French Camp coach Nathan Wright said his team played a “sloppy” game against West Lowndes, but still came out with a 33-14 victory.
“We made a lot of mistakes, but overall we got what we needed,” Wright said.
The Panthers got the win mainly because of the play of Zach Gilmer, Holman Edwards and Clayton Leathers.
“Zach Gilmer really played well. He carried the ball 22 times for 123 yards,” Wright said.
Edwards ran 17 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns and completed seven passes for 64 yards and two TDs. Leathers caught a 35-yard TD pass and was the team’s leading tackler with seven.
The Panthers totaled 360 yards, with 296 coming on the ground.
French Camp scored on the game’s opening possession on a 35-yard Edwards-to-Leathers pass. West Lowndes scored on its first possession and took an 8-6 lead on a successful two-point conversion pass.
French Camp came right back to regain the lead for good on a six-yard TD run by Edwards. Edwards’ second TD pass, three yards to Bradley Edwards, made it 20-8 at the half.
After a scoreless third period, French Camp stretched its lead to 33-8 on TD runs of 16 yards by Edwards and 37-yards by Calvin Johnson. West Lowndes scored a late touchdown against French Camp reserves.
After surrendering the early touchdown, the French Camp defense held West Lowndes scoreless for 39 minutes. “Our defensive line played really well,” Wright said. “Our whole defense played well.”
The Panthers are 2-1 in Region 3-1A play with wins against Vardaman and West Lowndes and a loss to four-time defending champion Nanih Waiya.
Next up is a home game Friday against Noxapater that the Panthers probably need to win if they are to host a playoff game. Noxapater is 3-0 in 3-1A, half a game behind 4-0 Nanih Waiya. The top two teams will be at home when the playoffs begin Nov. 9.
Noxapater has won six in a row since an opening game loss to St. Andrew’s, a 3A school. The last three games were region wins over Ethel 34-13, Hamilton 48-0 and Sebastopol 30-0.
Noxapater is averaging more than 225 yards per game on the ground, with four backs who have more than 200 yards for the season.
