If there’s one thing Quitman head coach Steve Bynum has reiterated this season, it’s that the brutal opening-season stretch his Panthers navigated this year would only help his team as the season churned on. 

It did.

After trailing for three quarters, Bynum’s Panthers scored 14 fourth-quarter points to defeat Lawrence County High School 28-15 last week in their playoff opener.

“We trailed every quarter in that game, and we came back and ended winning 28-15 and put together some drives there in the fourth that put us over the top,” Bynum said. “The kids played really well, and I’m super proud of them.”

Quitman’s defense held Lawrence County running back Quitten Brown, who rushed for 251 yards against Florence High School just one week earlier, to 71 yards on 20 carries.

“The defense did a really good job — I think they held Lawrence County to under 200 yards of total offense the whole game,” Bynum said. “They have a really good running back, so that was a big plus for us.”

Tonight, the Panthers take the road to Poplarville High School to face a team that has just one loss this season, which occurred in Week 1 against St. Martin High School. 

“They’re 11-1 and ranked either No. 3 or No. 4 in 4A,” Bynum said of the Hornets. “They lost the first game of the season to St. Martin, a 6A team on the coast. They average about 41 or 42 points a game, and only give up about seven or eight. They’re a really good rushing team — about 350 yards per game rushing. They’re really solid on defense and just an all-around good football team.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Poplarville High School.