SMITHVILLE — Thursday night was an important game for West Lowndes, not so much for getting into the playoffs, but for playoff seeding.
Getting in the playoffs was a given thanks to reclassification by the Mississippi High School Activities Association before the beginning of the season, but a loss meant West Lowndes would play the Class 1A District 2 champ, a dominant 8-2 Falkner team.
However, despite an 0-2 start to district play, West Lowndes regrouped, defeating Smithville, 38-26, to head into the playoffs with a 3-6 record overall and the No. 3 seed in District 4.
“The guys came out, they played hard,” head coach Anthony King said. “We had some tough calls go against us, but our guys, they just kept playing, playing solid, hard, physical ball.”
That win secured a 1-2 district record and a date with the No. 2 seed in District 2, Myrtle, in the first round of the MHSAA Class 1A playoffs next week.
A big reason for that was the Panthers’ second-half defense, allowing just six points to Smithville after going into halftime with a 24-20 lead.
Two touchdowns in the second half clinched a comfortable, two-score victory for the Panthers, who will take on a Hawks team next week that went 1-8 in the regular season and 1-2 in district play.
Myrtle has scored just over 15 points per game offensively while allowing more than 25 points per game defensively, something that West Lowndes can look to take advantage of to jumpstart a dark horse playoff run.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
“We’ve been down,” King said. “We’ve had a lot of tough losses and these guys needed a win. It’s the perfect time to get a win. Hopefully, we’ve developed some chemistry so we can go into that first round ready and hopefully, more things go in our favor.”
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