The Jackson County Panthers saw their win streak come to an end Friday night at the hands of the Morgan County Bulldogs.
The Panthers came up just short on a 14-7 final score in their first region pairing of the year.
The Panthers will play host in their next game, this time against the Hart County Bulldogs.
Hart County enters Friday’s game off of a 32-20 win against Stephens County. So far, the Bulldogs are 1-0 in the region, and 3-1 overall.
It could prove to be a close game Friday. So far this season, Hart County has scored a total of 124 points, an average of 31 per game, while Jackson County has scored 106, an average of 26.5 per game.
Hart County, however, has allowed 87 points scored against them this year, an average of 21.8 per game, while the Panthers have allowed only 24 points to be scored against them, an average of six per game.
In their last three meetings, Hart County has come away with the victory each time. In fact, in the Bulldogs have held the Panthers scoreless in their last two pairings.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Morgan Co.
In Morgan County Friday night, things seemed pretty even through most of the first half, as both teams worked to move into scoring position.
The Panther defense did their job well, twice denying Morgan County on fourth down conversion attempts.
It looked like the game would remain scoreless going into the half, but Morgan County scored on a 24-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead just seconds before halftime.
Both teams would continue to fight for field position through the third quarter, with neither able to find their way into the other’s end zone.
Early in the fourth quarter, it appeared that the Panthers had found their opening. A 36-yard touchdown run by Charlie Waycaster put the first points on the board for Jackson County, and with a successful extra point, the score was tied 7-7.
But with less than five minutes left on the clock, Morgan County broke through with a one-yard touchdown run that would put them back up 14-7.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
