Wayne County wins 5A title

By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
December 7, 2002
JACKSON Akeem Lofton and Charles McCall combined for a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes to lead Wayne County to a 21-14 victory over South Panola for the Class 5A state championship before an estimated crowd of 11,750 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Friday night.
Lofton found McCall for a 26-yard scoring toss with 8:50 left in the game as the War Eagles pulled even at 14-14 following Colby Hendry's extra point. Wayne County covered 77 yards in seven plays with Lofton and McCall also hooking up for a 21-yard gain on the drive.
The senior duo teamed up again on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 3:54 left to give Wayne County, 14-1, its first state championship. The War Eagles will drop from Class 5A to 4A for the next two years.
The War Eagles trailed 14-7 heading into the final period.
And how. In the second half, Lofton had eight carries for 45 yards, mostly off of quarterback draws, and completed 3-of-5 passes for 63 yards. McCall, a seldom-used but productive receiver, had all three receptions.
South Panola staged one last threat as a 28-yard pass from Rickey Wright to Javar Pollard gave the Tigers the ball at the Wayne County 14 with just under a minute remaining. After two incompletions and a combined sack of Wright by Matt Jones and Cedric Jones, the Tigers saw a fourth down pass glance off the fingertips of a receiver in the end zone.
The War Eagles threatened on their first possession of the game, driving from their 32 to the South Panola 28 where Lofton was intercepted by Jonathan Webster at the goal line.
Wayne County took a 7-0 lead on its next possession with Jerrod Sims breaking around right end and racing 79 yards to the end zone with 2:29 left in the opening quarter. Hendry added the extra point.
After Steve Gandy recovered a Tiger fumble at the Wayne County 47, the War Eagles reached the South Panola 13, but a pair of 5-yard penalties and two incompletions caused the 13-play drive to come up empty.
South Panola took advantage of a Wayne County turnover to tie the contest just before halftime. Lofton lost a fumble at his 33 with Tijah Wright recovering for the Tigers. Seven plays later, Rickey Wright scored on a 4-yard keeper around left end just 13 seconds before intermission. Randy Wilson's extra point tied the battle at 7-7. The big play on the drive was a 21-yard run to the 6 by Pollard on third-and-18 at the 27.
The score got the Tigers back even in the game despite being outgained 172-133 over the first half. The War Eagles had 26 rushes for 166 yards.
South Panola opened the second half with a five-play, 37-yard scoring drive that sophomore tailback Marcus Griffin personally accounted for. Griffin returned the second-half kickoff 42 yards to the Wayne County 37 and had four carries for the remaining yardage. He scored on a 13-yard run with 9:20 showing in the third period. Wilson's PAT put the Tigers up 14-7.
South Panola, 14-1, kept that margin entering the fourth quarter.
For the War Eagles, the 2002 season began by beating the then-No. 1 team in Vicksburg and ended with a win over No. 1 South Panola.