Quitman takes win over St. Stanislaus

By By Curtis Rockwell/special to The Star
November 8, 2003
BAY ST. LOUIS – Hosting a state playoff football game was a new experience for St. Stanislaus.
Visiting Quitman, though, made sure that the Rockachaws came away with a familiar result.
The Panthers tallied 24 consecutive points during one stretch, in running away with a 38-16 win in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs. The game was the first ever home postseason game for St. Stanislaus.
Quitman, now 7-4, will host George County next week. St. Stanislaus, now 0-4 in school history in the state playoffs, ends the year at 5-6.
The Panthers came out strong early on, taking a 14-0 first quarter lead thanks to a 3-yard run by Mike McLendon and a 71-yard punt return by Randy Carter.
McLendon, in fact, would lead the Quitman victory party on the evening with 154 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. He now has almost 1,600 yards rushing on the season.
The Rocks fought back, cutting the deficit to 14-10 on a 7-yard scoring strike for Tim Kulikowski to Michael Cure and a 42-yard field goal by Andy Kilvan.
Quitman, however, would take command of the game with 10 points in the waning moments of the first half.
McLendon scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard run with 1:38 to go before intermission. Then, after McLendon and Carter recorded back-to-back runs of 36-yards apiece, Eli Lowry booted a 22-yard field goal as time expired to put the Panthers up 24-10 at the half.
McLendon wasted no time in adding the proverbial icing to the victory cake, rambling 56 yards on the first play of the second half to give the Panthers a 31-10 advantage.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, the teams traded touchdown runs to close the scoring. Sam Parks did the honors for Quitman from 2 yards out while Matt Hoda bulled in from the 1 for the Rocks.
The Panthers have won five out of their last six games with the only blemish a loss to West Jones during the past six weeks.