Xavier Harper returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown and also caught a 24-yard touchdown pass as Jackson County rolled to 20-12 opening night win over Johnson Friday on the road.
Jackson County trailed 6-0 but got on the board when Harper got loose on his 88-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. Harper then caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Daniel to put the Panthers ahead 14-6 at the half. Daniel threw to Jalen Banks for a 13-yard scoring strike in the second half to put the Panthers up 20-6.
The victory for the Panthers over Johnson comes after the two teams only played two quarters last year before the game was called due to lightning.