It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Parker Thundering Herd had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They breezed by Mae Jemison at home to the tune of 62-14. Considering Parker has won seven contests by more than 31 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Parker's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Martavius Purnell, who rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Jennings, who threw for 169 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes.
Another reason for the win was Parker's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Robert Taylor.
The win (which was Parker's fifth in a row) raised their record to 10-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 Huffman and 2-7 Woodlawn (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 32.4% over those games). As for Mae Jemison, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-8 record this season.
Parker will face off against Oxford at 7:00 p.m. on November 17th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Alabama (Oxford is ranked 16th, while Parker is ranked 20th). Mae Jemison does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
