Coming off of a win versus Bryan County, Portal was looking to put another win on their books when a tough Metter team came to town. The Portal Panthers hosted the Metter Tigers at the Portal Athletic Complex on Friday. Metter took control early and held on to win the game 28-7.
1st Quarter: Metter Strikes First
Majority of the first quarter was full of the two teams trading punts. The game changed when Portal fumbled on the ball on their own side of the field that set up the Tigers at the 10-yard line. After a couple of plays, Metter punched it in from the 1-yard line.
2nd Quarter: Panthers Show Life Before Half
Metter extended their lead in the second quarter. Portal turned the ball over on downs at the Metter 24-yard line. The Tigers would drive down the field and score off of a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Kahne Brown. A few drives later, Michael Ricks would connect with Jayden Mcdaniel to extend the lead to 14. After a kickoff that went out of bounds, Portal's Harold Washington would find a crease on the kick return and take it all the way to the house. Metter went into the half up 21-7.
3rd Quarter: Metter Adds to Lead
The Panthers received the ball coming out of the half and moved down the field due to 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Metter. Portal was able to get down to the 17 yard line when the drive ended. A bad snap on 4th down doomed the Panthers' opportunity to make it a one possession game. The Tigers would capitalize by flinging the ball down the field until they got to the 8-yard line. Michael Ricks would score for Metter on a quarterback keeper.
4th Quarter: Portal Makes Plays, But Can't Capitalize
It was an uphill battle for Portal as they entered the final period down 28-7. An interception by Jason Crawford looked like the start of a comeback bid, but the offense couldn't get anything going and turned it over on downs. Zeke Percell would force a fumble on a punt later in the quarter. Portal would throw an interception on the very next play.
Head Coach Jason McEachin noted offensive execution as an issue during the game for his team. "I thought we took a step forward last week, but this week we had too many issues with the ball," McEachin said. "Too many turnovers, one is always too many. Especially with our field position we had a couple that were backbreakers."
There was a little salt in the wound in Portal's loss on Friday. Brian McQueen and Jaylon Strickland both exited the game with lower body injuries.
Up Next:
The Panthers will host another region game next Friday when they host the Savannah Bluejackets. Coach McEachin noted that ball security, offensive execution and tackling are the keys to a victory.