A complete team effort paved the way for the Panthers to dominate the Eagles 39-21.
In the beginning, the offense struggled with drop passes but they quickly rebounded. The defense was able to force a fumble, one of three on the night, which put the ball right back in the offense’s hands. The Panthers marched down the field and ended with a quick pass to senior Dustin Scott from quarterback, Kyle Daniel in the endzone for a touchdown.
But the Eagles were not ready to call it quits when they methodically drove down the field, which ended in a perfect pass over a Panther defender by Athens Christian junior Brett Branton for a touchdown.
On the next possession, Daniel was able to construct a drive that developed a 22 yard floater right to junior receiver Xavier Harper for a touchdown. The Panthers jumped to a 13-7 lead after the missed PAT.
The Daniel-Harper connection was a pattern throughout the game.
“He (Harper) is a play maker, he did a lot for us (Friday),” Panther head coach Benji Harrison said.
The Eagles tried to make a move late in the second quarter. They managed to pick off Daniel and return it for six. They jumped up to a 14-13 lead.
“You have to have a short term memory, you are going to have mistakes,” Harrison said.
“No matter what, we are going to keep throwing.”
The Eagles momentum was quickly deflated when Daniel constructed a great two minute drill that ended with a quick go ahead rushing score by Scott to take the lead 21-14.
“I told them to play for yourself and your teammates,” Harrison said. “If you do that, good things should happen.”
The second half was all Jackson County. First play of the second half, Daniel threw a quick screen to Harper and he took it for 65 yards for the score.
Athens Christian would try to make one more valiant attempt at a comeback. With 7:44 remaining in the third quarter, they picked Daniel off for the second time. But that glory was short lived when senior D-lineman Chandler Lanier picked off of Branton and ran it back for a touchdown.
The Eagles could never recover.
The dagger came when Daniel threw yet another screen pass to Harper for a 53-yard touchdown, which put the game out of reach at 39-21. The Daniel-Harper connection put up over 200 yards and three scores.
“I could not be happier for the offense,” Harrison said. “Kyle ran the offense efficiently.”
