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OXFORD - This Dudley football team, said senior Kenny Okoro, knows how to handle adversity,

That's a good thing, because adversity was the Panthers' constant companion Friday night during No. 7 Dudley's 14-6 victory at No. 1 seed Oxford Webb.

Before the Panthers could claim the 3-AA East title and a berth in the state championship game, they had to overcome their own offensive mistakes, make a critical defensive adjustment and a heroic goal-line stand.

In other words, there was plenty of adversity to go around.

"This is a good team we played," said Dudley coach Steven Davis. "You gotta realize this is the semifinals of the playoffs."

True, but it seemed clear early that Dudley (12-3) was the better team. It moved the ball with relative ease, and its defensive line stuffed the Warriors' running game early and never let it get in gear (29 carries for 56 yards and two fumbles).

Yet at halftime, the Panthers' lead was only 6-0, thanks to a 50-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ricky Lewis Jr., who finished with 144 yards on 17 carries. Dudley's three other first-half drives stalled in Webb territory because of penalties.

"If you don't take advantage of the opportunities you have early and you let teams hang around, they build that confidence," Davis said.

Webb (11-4) got the boost it needed on its first drive of the third quarter, when it began to exploit the height advantage enjoyed by 6-foot-3 wideout William Alston. When Alston corralled a jump ball thrown up by quarterback Antwan Thorpe for a 35-yard score, suddenly the score was tied at 6-6.

Flush with confidence, Webb stuffed Dudley's next possession and began moving toward the Panthers' goal line. This time, Dudley shifted the 6-2 Okoro, its top pass defender, over to Alston. On third-and-five from the Panthers' 15, Thorpe rolled left and looked for Alston, who was blanketed by Okoro. Thorpe instead forced a pass into the middle of the field that was intercepted by Dudley linebacker Justin King and returned to the Panthers' 38.

It was the game's biggest momentum shift. Dudley's offense followed it by putting together a flawless drive, pounding the ball between the tackles again and again with tailback Kyree Ward. Eleven plays and 62 yards later, Lewis leaped over from 1 yard out and put Dudley ahead to stay.

Of course, no one knew that at the time. First, the Panthers had to withstand an epic 19-play drive by Webb that took the Warriors to within a yard of the Dudley end zone.

Faced again with adversity, the Panthers again responded. Defensive tackle Chris Neal made a huge tackle for a loss that pushed Webb back to the 10. Still, the Panthers couldn't relax until a final fourth-down pass by Thorpe was batted down in the end zone.

Even that didn't come easily.

"That ball looked like it was up there for 10 or 15 seconds," Davis said.

Okoro said: "It got tipped up like three or four times."

Actually, it was tipped twice, but that was more than enough drama for Dudley. Now the Panthers can start thinking about their 3-AA state title matchup against Charlotte Catholic (13-2).

The game will surely bring more adversity for the Panthers, but they're pretty used to that by now.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jyoung@news-record.com

D- Ricky Lewis 50 run (run failed)

W- William Alston 35 pass from Antwan Thorpe (kick failed)

D- Lewis 1 run (Lewis run)