COLLINSVILLE — Big plays turned into touchdowns for both West Lauderdale and Quitman in Region 5-4A action as the Knights held on to win 29-21.

After taking a 23-0 into halftime, West Lauderdale held off a second-half rally by Quitman and improve to 6-1 on the season. The visiting Panthers dropped to 3-4. 

Senior quarterback Austin Davidson and senior running back Taylor Turnage put on a show via the ground game. The duo combined for 200 plus yards rushing, with Turnage producing two scores in the first half. 

Davidson also completed 6 of 12 passes for 109 yards and a score.

“Austin played really well and came up with some big plays tonight against a quality opponent,” Knights head coach Brock Clay said. “When we needed to produce a score, he came through for us.”

After two early scores by Turnage, the Knights took advantage of a short field and punched it into the end zone just before intermission. As a team, West put up 287 yards on 34 carries for an average of 8.5 yards per carry. 

“The offensive line made some great strides early and allowed us to establish the run,” Clay said. “We did make some mistakes with penalties, but overall, I was very pleased with the way we played.”

Quitman started its comeback in the third with 13 unanswered points. Panther signal caller Jed Lewis made some big plays on the ground and in the air including two completions for more than 35 yards. Lewis finished 6 of 9 in passing for 101 yards. As a team, the Panthers rushed for 244 yards and three scores. 

A fourth-quarter touchdown by the Panthers cut the lead to eight with less than five minutes to play. Quitman had one last shot to potentially tie the game, but a turnover sealed the West Lauderdale win.

The Knights will host Northeast Jones next Friday. Quitman will return home next week for a matchup with Newton County.