While no one at West Lowndes High School’s Tiger Field was holding a piece of white fencing embossed with a capital ‘D’, defense was the key Friday night in the Panthers’ 14-0 victory against the East Oktibbeha Titans.
The victory helped the Panthers move to 3-2 and 2-0 in Class 1A, Region 3, while the Titans slipped to 2-4 and 1-2.
Senior defensive back Devonta Kroger was one of the primary contributors. Kroger had one sack and nine solo tackles. He assisted in seven more tackles to lead the Panthers with 16 tackles.
“We practiced really hard this week,” Kroger said. “We watched a lot of films and tried to find where (East Oktibbeha) was weak. They beat us last year (6-0), so we had to come out here ready to play. At this point, we are just trying to get to the playoffs. We still think we have a shot at playing for the state championship. We just have to keep working hard and winning games.”
West Lowndes coach Anthony King and his staff also recognized Kroger’s efforts. The coaches named Kroger the Panthers’ defensive player of the game at maxpreps.com.
The staff’s overall player of the game, defensive back Breshon Brooks, returned a fumble late in the fourth quarter 25 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory. Brooks also had seven solo tackles and six assisted tackles.
Ronnie Porter (sack, 14 tackles) added to a defensive effort that forced four turnovers. Levonte Campbell and Javarious Ellis each had nine tackles.
But one West Lowndes defensive player may have gone too far. A heated exchange and shoving match between senior defensive back Katzman Rogers and a member of the East Oktibbeha offensive line led to Rogers being ejected. But junior linebacker Phrytel Williams praised the efforts of his teammates as a whole.
“The defense just played together as a team,” Williams said. “We didn’t want to lose to (East Oktibbeha) again this year.”
West Lowndes will travel Friday to Noxapater to face a region rival that is riding a three-game winning streak.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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