The Portal Panthers hosted the Jenkins County War Eagles on Friday for their first region game of the season. The War Eagles defeated the Panthers 48-19
Jenkins County's run game proved to be a problem for the Panthers all game long. The War Eagles used their ground game to light up the scoreboard in Friday's game. They were able to grind out yards to move the chains and take the top off with long gains.
Early in the 4th quarter a hush went over the crowd when a Panther player got injured on a play. He had to leave the game with was appeared to be a serious injury. Portal Head Coach Jason McEachin gathered his team and they said a prayer for their teammate.
Portal's offense started out hot in the 1st quarter was stifled through the second half. Once the 4th quarter rolled around, the Panthers found themselves down 41-19. The game was capped off with a long touchdown pass from Jenkins County's Justin Wright to Jaris Moye to make the score 48-19.
Despite going into the second half down by 1, the Panthers could not capitalize and take control of the game. The opening drive of the second half saw the Panthers get a stop, but lost it when the War Eagles scored off of a pick-6. Justin Wright's big day carried over into the second half as he scores he charged through the endzone to make the score 34-19 later in the quarter. With about a minute left in the 3rd, Jenkins County's Kendrick Thomas found a crease to score a touchdown on 4th and short.
The first half showed signs of a shootout between the two teams. Jenkins county jumped out to a 12-0 lead behind 2 rushing touchdowns from Calvin Adams and Marion Young. The Panthers would respond back quickly as Chase Smith rolled out of the pocket to find Brian McQueen for a 63-yard passing touchdown. The next play from scrimmage Jaylon Strickland recovered a fumble to give the ball back to Portal. After a long run by Strickland, Chase Smith scored on a QB keeper.
Jenkins County would score again to make the score 20-13. Chase connected with McQueen again for another 58-yard touchdown pass to make the score 20-19 going into halftime.
Portal's record falls to 1-2 on the season.
Up Next:
The Panther will make a short trip up the road to take on the Bryan County Redskins. The game will kick off at 7:30pm.
