It takes a lot to be a Timberwolf.
With depleted numbers in recent years, the West Oktibbeha High School football team has learned how not to make excuses.
Instead, the Timberwolves rely on faith, family, and heart to get them through difficult situations.
The belief the Timberwolves have in themselves and in their teammates came through in shining fashion Friday night.
Josh Poe ran for two touchdowns and had an interception and Dwight Quinn caught a touchdown, returned a kick for a touchdown, and made an interception to lead West Oktibbeha to a 31-14 victory against West Lowndes at Panther Field in the season opener.
“It means a lot to be a Timberwolf,” Poe said. “You have got family, love, we all call each other brothers. It is just incredible how everybody came together this year. In the past years, we would have arguments in the huddle. Now it is all love. There isn”t any fighting and it is just one big family.”
On paper, Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A West Oktibbeha might have been an underdog to Class 2A West Lowndes. But just as the Timberwolves don”t fret about what they don”t have, they also know games aren”t decided before they are played, and the outcomes often are determined by more than numbers.
“We didn”t play on paper tonight,” West Oktibbeha coach Adam Lowrey said. “We played on the grace of the Lord.”
West Oktibbeha scored 19 unanswered points after falling behind 14-12. Spurred by Lowrey”s attempts to squeeze the most out of his players, the Timberwolves know they will have to look up the definition of the word sympathy in the dictionary if they want to know what it means. Lowrey said he won”t give any player any quarter, especially after Poe played every down and every game last season. He hopes his now burgeoning roster realizes that work ethic and attitude is what it will take for the program to get back to the playoffs.
“You have to push the boys,” Lowrey said. “When you squeeze a good kid, good will come out. They are good kids, they have good parents, and they want to be successful in life, not just in football but in life.”
Lowrey said the key to being a Timberwolf is believing in Jesus Christ, allowing Him to work through them, and letting go and being used by Christ. He said his job is to let go and trusting the Lord because he believes good things will happen.
West Lowndes coach Bobby Berry was disappointed in his team”s showing. The Panthers committed 19 penalties for 120 yards, lost three of 10 fumbles, and often looked slow coming out of the huddle and getting to the line of scrimmage on offense.
The heat could have played a role in the Panthers” lethargy. Numerous West Lowndes players, including running back Antonio Wilson, cramped during the action and had to take extended breaks on the sidelines.
Despite not being on the field for all of his team”s offensive plays, Wilson was a force, rushing for 205 yards on 21 carries. His 28-yard touchdown run in the first quarter seemed like it was going to set the tone for a successful evening. But the Panthers hurt themselves just as often as West Oktibbeha did.
“A lot of talk, no action,” Berry said. “We have to go out and execute. The conditioning was my fault. I thought they were in a lot better condition. I knew it was going to be hot, I knew it was going to be a rough ballgame, they have a whole less people than we do, and they didn”t cramp hardly at all.”
West Lowndes rotated Gerald Sanders and Jamarquis Humphries at quarterback, but the heat and the cramps contributed to the Panthers” inconsistency. Sanders” 1-yard run with 1 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter helped give West Lowndes a 14-12 lead, but it didn”t last long.
“Inconsistency, a lack of concentration, 5-yard penalties here and there, we just can”t overcome those kind of mistakes,” Berry said. “We are not that good of a ballclub to get 15 or 20 yards behind. We have to stay on top of our game. That is what we will work on next week and hopefully end up winning one.”
Quinn took the ensuing kickoff and ran diagonally to his left and found a seam to the sideline. He ran virtually untouched 80 yards for the score that sparked the Timberwolves” 19-point spurt.
“We don”t say we”re going to do this or we”re going to do that,” Quinn said. “Everybody believes in God, and everybody has faith in God. We get to practice, we don”t work, we get their on time, and everybody does their job. It is always we, it is not I.”
Poe and Tiberias Lampkin added 3-yard scoring runs in the fourth quarter to help West Oktibbeha pull away.
Poe (nine caries, 72 yards) said the Timberwolves take pride in their conditioning. The team looked to start the season with less than 20 players, but Lowrey said a late influx of players has given the program depth it hasn”t had in recent memory. The key will to get the new players to buy into what the veterans and the players who have been through the spring and the preseason believe.
If that happens, the Timberwolves might be able to show a lot of people what it means to be a Timberwolf.
“It is the determination to get through everything,” Poe said. “If it wasn”t for God, this wouldn”t be possible, to win this game like we did, to come out in the second half and, basically, play amazing.”
West Oktibbeha came out throwing the ball with Von Smith flinging quick-strike darts to the right and to the left. But the Timberwolves” timing wasn”t quite there, as Smith was only 13 of 32 for 172 yards.
While the passing game showed promise and failed to click consistently, the running game showed it has potential to keep opponents honest. Poe looked dangerous on several speed runs to each side, while Lampkin showed a fullback”s strength to knock would-be tacklers down.
“The running game did everything,” Poe said. “At first we spread them out and then we just punched the ball through. We pounded the ball. Everybody. We just pounded the ball down their throat and they couldn”t do anything but take it.”
The victory could be a stepping stone for the Timberwolves, who came up short of the payoffs last season but hope to take their belief, heart, and trust and make a return to the postseason.
“We”re looking pretty good, but it is still not where we are trying to get it,” Quinn said. “Monday we”re going to hit practice hard again.”
West Lowndes plays East Oktibbeha next week, while West Oktibbeha plays at East Webster.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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