Jaquavious Tate broke through the middle of the field for a 54-yard touchdown run on West Lowndes’ first offensive snap Thursday against Vardaman.
But even when the play was called back due to a holding penalty, Tate and the Panthers were undeterred.
Tate scampered down the right sideline for a 40-yard gain on the ensuing snap, setting up a West Lowndes touchdown to answer the Rams’ opening-drive score.
The sequence previewed the Panthers’ dominance in a 40-7 win for West Lowndes (7-3) over Vardaman (7-4) on Thursday.
“We’re playing good ball right now,” West Lowndes coach Anthony King said. “I think we’re a dangerous team to play against.”
West Lowndes scored on its first three drives, added two touchdowns in the third quarter and didn’t allow a point after Vardaman received the opening kickoff and powered the ball into the end zone.
And even that defensive performance didn’t live up to the Panthers’ expectations.
“We played good — we gave up one touchdown — but we let them stay on the field too long,” King said. “We wanted to get them three and out.”
West Lowndes did occasionally let Vardaman off the hook with an offsides penalty here or a big pass play there, but by and large, the Panthers’ defense was impressive.
A Rams team that scored 30 or more points in six games this year was held to easily its lowest scoring output of the season. Vardaman’s previous low was two touchdowns in a 14-10 win over French Camp Academy.
The visitors scored their only points on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Chipper Moore to Andrew Easley exactly halfway through the first quarter.
But Tate’s big run set up a 14-yard touchdown run for Dekambi Evans Smart, and the Panthers were off to the races.
From there, West Lowndes spread the ball around, showing off what King dubbed a “three-headed monster” in its backfield.
After an interception by Rodarius Price, Tate put West Lowndes in the lead with a 12-yard touchdown run before the end of the first quarter.
Quarterback Elijah Johnson did the heavy lifting on the Panthers’ next possession, punching in a 1-yard score with 2:40 to play in the half.
Vardaman snapped the ball out of the back of the end zone on a punt before the half, giving West Lowndes a 24-7 lead at the break.
Johnson added a 24-yard rushing touchdown on West Lowndes’ first drive of the second half.
Evans Smart scored barely three minutes later, cutting back to the right for a 38-yard score.
Johnson said he’s happy to know the Panthers can hand the ball off to anyone and be successful.
“That’s a good thing — speed, size and everything,” he said. “Put it together, it’s unstoppable.”
King acknowledged his offense remains a bit one dimensional.
West Lowndes didn’t throw its first pass until 70 seconds remained in the first half, and it fell incomplete.
There were ups and downs in the passing game. On one series, Johnson dropped a 40-yard dime right in Price’s lap, then fired two straight short passes into the ground.
“We’re executing on offense, blocking real good,” King said. “We’ve got to still get our passing game in there, but we’re a whole lot better than we were. We are a better team right now. I think we can go play anybody.”
When Thursday’s game ended, West Lowndes wasn’t sure whether it would be on the road at Taylorsville in the first round of the MHSAA Class 1A playoffs or at home against Lumberton.
Thanks to Hamilton’s win over Sebastopol, the Panthers earned the No. 2 seed in Region 3-1A and will be at home next week.
Johnson didn’t know West Lowndes’ playoff opponent immediately postgame, but he issued a prediction nonetheless.
“I’m expecting a dogfight from both teams, but I’m expecting us to pull out the win,” he said.
West Lowndes 40, Vardaman 7
Vardaman (7-4) 7 0 0 0 — 7
West Lowndes (7-3) 14 10 16 0 — 40
First quarter
V — Andrew Easley 15 pass from Chipper Moore (Christian Ponce kick), clock 6:00
WL — Dekambi Evans Smart 14 run (run failed), clock 3:39
WL — Jaquavious Tate 12 run (Evans Smart run), clock 0:27
Second quarter
WL — Elijah Johnson 1 run (Evans Smart run), clock 2:40
WL — safety, clock 1:43
Third quarter
WL — Johnson 24 run (Jalen Doyle run), clock 9:49
WL — Evans Smart 38 run (Rodarius Price run), clock 6:48
Team statistics
First downs: Vardaman 7, West Lowndes 19
Rushing yards: Vardaman 14, West Lowndes 355
Passing yards: Vardaman 98, West Lowndes 62
Comp.-att.-int.: Vardaman 8-22-2, West Lowndes 3-10-1
Penalties-yards: Vardaman 2-25, West Lowndes 12-110
Fumbles-lost: Vardaman 3-0, West Lowndes 2-0
Individual statistics
PASSING: Vardaman — Chipper Moore 7-11, 85; Brady White 1-11, 13; West Lowndes — Elijah Johnson 1-7, 40; Dekambi Evans Smart 2-3, 22.
RUSHING: Vardaman — Evan Edmondson 8-10, Chipper Moore 1-9, Brandon Ruth 1-(-5); West Lowndes — Elijah Johnson 11-131, Jaquavious Tate 7-96, Dekambi Evans Smart 6-73, Jalen Doyle 2-24, Gary Brewer 1-12, Rodarius Price 1-9.
RECEIVING: Vardaman — Andrew Easley 4-70, Brandon Ruth 1-11, Evan Edmondson 2-9, Brady White 1-8; West Lowndes — Rodarius Price 2-54, Gary Brewer 1-8.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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