with Deontae Neal and Norman Polk behind center. Neal was 2 of 3 for 81 yards, and Polk ran for 18 yards on five carries.
“Deontae played some quarterback, but he’s still a starter at wide receiver. Wright is still the starter, and Polk got in there in different situations. We are very fortunate to have three guys we can throw in there depending on the situation,” said Hodge.
Junior running back Dephabian Fant had a stellar game as he ran for 215 yards on 13 carries and scored one touchdown. He also returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown in the fourth period.
Of course, all the success on offense starts up front.
“We still have to get much better up front. We made some early-season mistakes. I made some calls from a coaching perspective that I normally wouldn’t make. I took some chances. We’ve got some things that need to be cleaned up,” Hodge said.
The Panthers are still without starting center Ja’Querian Stevenson, who Hodge said is still at least two weeks away from returning after sustaining a knee injury in the preseason.
House can definitely understand injuries. He has three starters — Maurice Edwards, Will Gates and Kevon Birdlong — who are banged up.
Edwards, the starting quarterback, went down in last week’s game on the third play. He has a possible MCL strain and an ankle sprain, plus he is still recovering from a hip injury from last season. Gates, the starting center, may possibly play Friday if he is cleared at game time, and Birdlong, who starts at free safety, was hurt in practice Monday.
“When the injury bug hits you, it hits hard,” said House. “It just means some young guys will need to step up. We told these freshmen during the summer their time may come sooner than expected.”
When Edwards went down last week, House used senior D’Angelo Brewer and freshman Dekari Johnson under center.
“As the game went on, we saw some progress at the position. It’s the first time for Brewer to play, and Dekari played quarterback in junior high. In our system with the different formations and sets, we can use both of them,” House added.
