Entering Friday, the stakes for Meridian’s home finale against Petal were crystal clear.

Wins against Petal, Terry and George County would ensure a postseason berth for the Wildcats. A loss to Petal, however, would take fate out of Meridian’s hands and put the Wildcats on the outside looking in.

Meridian’s postseason chances took a hit Friday as Petal defeated the Wildcats 24-6 on Senior Night at Ray Stadium to hold a tiebreaker over Meridian with just two games left in the regular season.

The Wildcats have games at Terry and George County to close the regular season. 

“We have to play for pride,” Hampton said following the loss. “It’s very disappointing. I’m very disappointed in my players, I’m very disappointed in myself. We didn’t play physically, we didn’t play smart, and that’s a reflection on us. We must not have gotten them prepared like we needed to. The boys didn’t come out and play enthused — we just didn’t play well at all. And this game right here, you’re not rewarded for half-butt playing. You have to play.”

Petal’s ground game was responsible for 151 yards rushing on 26 carries in the first half, which held the Panthers to a 10-6 lead at intermission.

Meridian (3-6, 1-4) went three and out on its opening possession, giving the Petal (3-6, 1-4) offense the football on its own 41-yard line. Panthers running back Jeremiah Robinson capped the seven-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:15 left in the first quarter to put Petal ahead 7-0 lead after the PAT by Sebastian Elwood.

On Meridian’s following possession, Wildcat quarterback Tevarrius Adams was intercepted by Petal defender Zy Magee, who was taken down at Meridian’s 40-yard line. 

The Panthers strung together a nine-play drive that set up a 20-yard field goal by Elwood that pushed them ahead 10-0 with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter.

The Wildcats received a boost on defense when Meridian linebacker Roderick Jimerson Jr. picked up a Petal fumble and returned it all the way to the Panthers’ 20-yard line.

Adams opened the drive with a 12-yard completion to John Spinks, and running back Rodriquz Mosley followed with a rush for no gain and one for 2 yards. On third down, Adams tucked the football and ran into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown with 2:34 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats missed the two-point conversion attempt and trailed Petal 10-6.

Petal opened the third quarter with an 11-play drive that resulted in an 8-yard touchdown run by quarterback DeCarlos Nicholson with 7:47 left in the period to push the Panthers ahead 17-6 after Elwood’s PAT.

Micah McGown tallied Petal’s third rushing score of the night with a 4-yard run with 2:15 remaining in the game to give the Panthers a 24-6 lead after Elwood’s PAT.

Meridian’s six points scored Friday tied a season-low.

“(We) didn’t deliver,” Hampton said. “Didn’t block well; didn’t catch the ball; didn’t throw it well. We just didn’t execute — poor execution. There were some things where we liked what they did and what they gave us, and I thought we had a nice game plan together for it, and we went out there and ran it and didn’t execute… We didn’t put the points up like we needed to. I knew we had to put at least 14 or 21 points up just to give ourselves a shot.”

Up next: Meridian travels to Terry (5-5, 1-4) next Friday.