Calhoun City looked every bit like a state championship contender on Friday. The Wildcats dominated a talented North Panola team in every facet of the game and rolled to a 54-6 victory against the Class 3A opponent.
Calhoun City, 6-0, totaled 429 yards of offense, and the defense held North Panola to just 119 yards while returning two interceptions for touchdowns and recording a safety.
“(North Panola) is a great team. They’re physical, fast. We just played harder tonight,” Calhoun City running back Brieton Sykes said.
Sykes was a big part of the team’s success on offense, defense, and even in the kicking game. He rushed for a career-high 215 yards on 15 carries, and scored four touchdowns. On defense, Sykes matched up against North Panola (4-2) wide receiver Willie Hibbler, who is verbally committed to the University of Mississippi, and held him to one catch for minus-4 yards.
“I really wasn’t worried about what kind of caliber player (Hibbler) is,” Sykes said. “We’re both just players, so it was a player against a player.”
And if all that wasn’t enough, Sykes also added a 26-yard field goal for the Wildcats’ final points with :35 seconds remaining.
“It seems to be often he does that,” Calhoun City coach Perry Liles said. “We (Calhoun City coaches) were talking about how fast Brieton looked against a fast team. He’s a load, and he had another great night for us.”
The game didn’t start as well as it finished. Calhoun City’s first offensive possession ended in an interception at North Panola’s 10-yard line, and the Wildcats amassed 35 yards in penalties before the first touchdown.
But on Calhoun City’s second possession, Sykes gave a preview of what was to come later; an offensive onslaught. Sykes ran 50 yards for a touchdown through the middle of North Panola’s defense, and added touchdown runs of five and six yards in the first half.
Calhoun City as a team rushed for 400 yards, including 262 in the first half. Six different players rushed for more than 20 yards for the Wildcats, led by Sykes.
“We wanted to limit their opportunities on offense, and the way to do that was to run the football,” Liles said. “We didn’t expect to score on them that much, but our backs made some good runs. Brieton made some runs that were probably 5- or 10-yard gains that turned into touchdowns.”
The scoring on offense in the first half was nearly equaled by Calhoun City’s defense. With a 14-0 lead, sophomore defensive back Jessie Nabors intercepted a pass near midfield and raced 51 yards for the touchdown.
The biggest play on defense, though, came with just :08 seconds remaining in the half. North Panola quarterback Jatavious Farmer was sacked by Jaalen Thomas, causing a fumble. The fumble was recovered by senior Clint Wolfe who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown as time expired.
“That’s one thing that everybody dreams about doing if they’re not a skill player,” Wolfe said. “It was exciting.”
Wolfe, who starts at offensive guard for the Wildcats, is actually a backup linebacker but was playing defensive line on the play to add speed to the pass rush.
Wolfe’s father, Bill, played football for Calhoun City and also returned a fumble for a touchdown as a senior.
“(Bill Wolfe) always says history repeats itself, so it was kind of cool to see it come true,” Wolfe said.
Calhoun City scored on its first offensive possession of the second half, a 1-yard run by Thomas, and the defense added a safety midway through the third quarter. Sykes scored on a 36-yard touchdown run on the first play following the free kick.
The Wildcats’ defense stymied North Panola running back Justin Connor, who is also verbally committed to the University of Mississippi. Connor had only 19 yards rushing on six carries, including one carry for one yard in the second half.
“Those two (Hibbler and Connor) are good players, but on film the other guys, No. 10 (wide receiver Robert Oliver), No. 1 (quarterback Farmer), and No. 9 (running back Ventravious Sanders) were all good players,” Liles said. “So, we didn’t do anything really special. We just knew we had to stop the whole offense, and our defense did that. (North Panola) first team didn’t score on us. I was so proud of really getting a shutout this time.”
Calhoun City quarterback Chakel Gates threw the ball just four times, completing two passes for 29 yards. He also added 48 yards rushing. Sophomore Keshun Roberson had 54 yards rushing, Thomas had 21 yards rushing, Nabors added 30 yards, and Pat Gardner had 40 yards.
Calhoun City will host Bruce on Friday at 7 p.m.