By Austin Bishop
French Camp Academy head coach Nathan Wright said he was pleased with his team's effort throughout most of the season that saw the Panthers post a 7-4 record, but said his team let one slip through their fingers in a 33-6 loss to homestanding Mount Olive in the first round of the MHSAA Class 1A playoffs.
"We just made too many mistakes and hurt ourselves," said Wright. "We just misplayed some balls and gave them some big plays and you just can't do that kind of thing in the playoffs. We found ourselves playing from behind early.
"We gave them 20 of their points," he said. "That just put us in a difficult situation."
The Panthers started the season 1-2, then reeled off five straight wins, before finishing the regular season at 7-3 and in third place in Region 3-1A.
FCA is ranked No. 12 in the state in Class 1A by the Mississippi Prep Sports Source, while Mount Olive climbed to No. 5 with the win.
French Camp's lone touchdown came on a 45-yard pass from Jesse Hosket to Jovon Turner.
Turner led the Panthers in rushing with 114 yards on 17 carries, while Josh Hardin had 15 carries for 58 yards.
Hoskett hit on 5-of-16 passes for 86 yards, while Turner had two catches for 21 yards, and Hardin one for 26 yards.
Bangali Sillah led the FCA defense with 11 tackles, while Anderson pitched in with seven.
