Coleman provides needed production for the Panthers

FRENCH CAMP – It was the type of outing that the French Camp Panthers really needed out of Kendall Coleman Jr. last Friday night.

Coleman rushed 15 times for 222 yards and five touchdowns and French Camp needed every one of the scores.

The Panthers found themselves in a shootout during the final regular season game of the season and behind Coleman won a 56-44 decision over Leake County to secure second place in Class A, Region 3.

For his outing against Leake County, Coleman was selected the OCH Regional Medical Center Athlete of the Week.

“On Friday, we needed him because the defense struggled so,” French Camp coach Nathan Wright said. “Typically, we'll use our weapons when we really need them. We try not to do too much if you don't need them. We really needed him to come up big and anytime your defense struggles, you hope your offense plays well and we really needed it Friday night.”

Coleman helped the Panthers get off to a good start with a 58yard run, then it was off to the races.

One touchdown led to another and Coleman ended up scoring 30 of the 58 points for French Camp.

Coleman is proving to be the type of player that if given an inch, he can take it a mile.

“He is a gifted athlete that can break it at any moment,” Wright said. “It's no doubt he's an explosive athlete. Had we really wanted to bump him up and put up some yards, we could have done that. He's had several games where he's just carried the ball twice.”

For the season, Coleman had 78 carries for 860 yards and 14 touchdowns. He adds 16 catches for 302 yards and two more scores.

The versatile performer even has completed both of his pass attempts for 75 yards and a touchdown. He has 25 tackles on defense.

Coleman is only a sophomore and has two good years left. Wright expects more improvement from Coleman as he continues to grow.

“He's got extraordinary potential and we hope he can just keep getting better and better,” Wright said. “He really does look good out there. He's got what every coach wants. He has a way of making that first guy miss. If you make the first guy miss, you can be really explosive and he has that gift.

“He's a smooth runner with great vision. We hope to be able to keep giving him a little bit of a hole.”