The Bulloch Academy Gators had a successful hunt as they put the chomp on the Panthers in a 19 to 18 win to open up their 2024 season.
Both teams used a different approach to the type of energy they wanted to bring to the game.
First Half
The Bulloch Academy Gators came out fully amped up for the matchup and that energy carried over into the first half.
They forced a turnover on downs in the Panthers' first runs of the game.
That forced turnover leads to junior Danye Garvin putting the first points of the game up on the board.
The Panthers struggled with multiple penalties in the first half, with their penalty of choice being false starts throughout the entire first quarter.
Ike Hubbard of Bulloch Academy comes in with a huge hit to make a big play and give the ball to the Gators with a little over 3 minutes left in the first half.
Within that same minute, Panther Samarion McBride recovered a fumble by the Gators with 3:17 seconds, and then as if the football was a hot potato, The Gators recovered a fumble immediately after.
That play blazes a path for junior running back, junior running back, Shamar Jenkins, to score his first touchdown of the night and put the Gators up 13-0 with a couple of minutes left in the half.
Jenkins had himself a half as he intercepted a Panther pass in the next play and gave the Gators yet another chance to score a touchdown in the first half, but the Panthers forced a turnover on downs and got the ball back with 52 seconds left in the first half.
Gator Braylon Cone makes a huge hit to give the Panthers a loss of yards with 20 seconds to go and an incomplete pass by the Panthers became an interception by Jenkins.
The Gators forced a turnover to close out the half. Happy with how they performed in the first half, the Gators went into halftime up 13-0 on the Panthers only worried about consistency.
“We played well,” Bulloch Academy Head Coach, Aaron Phillips said. “We got to play with a little more composure, be able to sustain some drives, and punch it in when we get close.”
Head Coach for Portal, Jason McEachin, knew exactly what his team needed to focus on coming out of the half to put themselves back into the game.
“We need to execute better,” McEachin said. “We told our boys in the locker room to treat the first half as our scrimmage.”
Second Half
Bulloch Academy kicked off to the Panthers to start the second half. A big breakout run by senior Panther Chase Smith brings the Panthers within their touchdown zone in the first three minutes of the second half.
Senior Panther Jaylon Strickland converts his efforts into the first touchdown of the night for the Panthers to finally put them on the scoreboard and bring them within six to tie up the game.
Penalties may have haunted the Panthers in the first half, but cramps are what plagued the Panthers in the second.
At least 4-6 players went down during the half with a cramp which caused Portal to lose starters in certain positions and momentum shifted to the Gators.
Danye Garvin scored his second touchdown of the night to put the Gators up 19-6 going into the fourth quarter.
Portal captain Chase Smith played both sides of the ball as a quarterback and linebacker in the fourth quarter. At the top of the fourth, Smith scores the second Panther touchdown of the night to put the Panthers behind one touchdown.
Another Panther playing both sides of the ball was junior defensive back and quarterback Brian McQueen. With 5:15 left in the game, a forced fumble by the Panthers allowed for a scoop and score play made by McQueen to bring the Panthers within one of the Gators and just enough time on the clock.
The Gators take their time bringing the ball down the field in these last five minutes and at fourth and nine in the Panther 25 with 1:09 left to play, the Panthers had a chance to hold the Gators and give themselves a chance for one more play but couldn’t hold off Ike Hubbard who was a thorn in the Panthers side all night.
Hubbard takes the last carry of the game to get the Gators one last first down and they decide to call the game with a couple of seconds left on the clock so the Gators win.
The Panthers fought to the end, but mistakes, penalties, and injuries are what kept them from edging the Gators at the last second.
Coach McEachin knows what his boys need to work on before their next game: execution.
“I’m extremely proud at how hard we played, but there were way too many mistakes with execution on our part on both sides of the ball,” McEachin said.
Up Next
The Bulloch Academy Gators will be back in action next week on Friday, August 23, as they travel to Claxton to take on the Tigers at 7:30 pm.
The Portal Panthers will have a little more time to rest up and recuperate as they take a bye next week and will travel to Twiggs County on Friday, August 30, to take on the Cobras at 7:30 pm.
