11-7-24 Midlothian

Yes, the rumors are true. Due to weather, this week’s game between the Scots and Midlothian will be played on THURSDAY, not Friday. Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. Someone call Jim Castellaw and make sure he knows.   

Well, it all boils down to this. The Scots beat Midlothian Thursday night and win the district championship.

Or they don’t and they don’t.

Both teams have impressive 8-1 records and both are undefeated in district play. The Panthers are playing at home, where they’ve won every game since August 30.

With apologies to the Lovejoy Leopards, Midlothian should be the Scots’ most challenging in-state foe so far this season. The Panthers are coming off last week’s electrifying, come-from-behind, 45-41 win over Red Oak by scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the last minute.

In that game the Panthers picked up 331 yards rushing and 129 passing for a total of 460. Red Oak, on the other hand, picked up 245 yards rushing and 305 yards passing for a total of 550. For those who picked up their math skills in Mrs. Norman’s Related Math class at HPHS, 460 plus 550 equals to more than a thousand total yards. 

Midlothian quarterback Beau Wendel (no relation to Beau Jones) completed three of seven passes against Red Oak, but those numbers are more interesting than they look. First, Wendel averaged 43 yards per completion. And second, all three passes went for touchdowns. When the Panthers were not passing, which was most of the time, they tore up the turf with 331 yards rushing. Midlothian’s top ground gainer was Kayden Gibson, who picked up 152 yards on eight carries. Again Mrs. Norman taught us that Gibson averaged 19 yards per touch. When Wendel wasn’t breaking a sweat throwing the ball, he did get his jersey dirty with 16 carries for 84 yards. He can pass. He can run.

There’s another Panther to keep your eyes on, a FRESHMAN named Brendyn Jackson. Last week he was credited with nine tackles on defense and caught a 76-yard touchdown pass on offense.

Can the Panthers score? Yes, they are averaging 36.3 point per game while the Scots average 36.1. Technically, the teams would tie if they hit their averages this Thursday.

So the Panthers are for real. They should go deep in the playoffs. They have earned their 8-1 record and belong in a district championship game. To the Scots’ credit, they are not looking past this game. Since this summer they have dreamed about winning the district championship. They want that trophy and they want to go undefeated through 7-5A. The playoffs don’t begin until this game is under their belt.

One big difference for the Scots this week is that the starters will play the entire game. They’ve taken a break in the second half the past few games because they scored enough in the first half to win. They will need to play in the second half this week and they will need to play well.

Two final thoughts that may be important in this Thursday’s game:

First, the Panthers scored 45 points last Friday but were 1 of 7 on third down conversions.

Second, they won the game because they scored 28 points in the third quarter.